A Short Guide to Oregon Alimony Calculators
An Oregon alimony calculator estimates how much alimony will be ordered in a marriage based on a few finance-related variables. They’re modeled on child support calculators but are much less common because state guidelines are looser for alimony, making mathematical formulas inaccurate. Even though it is impossible to find a good alimony calculator in Oregon, you can still estimate what an alimony payment will be. All you need to do is look a little at your marriage’s finances and Oregon legal practices.
A Rough Oregon Alimony Calculator
There is no such thing as an accurate Oregon alimony calculator, but you can still get a ballpark figure of the amount of alimony likely to be requested, if not awarded, by analyzing your marriage’s finances. Here’s how, in four simple steps.
1. Calculate your joint married cost of living. This should be easy using passed income tax forms. Only consider the last 12 months spent living together, and disregard all time spent living in separation. Also disregard any costs that were incurred because of minor children or other dependents like an ailing relative. You should only be concerned with costs incurred just for the couple getting divorced.
2. Estimate the individual married standard of living by dividing the joint married cost of living by two. This is done to roughly calculate the amount of money that it would take for just one individual to live independently at the married standard of living. The number that the Oregon alimony calculator will return will be somewhat lower than the actual individual married standard of living, but again, this is just a rough estimate.
3. Now subtract the income earned by the spouse with the lower income from the individual married standard of living. If there’s a difference, this is likely similar, if somewhat lower, to the annual amount that the lower-income spouse’s lawyers will request in alimony.
4. Find the monthly alimony check by dividing the result by 12.
Making Your Oregon Alimony Calculator More Precise
The Oregon legislature has ordered judges to consider a few facts in crafting alimony awards. Does looking at your alimony calculator estimate which these factors in mind seem likely to lower the awarded amount or raise it?
Factors for Oregon Alimony Calculators:
• The length of the marriage: The longer the marriage, the more alimony is paid and the longer it is paid. Keep in mind that short marriages, especially those for five years or less, usually only result in alimony if one partner is in poor health.
• The earning capacity of both partners: Those who simply choose not to work should not benefit from an Oregon alimony calculator.
• The ages of the parties: The older the spouse, the more likely they are to be afforded alimony.
• Debt: Debt afforded to one spouse in the divorce settlement will result in being favored by an Oregon alimony calculator.
• Cost of health care: If the spouse providing alimony also provides health care, that should lower alimony costs.
