According to the United Way Association of South Carolina’s Self-Sufficiency Standard for South Carolina 2024, the cost of living for a two-parent family with a preschooler and a school-age child living in Spartanburg County increased 63% between 2016 and 2024 without including taxes. The prediction was that the cost of living during that time would only increase 29%. This increase is regardless of their income level. That increase is concerning enough for a happily married couple, but it can be much more disturbing when a couple is divorcing. Going from supporting one household to two with the same income or less might even be terrifying.
Fortunately, there is support available to help individuals make the transition. Alimony is one such financial support. To receive alimony, the court will evaluate the couple’s standard of living during the marriage. What does that mean, though? What factors are considered? Learn the answers to these questions and others during a consultation with a knowledgeable divorce attorney at King Law Offices. Call (888) 748-KING to schedule an appointment and explore what alimony may mean for you.
What Is the Concept of Standard of Living?
The concept of a standard of living refers to the level of material goods, comfort, necessities, and wealth available to the individual in their day-to-day life. This standard is based on income, assets, housing, savings, earning potential, and other factors. Standards of living vary from one family to the next. They can also vary for the same family as incomes increase or decrease, assets lose or gain value, family size increases or decreases, or other factors change.
How Does Standard of Living Apply to Alimony?
The family court bases the decision to award alimony, also called spousal support, on whether the recipient needs the additional financial support to maintain the standard of living they had during the marriage. The higher the standard of living during the marriage, the higher the alimony payment is likely to be, if alimony is awarded.
Ideally, when awarding alimony, the standard of living is upheld for both parties and their families. Alimony is not meant to allow the recipient to continue to live as they did during the marriage while causing the payor to lower their standard of living significantly. In some cases, alimony may be awarded and both parties may need to reduce their standard of living to some degree, at least temporarily, depending on the factors in their unique circumstances.
Types of Alimony and How Standard of Living Determines What May Be Ordered
S.C. Code §20-3-130 states that South Carolina recognizes five types of alimony. The circumstances of the marriage partially dictate what type of spousal support may be awarded. The standard of living is one of the circumstances that can determine which type of alimony is ordered. There are several reasons for alimony termination in South Carolina.
Permanent Periodic Alimony
This type of alimony is monthly payments of a specified amount lasting indefinitely. This alimony typically stops when one of the spouses dies or when the recipient remarries or is cohabitating with a new romantic partner. Permanent periodic alimony may be more likely to be awarded in a longer marriage, where the recipient may have been a stay-at-home parent or otherwise did not work. They may struggle to find work or return to school because they have been out of the workforce for so long.
Rehabilitative Alimony
Rehabilitative alimony allows the spouse who relied on their spouse for financial support during the marriage to become self-supporting. This alimony is meant to help the dependent spouse learn new skills through a training program or complete their education. This alimony may be awarded in shorter marriages or for younger spouses who may or may not have worked but could become financially independent with some additional education. Rehabilitative ends when the recipient can be self-supporting, but may also end if the recipient remarries or cohabitates with a romantic partner or if either spouse dies.
Reimbursement Alimony
In some marriages, one spouse works (or uses an inheritance or other money) to pay for their spouse to attend school, skills training programs, or other related expenses. While this is an investment in their marriage, if the marriage ends within a few years of this investment, the spouse who paid may want that investment back. In these cases, the court may order reimbursement alimony which gives the individual back the money they paid toward their spouse’s education. This type of alimony is usually a monthly payment for a clearly defined period of time. However, it may also end if one of the spouses dies or the recipient remarries or cohabitates with a romantic partner.
Lump-Sum Alimony
Lump-sum alimony is a specific amount paid all at once or in monthly payments. Lump-sum alimony tends to be uncommon. This type of alimony is most commonly ordered if the paying spouse is unreliable or has left South Carolina. However, it may also be awarded in cases where the recipient requires some assistance with maintaining the marriage’s standard of living, but not permanently or when rehabilitative or reimbursement alimony may not apply. For example, lump-sum alimony could be used to give the recipient money to put a down payment on a house or to provide them with money for living expenses while they seek employment or take other steps to become self-supporting.
Separate Maintenance and Support
Separate maintenance and support is alimony that is awarded to one spouse when the couple is separated but not divorcing at this time. They may divorce later, at which time the separate maintenance and support may shift to another type of alimony, or they may remain separated without divorcing long-term. If the couple reunites and the separation ends, so does this alimony.
What Is Considered When Determining Standard of Living for Alimony Purposes?
Determining the standard of living to decide how much alimony to award requires more than simply looking at how the couple lived while they were married. The intention behind the alimony is to allow both spouses to continue to live at the same standard as they did while married to each other. This requires looking at the standard of living during the marriage, but also other factors that will influence how they may live after the divorce is final.
Marital Standard of Living
While not the only factor, the standard of living during the marriage is one of the most crucial. This standard is used to determine how each spouse will ideally continue to live after the divorce. Understanding what their living standard was as a couple is necessary to determine whether alimony will be awarded and how much that alimony will be.
The expenses, responsibilities, and overall way of life during the marriage are considered. This includes any debts or expenses that only one spouse is responsible for, such as child support or alimony from a previous marriage or debt incurred before the marriage and how it was handled during the marriage.
Financial Disparities
In many marriages, there is a financial discrepancy where one spouse works and the other stays at home, or both spouses work but one makes significantly more than the other. There may also be financial disparities because one spouse has primary custody of the couple’s shared children, or one spouse has significant debt or children from previous marriages. While the court will not make a spouse responsible for children who are not theirs or debts that clearly belong only to the other spouse, these factors may still influence the alimony award as the intention is to ensure that both spouses retain the same standard of living as during the marriage.
Age and Health of Both Spouses
The age and health of both spouses is also a consideration when determining alimony awards. A spouse who is older and/or has health issues and struggles to take care of themselves as a result may be more likely to get alimony. However, a spouse who struggles with health issues or being older and struggles with caring for themselves may also be less likely to be ordered to pay alimony. These decisions may ultimately depend on the type of health issues each spouse suffers from, whether those issues are chronic or expected to resolve, and the health insurance each spouse has combined with how much money they may be expected to spend on dealing with their health condition.
Other Factors
Other factors that South Carolina family courts consider when deciding whether to award alimony include:
- Marriage Duration: Longer marriages tend to be more likely to result in alimony and higher amounts of it.
- Employment History and Earning Potential: A dependent spouse who has not worked during all or a significant portion of the marriage may be more likely to be awarded alimony. Additionally, if that spouse worked as a restaurant server and married someone who made significantly more money, they may be more likely to receive alimony as returning to the same line of work would not pay differently than it did in the past and they may not have the skills needed to enter another line of work. However, if both spouses have relatively similar employment histories and earning potentials, no alimony may be awarded.
- Educational Background: Both spouses’ educational background is also considered. If one has a degree that allows them to make more money and the other does not, the court may award alimony. In these cases, the court may order rehabilitative alimony to allow the spouse without a degree to finish a degree or to undergo other training. They may also award reimbursement alimony if one spouse paid for the other to attend school.
- Current and Anticipated Earnings and Expenses: Each spouse’s current and expected income and expenses is also examined to determine alimony awards. This can include debts that were divided during marital property division as well as separate debts, the expenses each is expected to incur to set up their new households, and expenses for any children the couple has, whether shared or from previous relationships.
- Marital and Non-Marital Property Division: How the couple’s marital assets were divided, as well as any separate property each spouse had, also contributes to any alimony awards. If you are concerned about how the property division may affect any alimony ordered, an experienced divorce attorney with King Law Offices may be able to review your case and answer your questions.
- Child Custody: Alimony and child support are separate payments, but they can be influenced by each other. Both are intended to assist in maintaining a household, but alimony is intended to help the spouse maintain a standard of living while child support is meant to ensure the children’s standard of living does not change between households.
- Marital Misconduct or Fault: South Carolina states that the court can consider marital misconduct or fault, even if it is not used as the basis for petitioning for divorce. In other words, if one spouse committed one of the grounds for divorce listed in S.C. Code §20-3-10 (adultery, desertion, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness), they may be ordered to pay alimony or may be prevented from receiving alimony. This factor is very important as dating before the divorce has been finalized may cause a spouse to lose any alimony they might have received otherwise.
- Prior Marriage Support Obligations: If either spouse has an obligation to pay child support or alimony for previous relationships, this is considered in determining any alimony awards in the current divorce. South Carolina’s Child Support Guidelines specifically state that when calculating child support, existing alimony and child support being paid for a previous marriage must be excluded from the individual’s gross income before calculating child support for this marriage. While there are no guidelines or formulas for calculating alimony, the court will consider these previous obligations in determining what may be ordered in current cases.
What Qualifies as Cohabitating With a Romantic Partner to End Alimony?
Several types of alimony end when one of the spouses dies or when the recipient spouse either remarries or cohabitates with a new romantic partner. Marrying again is something that is easily proven with a properly filed marriage license. Proving cohabitation with a romantic partner may be more difficult to prove.
Typically, the court considers the individual to be cohabitating if they are living with another individual for more than 90 days. A roommate is not considered cohabitation, though if the recipient’s living situation is significantly improved by living with a roommate, it may modify the alimony order. Cohabitation is often indicated by the length of the relationship, how much time the two individuals spend together, how their personal affairs are related, whether they go on vacations together, if they present themselves as a couple or share a last name or mailing address. Additionally, if the recipient periodically separates from their partner to attempt to make it appear that they are not cohabitating, it may still be possible to prove that they are cohabitating if this pattern can be shown.
Can Alimony and Child Support Both Be Ordered?
For couples who share children, the court can order both alimony and child support. Alimony is meant to uphold the individual’s standard of living, while child support is intended to ensure the children keep the same standard of living when they go back and forth between homes. Alimony can be considered part of the custodial parent’s income and be deducted from the payor’s gross income for purposes of calculating child support payments per the state’s child support guidelines.
Potential Benefits of Working With a Divorce Lawyer When Dealing with Alimony
TV, movies, and books have often made it appear as though alimony allows the recipient to be wealthy, not work, and enjoy a life of luxury. While this may be true in certain high net worth divorces, the reality is that alimony is intended to ensure the recipient is able to maintain the same standard of living as they had during the marriage. Working with a divorce lawyer may help to ensure you understand who is eligible to receive alimony and protect your rights whether you are paying or receiving alimony. A lawyer may also be able to negotiate alimony, modify or enforce orders, or represent you in court. If you are in Gaffney, Greer, Rock Hill, or Spartanburg, South Carolina, call King Law Offices at (888) 748-KING to schedule an appointment with one of our compassionate divorce attorneys to review your case and learn how we may be able to assist you.