The question of whether or not alimony is necessary in a divorce is one that many Minnesotans have asked before filing for divorce. For many divorcing couples, a large disparity in income between spouses sparks interest in alimony payments. Alimony can become a more challenging issue when both spouse generate copious amounts of income. For divorcing celebrities Ashton Kutcher and ex-wife Demi Moore, alimony may be out of the question.
Many people know the actor from a variety of shows and movies including “That 70’s Show” and know his wife from film roles including “G.I Jane.” The couple married in 2005 but filed for divorce in December of 2012. After seven years of marriage, the couple has generated a great deal of income together. Recently, the actress has requested spousal maintenance payments from the actor.
Throughout the 90’s, the actress was one of the top paid female actresses. In 2011 and 2012, her husband was the top paid television actor. Needless to say, a lot of money was made between the two of them. The purpose of alimony is to balance out unfair financial impacts of a divorce. In this instance, it is unlikely that either party is facing financial difficulty. Representatives of the actor and actress have not released any more specifics or comments about the issue.
In Minnesota, courts will consider a number of factors when deciding whether or not to award alimony, but there are no clear rules to guide that decision. An experienced family law attorney can help divorcing spouses make an argument to the court about why spousal maintenance payments should or should not be ordered in any given case.
Source: Reuters, “Actress Demi Moore asks for alimony from Ashton Kutcher,” March 7, 2013