Helpful Tips on Negotiating Alimony for a California Divorce

If you are in the midst of a divorce, you might be concerned about the possibility of having to make alimony payments. Alimony, or spousal support, is intended to help a newly single individual transition, or acquire any necessary training or skills to obtain a job and become self-sufficient. It can be awarded in court if your divorce goes through litigation, or you and your ex-spouse can negotiate these payments with your respective attorneys, which can help ensure a much fairer outcome.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started on the process of negotiation:

1. Hire a lawyer: The fact is that divorce is an emotional time. Having a family law attorney who is skilled and experienced in addressing such matters can help you handle negotiations with your spouse with a level-headed approach that can increase your chances at achieving a mutually agreeable settlement sooner and with fewer headaches. Given their experience with negotiations, your attorney will also have the ability to ensure you make smaller payments, or payments that last for a short amount of time.
2. Be reasonable: Being reasonable and open-minded are crucial in negotiating with your spouse. If you begin negotiating with unreasonable demands or are unwilling to budge or compromise, it will be impossible to reach a successful resolution.
3. Do not accept the first offer: Initial offers tend to start out unreasonably low. You are not expected to accept it, nor should you. This first offer is meant to serve as the jumping off point from which your lawyer can make a counter offer and negotiations can officially begin.
4. Keep the division of personal assets in mind: As you embark on alimony negotiations, you might want to remind your ex about the outcome of your asset division, especially if it was rather generous. This should always be factored into how much and for how long alimony payments are to be made
5. If children are involved: If you and your ex have children, you might be able to offer to make certain purchases for your children in exchange for decreased alimony payments. This will not substitute or have a direct relation to your child support payments, but if your ex-spouse knows your children will receive extra support, he or she might be more willing to compromise.

San Diego Spousal Support Lawyers

At Cage & Miles, our San Diego divorce lawyers have years of experience in assisting our clients resolve their spousal support cases by fighting to ensure the amount awarded is fair and equitable.