As we have previously discussed on our Somerville, New Jersey, family law blog, a spouse may request to receive alimony payments from another spouse during the divorce process so that the individual can continue to maintain his or her current lifestyle even after divorce. Seeking alimony payments is especially common amongst individuals who stayed home to raise children while the other spouse pursued a career.

Although changes to alimony laws in New Jersey could be made in the near future, which has caused many individuals to be concerned about whether or not the amounts of their alimony payments will change, ex-spouses may also be able to collect Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings and work history rather than their own. Again, this really benefits those who put their careers on hold to raise families or to take care of aging parents while the other spouse worked.

As long as a person was married for 10 years or more to their ex-spouse and is currently unmarried, the individual is entitled to collect Social Security benefits based on his or her ex-spouse's earnings. One exception to the rule is that if the applicant remarried after he or she turned 60, the applicant could still apply for the ex-spouse's benefits.

If the individual meets these requirements, he or she could be entitled to 50 percent of the ex-spouse's benefit payments if the ex-spouse is collecting Social Security. In some cases, 50 percent of an ex-spouse's current Social Security benefits could still be more than the individual's own benefits if he or she spent several years out of the workforce to raise children or to care for aging parents. If the ex-spouse is deceased, the applicant could be entitled to 100 percent of the ex-spouse's benefits.

Collecting Social Security benefits based on an ex-spouse's earnings will have no effect on the amount the ex-spouse receives or the amount the ex-spouse's current marriage partner receives.

Source: Yahoo! Finance, "Boosting Mom's Social Security Payments," Ellen E. Schultz, Jan. 17, 2012