During divorce, many spouses have questions about alimony payments.
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a payment from one spouse to the other after a divorce in the event that one spouse is deemed dependent on the other spouse.
Usually, alimony is paid by the spouse who earns more money to the spouse who earns less.
In many states, there are no exact guidelines to determine who pays alimony or how much gets paid.
Rather, a final number is reached based on how much the dependent spouse needs and how much the supporting spouse is able to pay.
The spouses can either reach this agreement by themselves, with the help of attorneys, or by a judge if a decision cannot be made.
Proof of Income and Expenses If the parties cannot come to a decision, a judge will make the decision in court after hearing evidence and arguments from both sides.
The evidence at an alimony hearing is usually proof of income and proof of expenses.
Proof of income in an alimony case may include:

• Tax returns
• Pay stubs
• Bank records
• Benefits statements
• Commission statements

Proof of expenses may include:

• Bills
• Bank statements
• Mortgage receipt books
• Rental or lease agreements
• Electronic personal banking and finance software

In some cases, one spouse may try to hide the amount of income he or she actually makes or spends to reduce alimony payments.
In these cases, you may want to enlist the help of an alimony attorney to help determine how much money your spouse actually has available and to ensure that he or she is not attempting to hide the true amount from the judge.
Additionally, it is important to have an attorney on your side if your spouse tries to gain a higher payment by misrepresenting the amount of money you can actually afford to pay.
Modifying Alimony Payments Alimony plans are designed to delegate payments as fairly as possible.
However, certain life circumstances may occur that cause the original alimony agreement or order to no longer be fair to one of the spouses.
In these cases, spousal support payments may be modified, but not easily.
Circumstances that may allow ex-spouses to modify their plans include:

• If the recipient remarries or moves in with a new partner
• Sudden, unintentional unemployment of the supporter
• The inability of the supporter's ability to support himself or herself

There are many restrictions when attempting to restructure a spousal support plan, and therefore it is important to have a well-informed team of attorneys on your side to help you make the changes you need.