WEST VIRGINIA Part 31

Factors Considered for Alimony

When a court grants a request for alimony, it’s called an award. Generally, the alimony award is based on the needs of the recipient spouse and the economic resources of the paying spouse. If the marriage ended because of a spouse’s cruelty, conviction of a crime, or adultery, however, then a court must consider this misconduct or "fault" when deciding whether to award alimony and how much is due. This means that an affair, for example, counts against the unfaithful spouse, but it does not automatically prevent this spouse from getting alimony. In circumstances where both spouses misbehaved during marriage, say, both had affairs, then a court will compare the fault when making an award.

Aside from a spouse’s fault, however, getting an alimony award has little to do with merit or punishment. The court uses a set of 20 factors to determine how much alimony to award. They include: