Question: My wife of nine years (age 33) helped me in my business for six years before we split. Although we can’t get along as spouses, she is an exceptional worker and very bright. While working for me, I paid her a salary and also established a retirement fund for her. She is healthy and quite capable of employment, but soon after we separated, her father died and she inherited a stock portfolio worth more than $750,000.

Now she refuses to work and claims that the income from her inheritance shouldn’t count while seeking alimony from me. Although I continue to operate the business that I owned before we married, I can’t see why I should be saddled with alimony for the rest of my life, especially when she is as capable of working as I am, and is the beneficiary of a rather large inheritance that can earn enough income to at least supplement her lifestyle. On the other hand, I’m not a fool and don't want to run up legal bills if there is a way to compromise. Are there any short-term options that might be a middle ground?

Answer: While this question is best answered by a lawyer familiar with the laws of your state of residence, it would appear that the standard of living to which you and she were accustomed may well play a role in a judge’s decision. However, what we are really talking about here is a way in which you and your wife can resolve your financial situation and go your separate ways with no long-term tether in the form of continuing payments.

Given the fact that your wife should be able to conservatively earn a 5 percent return on her inheritance, her annual income from that alone would be $37,500. And, contrary to her way of thinking, this income should certainly be considered in the final analysis. Moreover, if her legitimate expenses are $60,000 annually, she wouldn’t have to work very hard to make up the difference.

The goal here is to encourage everyone to work to capacity and become self-supporting after a divorce. Therefore, if you offer to pay alimony that is both time- and amount-limited - for example, $1,500 per month for a time not to exceed three years – with appropriate contingencies to make it attractive to you from a taxation perspective, we believe a reasonable solution could be at hand. As long as she is healthy and capable of employment, this does not look like a long-term alimony case to us.

Some of the factors that may be considered by the court in deciding whether to award alimony, and for how long, are: (1) the length of the marriage; (2) the ages, health conditions, and educational levels of you both; (3) the respective financial resources and accustomed standard of living; (4) whether you can earn enough to meet your needs while also meeting those of your wife; (5) if she needs it, the length of time it will take for her to acquire training or skills to become employed; and (6) the likelihood that she will be successful in getting a job.

Remember that no one can guarantee either of you a result if the matter goes before a judge, where decisions can sometimes be like playing roulette. We suggest a negotiated resolution to your situation, if possible. If not, legal fees won’t be able to be avoided.