Alimony vs Retirement

survivingtheyellowbr · 2025-11-21T23:35:09+00:00

Pay her out if you can - do you have a set time or is it lifetime alimony ?

pk2at · 2025-11-18T20:57:17+00:00

As folks are saying it depends on the state. Generally your goal should be to pay 0 alimony and try to reduce CS. In most states, the trick is to give higher portion of retirement/401K which would otherwise get hit with max tax rate.

Heavy-Interaction-47 · 2025-11-18T17:26:24+00:00

Not just the numbers but also if you're in a state that will void the alimony of she remarries or cohabitates.

DedInside_6 · 2025-11-17T21:34:51+00:00

Just pay lump sum. At least in my state, if there is alimony, it is always something they can try to make worse later.

No alimony = no more court for property disputes. Ever.

Washington

No-Tomorrow8150 · 2025-11-17T18:56:34+00:00

Without knowing your specifics it is generally better to cap the alimony negotiate to a lower amount and cut ties. Details matter. But most would negotiate alimony away.

mesi130 · 2025-11-17T17:45:44+00:00

Sit down and do the math. I worked it out so everything was wrapped into one. Alimony, 401k, house equity and misc. All in one lump sum

notconvinced780 · 2025-11-17T15:30:11+00:00

A few considerations from a non-lawyer guy mid-50s who recently went through this: 1) presume you will be held to the alimony portion of any deal you make. The courts probably won’t look kindly on a party using alimony to induce the other party to reduce their claim against a marital asset and the try to claw back that inducement. 2) it’s easy enough to do a discount cash flow analysis of the current cash value of the sum of the alimony payments, then discount them for the likelihood that STBXW will either remarry or cohabitate. Do that and try to maximize the discount to that value in your negotiations. 2) depending on the difference in income that each of you have and whether it is likely to grow, STBXW may also ask for an adjustment moving forward. This too is unlikely (but not unheard of) to be successful. 3) If alimony can be “cash-settled” at the termination of the marriage , it probably reduces risk and decreases irritating interactions with a former spouse. consider the non-financial aspect of having the least entanglement with a former spouse on a go-forward basis. 4) As for retirement share, it’s generally only the amount earned during marriage that is subject to marital division. Anything earned prior to or after, generally is not.

2025-11-17T14:09:44+00:00

The best option will come down to the number. How many year alimony is for? Forever? How big is the retirement? How much is alimony? If they are equal lets say you would give her 500k today or 500k over time through alimony it’s always better overtime because you can invest the money and grow it, inflation, etc

jbezos64 · 2025-11-17T14:07:39+00:00

depends on the numbers

Title	Alimony vs Retirement
Author	TomMarvoloRiddle1926
Upvotes	9
Comments	14
Date	November 17, 2025 2:03 PM UTC (8 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/1ozh3wd/alimony_vs_retirement/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/alimony-vs-retirement.1566708 https://theredarchive.com/post/1566708

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