When your Mississippi marriage ends, you may decide to seek alimony from your former partner. You may be particularly inclined to do so if you stopped working to raise your shared children, or if you sacrificed your own career so that your spouse could further his or hers. Many factors help determine whether a Mississippi court awards you alimony, and if you do wind up getting it, you may have questions about how much you should expect to receive.
According to the Mississippi Bar, the state awards alimony in two distinct ways.
Lump-sum and periodic payments
If the court awards you alimony, it may do so as either a lump-sum payment or a periodic one. A lump-sum payment means you receive a fixed amount from your ex either all at once or over time. Periodic payments, on the other hand, may fluctuate over time if either of you requests a modification. These payments end either when one of you dies or when one of you remarries.
So, how much money should you expect to receive?
Alimony amount considerations
The state has a lot of wiggle room when deciding how much alimony to award you. However, in most cases, the state seeks to give you an amount that allows you to enjoy the same standard of living you did while your marriage was intact. The court also considers the ability to the paying spouse to maintain his or her existing lifestyle and seeks to create an arrangement that allows both of you to live as normal a lifestyle as possible, post-divorce.
