Because of the tight financial circumstances present in a divorce, some courts have become accustomed to using alimony to satisfy a recipient’s basic needs rather than attempting to help them reach the actual marital standard of living. Recently, the Court of Appeals “reinforce[d] the general rule that alimony should be based upon the standard of living the parties established during the marriage rather than the standard of living at the time of trial.” Rule v. Rule, 2017 UT App 137 at ¶ 15. When there is insufficient income to support the marital standard of living for both parties post-divorce, alimony is to equalize the parties’ standards of living. Id. at ¶ 14.
In a typical divorce involving alimony, one party is the primary breadwinner and the other depends on that income to live. The potential alimony recipient often finds him- or herself with limited income and overwhelming expenses associated with the separation and is therefore required to reduce monthly expenses drastically. As in Rule v. Rule, courts sometimes incorrectly base temporary and/or permanent alimony awards on the expenses of that party at the time of trial or temporary orders hearing rather than the standard of living during the marriage.
Courts should not commence the alimony analysis by reducing the parties’ discretionary expenses, as courts often do, but should: (1) establish the marital standard of living and (2) determine whether income is sufficient to support that standard of living or an equalization of the standard of living is necessary. If a party paying alimony subsequently has a substantial increase in income, the alimony recipient could petition for an increase in alimony up to the marital standard of living.
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