QUESTION

Would I have to pay alimony or child support if we have only been married for 14 months?

Asked on Sep 14th, 2013 on Divorce - Oklahoma
More details to this question:
My wife has a kid that is not mine. I am in the military. My wife doesn't work and is at home with the child and I just can't handle it anymore. She is trying to get her GED and license so she can get a job but it's too late for me. I was just wondering what I would have to pay.
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10 ANSWERS

William M Stoddard
By court ruling there is NO step parent support obligation once the dissolution is filed and the parties have started moving on to their new status. You may have a spousal maintenance (what you called alimony) obligation depending on circumstances.
Answered on Sep 20th, 2013 at 3:42 AM

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You may have to pay support while the action is pending but short term marriages do not result in lasting support. You should consult a family law attorney to review all of the circumstances regarding the child to determine if support would be ordered.
Answered on Sep 19th, 2013 at 12:25 PM

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Divorce & Family Law Attorney serving Salt Lake City, UT at Utah Family Law LC
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In Utah, the law is the court shall consider all relevant facts and equitable principles and may, in its discretion, base alimony on the standard of living that existed at the time of trial. In marriages of short duration, when no children have been conceived or born during the marriage, the court may consider the standard of living that existed at the time of the marriage. Utah Code Section 30-3-5(8)(g) (h) In determining alimony when a marriage of short duration dissolves, and no children have been conceived or born during the marriage, the court may consider restoring each party to the condition which existed at the time of the marriage. Utah Code Section 30-3-5(8)(h) Note that Section 30-3-5(8)(a) provide to the court *may *restore each party to the condition that existed "at the time of the marriage," which means before the marriage or the date of the marriage. Where no children have been born do you and your wife of 14 months, it would be extremely difficult for her to argue that she has become accustomed to different kind of lifestyle that she had before marriage. Even if the lifestyle that you and your wife have led for the past 14 months is better than the life she knew before she married you, she, in my opinion, cannot reasonably ask the court to force you to pay alimony to support a lifestyle that was so short. Obviously, the longer you stay married, the stronger claim for alimony becomes. And here's an interesting fact: (j) Alimony may not be ordered for a duration longer than the number of years that the marriage existed unless, at any time prior to termination of alimony, the court finds extenuating circumstances that justify the payment of alimony for a longer period of time.
Answered on Sep 19th, 2013 at 12:22 PM

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Family Law Attorney serving Salt Lake City, UT
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In Utah, you do not have to pay child support for a child that is not your biological offspring., and you have no obligation to support a step child. Alimony is based on the need of the party requesting it and on the ability to pay of the person paying it. Alimony is not usually indicated in a short term marriage, such as yours, unless there is a large disparity in the incomes.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 4:53 PM

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Social Security Disability Attorney serving Melbourne, FL at Law Office of Robert E. McCall
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Any support is a judge's decision, there is no mandatory. Florida law is that the maximum payable is two times the number of months married but it is not an automatic award. You would not pay child support as the child is not yours, unless you adopted the child.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 4:37 PM

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No, if she had the baby before you were married and you have only been married 14 months, you will not have to pay child support or maintenance.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 4:00 PM

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Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI at Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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Was the child born during the marriage, or somehow acknowledged as yours? Otherwise and generally you should have no support obligation to either her or the child, under normal circumstances.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 3:37 PM

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Unless you adopt her child (that is not yours), you will not be obligated to pay child support. Since the marriage is of a very short period, you should be able to avoid paying alimony. You need an attorney to fight for you on that issue.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 3:34 PM

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Domestic Relations Attorney serving Omaha, NE at Diane L. Berger
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It would be extremely unusual for you to have to pay child support for a child that is not yours. As to alimony, it is possible, but not, in my opinion, probable.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 3:31 PM

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Jason David Smith
No and no. Not married long enough, and not your kid.
Answered on Sep 18th, 2013 at 3:19 PM

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