My husband and I have been married for 32 years. He recently…

Hello:

You would be entitled to an equal division of all matrimonial assets, which would include any pension that was earned during the marriage.

Regarding spousal support, if a spouse has been out of the work force or dependent on the other spouse for a significant length of time and has a need and the other spouse has the ability to easily provide support, there is little question but that some amount will be ordered. But the issue of how much and how long you will receive support is in the discretion of the court. There are no laws that dictate to the court a formula for how much has to be paid, or for how long, and this is determined on a case by case basis by a judge. There is also no law that says that support should equalize the net incomes of the spouses, although courts have said that this may be a common result of support after a very long term marriage such as 32 years. So the best case scenario is that you would you could receive an amount that would after tax (as support payments are tax deductible to your husband and taxable income to you ) ) give you approximately equal incomes.

A judge will have to consider whether such level of support is fair, with a goal to allow each spouse to have a roughly equivalent lifestyle to that enjoyed prior to separation.

If he is collecting pension now and you receive a division of the pension, this will be taken into account as to whether you would also get spousal support.

There are support guidelines that are considered by the courts. These are not law. They are advisory guidelines only created by two professors. A judge is free to apply the guidelines or ignore them, but many courts will at least ask counsel for a calculation. If you want to tell me your taxable income and that of your spouse, I can tell you what those guidelines provide for a monthly payment.

It is not a factor to support as to why the relationship broke down, or that one spouse was unfaithful.

As to how long support would continue most common in such circumstances (long term marriage, high income earning spouse or large difference in incomes, with other spouse absent from the work force during long periods) would be an order that support continue without time limit. Certainly there would be an entitlement for some years at the least, but likely a court would put no time limit, and allow the parties to return to court to seek a change of the order if there is some significant change in circumstances, such as if your income drops dramatically or the wife's goes up unexpectedly.

I could not give an opinion as to an exact number you may receive, both as we are not permitted by site and Law Society rules to give legal opinions through this site, but because there is much more that goes into such a calculation than just knowing your income. Also relevant are his expenses, likely future expenses, lifestyle during marriage, ages, your expenses, any likely change in incomes, and health factors. You will need to speak in person with a lawyer for an opinion. Even then a lawyer will likely give you a range at best that he or she sees as fair or that may be ordered by a court. The final decision is up to a judge. Pinning down an accurate number that may be ordered is notoriously difficult given the wide discretion that judges have in the matter of spousal support.