The Houston Family Law Blog


Should Jon Ask Kate For Alimony?

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Now that Jon and Kate Gosselin have their divorce finalized, family law attorneys all over the country are wondering if Jon will go back to court and ask for spousal support,

The Gosselins became famous for their reality show John and Kate Plus 8, which featured the lives of their eight child family. However, The Huffington Post reports that Kate Gosselin is now bringing in a lot of money from appearances on Dancing With the Stars, while Jon remains unemployed since his show’s cancellation.

Some people may argue that Jon Gosselin doesn’t really need the financial support, but FindLaw states that courts often have a broad discretion in determining whether to award alimony. Alimony is the amount of money that should be awarded, and the length of time in which the money should be awarded to a spouse during a divorce. Alimony traditionally has been granted to the former wives of breadwinning former husbands, but our culture has certainly become a bit more progressive. Alimony payments from an ex-wife to an ex-husband are on the rise.

There are various types of alimony, but it’s most common for the spousal support to be “rehabilitive.” This means that the alimony is usually only ordered for a certain period of time, until the recipient spouse is able to become self-supporting. The fact that Jon and Kate have eight kids together could end up being a key reason why Jon needs more money. If he’s taking care of the children at times, he might not be able to find full-time work, and therefore courts could be more in favor of granting alimony to the man. However, this is all speculation. If you have specific questions about alimony, it may help to talk to a Houston family law attorney.

Related Resources:

  • Criteria for Ordering Alimony (FindLaw Bookshelf)
  • Mediation of Jon and Kate: Kate to Get Custody of the 8  (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life blog)
  • Browse Through Texas Family Law Attorneys (FindLaw)

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