As a well-paid married female Florida business professional, you may discover that your high earning capacity leaves you open to the possibility of paying manimony should you and your husband divorce. What is manimony? As reported by Wife.org, that is the nickname given to the relatively new phenomenon of court-awarded spousal support payments made by an ex-wife to her ex-husband.
Today, only about 10 percent of former husbands receive manimony payments from their former wives. However, as ever more women climb up the corporate ladder to high-paying executive positions, manimony definitely represents an idea whose time has come. Even five years ago, women brought in the only or the most substantial paycheck in American households. In at least 2 million households, Mom is the only one who goes to work and Dad is the one who stays home and raises the kids.
Manimony factors
Neither a wife nor a husband possesses the automatic right to spousal support. Rather, should your husband request a manimony award from the court, it will make one only after considering a number of factors, including the following:
- If and how much of a disparity exists between your current earnings and those of your husband
- If and how much disparity exists between your earning potential and that of your husband
- If and how much disparity exists between your educational level and that of your husband
- If your husband could increase his earning capacity by getting further education or training
- How long the two of you have been married
- If and how much your husband contributed to your marriage in nonfinancial ways
Manimony duration
Should the court award manimony to your husband, your payments likely will stop if he remarries. If the award is based on your husband’s need for further education or training, your payments likely will stop once he completes it. In any event, the manimony award likely will be for no more than 10 years.
The foregoing represents general educational information, not legal advice.