# We've Been Separated for Years - Will I Still Get Alimony? | Brown Family Law

Marriages come in all shapes and sizes, as it were.

Usually, people live together until they decide to separate for good, then they rather quickly file for divorce and get the process started.

Other times, people simply split up and stay married. This can go on for years, sometimes more than a decade.

At some point, though, even those who have been separated for years file for divorce. And when they do, this question arises: **since we’ve been separated for years, will I still get alimony**?

**Technical Legal Answer**

So, the technical answer, as it so often is with attorney is: **it depends**.

Here are a few reasons it depends:

1. Separations fluctuate. If a relationship is on-again-off-again, there’s more of a chance a court will award alimony.
2. One spouse has provided support throughout the separation. If you’ve paid support to your spouse even though you’ve been separated, that may well count as alimony, which would decrease alimony you would pay after divorce.
3. Neither spouse needs money. If neither of you need money from each other to live, and you’ve been separated for years, then it’s pretty hard to prove someone needs alimony.

**Real-Life Answer**

The real-life answer to the question is this: **probably not**.

In my experience, when people are apart for years, they make due with what they have. What I mean is people lives completely separate lives and don’t rely on each other for money.

So, if you’ve been apart for years and have made ends meet all that time, it’s difficult to ask for alimony and say you need money to make ends meet.

That’s almost always how it works out in real life.

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