You’re a stay-at-home parent, as you have been for the last 10 years. When you and your spouse decided to have children, you also decided that your spouse could continue working to grow their business and you would quit your career to care for the kids.

Over the last decade, your spouse’s business has done quite well. You’re used to living on more than a million dollars per year of income, and it’s been nice. You and your child have grown very accustomed to it.

Now your spouse has filed for divorce, however, and you know that it’s going to be critical to get alimony to support you. After all, the kids still need you, so you can’t just go out searching for a job. Plus, after being out of the workforce for so long, you’re not even sure you could start that career back up again.

2 ways of getting alimony

In this situation, there are two general ways of getting alimony. Most common is a monthly payment for a set amount of time. Less common is a lump sum that is paid out all at once — the sum of all of those monthly payments, multiplied by the number of months they’d be made.

One reason you may want to consider a lump sum is that your income is no longer tied to your ex’s business. You don’t know what the future holds. If the business declines or fails, or if your ex has other financial problems, they may fail to pay a monthly total for alimony. With a lump sum, you never have to worry about missed payments or an altered court order.

Additionally, you may one day start working again. If you do so, you don’t need to worry that your ex will try to reduce those monthly payments. You know exactly what you get at the moment of divorce, and you don’t have to deal with your ex ever again regarding these financial concerns. You are fully independent and ready to be on your own.

Considering your options

Both of these options can work, but just make sure you consider each one carefully to see what is best for you. Working with an experienced firm can help if you have any questions.