Kansas Maintenance / Spousal Support
The purpose of maintenance/spousal support is to rectify an economic imbalance between spouses upon the dissolution of marriage. Standard of living and ability to pay are both primary factors that the Court will consider when determining an award of maintenance. Maintenance is statutory by K.S.A. 1610(b)(2).
Generally, a couple will have to be married for multiple years for a Court to consider setting an amount of maintenance to be paid by one of the parties, however a Court is free to order maintenance no matter how long the parties were married. The statute only directs that if a Court is going to issue an order of maintenance, it shall be an amount that is fair, just and equitable under all of the circumstances.
A typical amount of maintenance for a Court to order in Kansas can be determined by taking the difference in income between the parties, and then taking 25% of that figure. The award will normally be closer to 20% of the difference in income if the paying party is also paying child support. A typical determination in length of maintenance is 1 year of payment for every 3 years of marriage, not to exceed 121 months. Some jurisdictions have published guidelines in determining amount and length of maintenance. A jurisdictions guidelines will also tell you how long you must have been married before maintenance will be considered. However, understand that a Judge can go against the guidelines whenever it feels necessary. You can use the links below to review published examples of jurisdictional guidelines.
K.S.A. 1610(b)(2) - Kansas statute regarding spousal support/maintenance