Traditionally, alimony payments are made in monthly installments. For instance, your ex may be ordered to pay you $2,000 per month in support. That works out to $24,000 every year for a set amount of years.
However, some people opt to take a lump-sum payment. For example, if the payments are ordered for 10 years, you could also take $240,000 up front and then receive no monthly payments.
Naturally, this isn’t possible for all couples; your ex needs to have $240,000 in disposable income to make the payment. However, if it is available, there are some big upsides to doing it this way. They include the following:
- You don’t have to worry about your ex losing his or her job. You get the security of knowing that all 10 years’ worth of payments are coming in, no matter what happens with your ex’s financial future.
- You don’t have to worry about nonpayment issues. As with child support, some people fail to pay every month or stop paying entirely. This is illegal and there are steps you can take to collect, but the lump sum means you never have to deal with it.
- You and your ex can fully end your relationship. Some people don’t enjoy the thought of communicating with an ex every month for the next decade. The lump sum allows them to cleanly end the relationship and move on.
When you go to divorce court, make sure you really know what all of your spousal support options are. Many people overlook the benefits of the lump-sum payment simply because they don’t know that it’s a possibility.
Source: FindLaw, “Avoid Alimony Monthly Payment Programs,” accessed March 08, 2018
