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Maryland's law has various rules when it comes to awarding alimony (or spousal maintenance as it’s known in many jurisdictions). There are rules regarding what type of alimony may be awarded – rehabilitative, indefinite, and so forth. There are also rules pertaining to the amount of alimony which may be granted in a given case. When a high-earning spouse enters divorce, the possibility of paying a hefty sum in alimony is often a serious concern. Spouses don’t particularly enjoy hearing that they have to transfer large amounts of money to their ex-spouse on a consistent basis, even when they don’t have children together. Although high-earning spouses often do end up with alimony obligations, the truth is that alimony isn’t always awarded simply because one spouse out-earns the other. There are numerous factors and considerations which go into the judicial analysis regarding alimony.
In the case of Matcha v. Bersoff-Matcha (2017), a high-earning physician ended up avoiding alimony altogether, even though she earned over three times the income of her husband. Let’s examine this case in detail.
Facts of the Case
The wife worked as a medical doctor for the FDA and earned between $180,000 to $200,000 on a yearly basis. The husband, on the other hand, consistently made around $50,000 with his home-based start-up company. When the couple separated, the husband began to claim that he only made $30,000, as opposed to nearly $50,000. Furthermore, at the time of the separation, the husband also claimed that his regular monthly expenses exceeded his monthly income by thousands of dollars. After the separation, the husband further claimed that he had applied to a vast number of full-time jobs in order to boost his income. In the divorce, the husband attempted to obtain impermanent alimony, and the wife attempted to block this request. Ultimately, the wife was successful, and the husband didn’t receive any alimony at all. Given the earning discrepancy between the spouses, this result may seem surprising.
Ruling & Discussion
The wife’s success was based on several factors. For one, the court found that there was essentially no basis to believe that the husband’s income had suddenly gone from $50,000per year to $30,000 per year after the separation. Instead, the court found reason to believe that his earnings stayed approximately the same. Next, the husband’s claim that his expenses greatly exceeded his income was also doubted by the court, because the husband failed to be fully transparent regarding all his financial capabilities. For instance, the husband neglected to include a substantial IRA. Finally, the court found no evidence to support the husband’s assertion that he had applied to many full-time positions after the separation. The husband was unable to produce concrete material to back up his claim; he couldn’t produce emails, phone records, or other documentation to substantiate his account. In the end, the court reviewed the totality of the circumstances and concluded that alimony of any sort was inappropriate in this case.
This case stands as a lesson that earning discrepancy alone isn’t sufficient to warrant alimony in Maryland. Again, this may come as a surprise to many readers. Many people erroneously suppose that earning discrepancy will be enough to warrant alimony, but this is simply not true.
Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Information
If you would like to learn more about the finer details of alimony in Maryland, or about how to avoid alimony, contact one of the family law attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-219-8829.
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