Rehabilitative alimony in Mississippi
Returning stay at home parents to work following divorce
Rehabilitative alimony is the third type of alimony which can be awarded in a Mississippi divorce. The Mississippi Supreme Court described it a financial award "to parties who have put their career on hold while taking care of the marital home.” It is intended to allow “the lesser party to start anew without being destitute in the interim.” Lauro v. Lauro. Like periodic alimony, it is modifiable.
The classic example for rehabilitative alimony is a couple that marries and decide the wife should stay at home to care for the children while the husband works. This works great until the couple divorces. The husband has a career and is earning money, but the wife would be destitute without financial support from the husband. The wife, although she may have the ability to earn a living, needs time to return to the workforce or return to school in order to enter the workforce. During this interim period, the wife needs financial support. This is where rehabilitative alimony fits. It will provide the wife an income until such time as she is able to get back on her feet.
Rehabilitative alimony is intended to assist a stay at home spouse get back into the workforce following a divorce. It is for a fixed period of time and can be modified depending on the circumstances. In my next post on alimony, I will discuss the final type of alimony in Mississippi—reimbursement alimony.
