# Spousal Support Amount



## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

My brother in law (wife’s brother) is facing divorce. His lawyer has told him he may pay 45% of his income in spousal support—indefinitely . 1) is this remotely plausible? 2) would child support be tacked on to this? 
He lives in Wisconsin. He makes about 250K. His wife has a master’s degree but has not been able to hold a job. He has two very young kids.


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## DownByTheRiver (Jul 2, 2020)

The two young ones in her unable to hold a job are why. He makes a lot of money and she makes none and gave up her career for the family..


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

DownByTheRiver said:


> The two young ones in her unable to hold a job are why. He makes a lot of money and she makes none and gave up her career for the family..


He spends more time careing for the kids than she does. Actually to the detriment of HIS career. I did not want to get into that. I was just wondering if spousal support could ever be 1/2 of someone’s income.


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## Evinrude58 (Jun 16, 2014)

DownByTheRiver said:


> The two young ones in her unable to hold a job are why. He makes a lot of money and she makes none and gave up her career for the family..


I strongly disagree


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## Evinrude58 (Jun 16, 2014)

Chris Smith said:


> He spends more time careing for the kids than she does. Actually to the detriment of HIS career. I did not want to get into that. I was just wondering if spousal support could ever be 1/2 of someone’s income.


Sadly, it’s up to the judge and they don’t mind raping men in divorces.


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

Since it came up, here is a taste of what my BIL is going through. They separated for a while. During this time, his wife’s “coparenting” agreement required him to come back to the house every morning and get the kids ready for daycare/preschool. He also had to pick them up at the end of the day. He agreed to this since he wanted to save his marriage. He came to his senses and moved back into the house. So ”caring for the kids” is not why the wife cannot hold a job. (And many people hold jobs while they have small kids.)


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## Evinrude58 (Jun 16, 2014)

Not the subject of your post, but why the separation?


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## Diana7 (Apr 19, 2016)

The lawyer said he MAY pay 45%. That could be the absolute max, that sounds very high to me depending on whether that includes child support. Do they have 50-50 time with the children? How old are they?


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

SIL is fairly delusional. It seems to me that she has a good deal. He takes care of the kids to a large extent and she sits at home doing nothing or bumming around with friends while the kids are in daycare and he is at work. Both of their kids have some chronic health problems which is very stressful, I’m sure. She claims that he does nothing, which is verifiably false. 

I can’t prove it, but my guess is that she is screwing other people. She goes out and drinks and smokes pot a lot. Takes long trips with friends. That kind of thing. My BIL does not want to considier that possibility.


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## Diana7 (Apr 19, 2016)

Chris Smith said:


> SIL is fairly delusional. It seems to me that she has a good deal. He takes care of the kids to a large extent and she sits at home doing nothing or bumming around with friends while the kids are in daycare and he is at work. Both of their kids have some chronic health problems which is very stressful, I’m sure. She claims that he does nothing, which is verifiably false.
> 
> I can’t prove it, but my guess is that she is screwing other people. She goes out and drinks and smokes pot a lot. Takes long trips with friends. That kind of thing. My BIL does not want to considier that possibility.


Why are they in daycare of she is at home all day?


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

They live together, so a 50-50 split with the kids could not be calculated. My nieces are 5 and 2 with severe health problems. He idea of “coparenting” has been him doing everything. She wants the kids to live with her, but spend evenings with him and she wants him to continue to get them ready every morning. (They also have housecleaning every week. SIL literally does nothing.)

Anyway, BIL would take the kids full time…that’s what he wants. SIL wants kids but does not want to do much to care for them.


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## Evinrude58 (Jun 16, 2014)

Chris Smith said:


> SIL is fairly delusional. It seems to me that she has a good deal. He takes care of the kids to a large extent and she sits at home doing nothing or bumming around with friends while the kids are in daycare and he is at work. Both of their kids have some chronic health problems which is very stressful, I’m sure. She claims that he does nothing, which is verifiably false.
> 
> *I can’t prove it, but my guess is that she is screwing other people. She goes out and drinks and smokes pot a lot. Takes long trips with friends. That kind of thing. My BIL does not want to considier that possibility*.


quite obviously your brother in law is beyond help. He is a doormat and likely will never change.


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

Why in daycare? Good question. They are very susceptible to illness, but SIL insists they go to daycare.


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

Calling my BIL a doormat is not helpful. Of couse he is. Despite all this, his lawyer has told him that he could lose his girls and 45 percent of his income in alimony and 25% in child support. So, facing this, what choice does he have? What should be do, beat his wife? Seriously? What options does he have?


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## DownButNotOut (Apr 9, 2009)

Chris Smith said:


> My brother in law (wife’s brother) is facing divorce. His lawyer has told him he may pay 45% of his income in spousal support—indefinitely . 1) is this remotely plausible? 2) would child support be tacked on to this?
> He lives in Wisconsin. He makes about 250K. His wife has a master’s degree but has not been able to hold a job. He has two very young kids.


Sadly, it is very possible. Divorce law tends to be punitive to the man. 

His lawyer will know the laws in Wisconsin better than we do. I think he was giving your BIL a worst case scenario. If she has a marketable master's degree they may be able to impute income to her when running the state's formulas for spousal and child support. 

It also sounds like SIL is in for a rude awakening of what actual custody arrangements look like.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

Wisconsin Alimony Calculator (2022) | Sterling Law Offices, S.C. (sterlinglawyers.com) 

Wisconsin Child Support Calculators & Worksheets 2022 | Sterling Law Offices, S.C. (sterlinglawyers.com)


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

He needs to talk to more than one lawyer. Many of them will give a free appointment. That gives the client a chance to interview the attorney and ask a lot of questions. Then you hire the attorney who can best represent you. 

Look at the alimony calculator that I linked to in the above post. There are many things considered in calculating alimony. For example look at #7. She has an education. I healthy, right? She can become self supporting. In some states an ex spouse who refuses to become self supporting will lose their alimony. 

He can also ask for a custody evaluation and ask for at least 50% physical custody and bring up that he does most of the childcare when he's not at work. 

*Qualifying for Spousal Maintenance*
The Wisconsin courts can grant alimony to either party in cases of annulment, divorce, or legal separation. Whether alimony is awarded depends on the following list of factors:


The *length* of the marriage.
The *property division* in the case.
The *age* and *physical and emotional health* of each party.
Each party's *education level* at the beginning and end of the marriage.
The *earning capacity* of the party seeking maintenance.
A party’s *contribution to the other’s earning power* (education, training, etc.).
Whether the person seeking maintenance can *become self-supporting* at a comparable *standard of living*.
Any *previously made agreements* regarding financial support.
The *tax consequences* to each party.
Any other factors the court decides are relevant.[1]


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## bobert (Nov 22, 2018)

What is his lawyer have him do to prove who does most of the childcare and how unequal their 50/50 schedule is? To show his STBX's earning capacity? If nothing, he needs a new lawyer. 

Your BIL should be keeping a log of everything. A GAL may also be an option.


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## Prodigal (Feb 5, 2011)

EleGirl said:


> He needs to talk to more than one lawyer.


COMPLETELY AGREE WITH ^^THIS.^^ 

To begin with, has your BIL given this attorney that last 3 to 5 years of his tax returns? Just to spitball that your BIL may have to pay spousal support of up to 45% without having a solid picture of the finances is ridiculous.

I'd suggest BIL see several attorneys, and when he does that he go armed with some solid financial data.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

Chris Smith said:


> My brother in law (wife’s brother) is facing divorce. His lawyer has told him he may pay 45% of his income in spousal support—indefinitely . 1) is this remotely plausible? 2) would child support be tacked on to this?
> He lives in Wisconsin. He makes about 250K. His wife has a master’s degree but has not been able to hold a job. He has two very young kids.


How many years have they been married?


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## Chris Smith (Jun 8, 2015)

9 years.


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## Beach123 (Dec 6, 2017)

Chris Smith said:


> They live together, so a 50-50 split with the kids could not be calculated. My nieces are 5 and 2 with severe health problems. He idea of “coparenting” has been him doing everything. She wants the kids to live with her, but spend evenings with him and she wants him to continue to get them ready every morning. (They also have housecleaning every week. SIL literally does nothing.)
> 
> Anyway, BIL would take the kids full time…that’s what he wants. SIL wants kids but does not want to do much to care for them.


he should petition the court to have full custody then.
He may still pay some spousal support - but he should request an assessment that she COULD be earning her own income. Then that amount of her “potential income” would show against her…and the amount could be reduced - because she has the ability to earn - yet if she chooses not to - he isn’t penalized for her choice.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

Chris Smith said:


> 9 years.


*Length of Spousal Support*​​_When there is a divorce, there is usually a lot of debate about how much the payments will be and for how long the payments need to be made. The Wisconsin statutes that talks about the length and duration of alimony payment states,_​​_The feasibility that the party seeking maintenance can become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage, and, if so, the length of time necessary to achieve this goal.[1]_​_The tough part about this statement is the there are no clear guidelines in Wisconsin statutes. Generally what we tell clients is the length of maintenance will depend on the length of the marriage. Our general guideline we have seen in court is as follows:_​
_Marriages less than 10 years = no maintenance_
_Marriages between 10-20 years = maintenance half the length of the marriage_
_Marriages longer than 20 years = indefinite maintenance_

_Length & Duration of Alimony Payments in WI | Sterling __Law Offices__. S.C. (sterlinglawyers.com)_​​


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## DTO (Dec 18, 2011)

Evinrude58 said:


> Sadly, it’s up to the judge and they don’t mind raping men in divorces.


Here in CA it's a formula. The question is whether that amount is Child and Spousal support combined.


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