Page 58 - Family Law Services

Bridge-the-Gap

Bridge-the-gap alimony may be awarded to assist a party by providing support to allow the party to
make a transition from being married to being single. It is designed to assist a party with legitimate iden-
tifiable short-term needs, and the length of the award is generally limited to a small time frame.

Nominal

Nominal alimony is permanent period alimony paid in a very small amount, such as $1.00 per year.
Some cases do not require any money, but instead refer to reserving jurisdiction to make an award in the
future. An example of when this would arise is when the recipient spouse has demonstrated need, and
the payor spouse has the greater income, but the ability to pay is generally limited due to child support
obligations.

Nonmodifiable

This type of support is called nonmodifiable support because the total amount to be paid is fixed and
certain. It may be used to equalize property divisions or other inequities that may be perceived during
the divorce.

Lump Sum

A lump sum approach is often used as a tool to structure settlements. The present value of a future
stream of alimony is calculated and, effectively, a buyout of that obligation is effectuated. A number of
states identify any fixed amount of alimony as lump sum, even though it may be payable in several
payments.

Security for Payment of Spousal Support

Insurance

In most instances, if feasible, the payor of spousal support makes the recipient the beneficiary of a life
insurance policy on the payor’s life, thereby securing the payment of the support. In a number of cases,
the amount of insurance is fixed, whereas in others, the amount payable to the recipient declines as the
obligation decreases. In this case, the owner of the policy may be either the payor or the payee. The ben-
eficiary of the life insurance policy does not pay income tax on the proceeds of the policy if it is collect-
ed. If the owner of the policy is the payee of the spousal support, the payee controls the named benefi-
ciary. Court orders can require the owner to maintain a specific beneficiary, such as the former spouse.
If the owner is not the payee, the court can order insurance companies to respond to future requests by
the payee regarding the current beneficiary of the policy.

Additional Security

In circumstances in which life insurance is not available or additional security is required, other property
may be used as security. Property may be assigned, mortgaged, or deemed to be the subject of a lien. It
is possible to use retirement assets to secure support obligations through the use of a qualified domestic
relations order.

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