In general, mandatory factors include the length of the marriage; the age, health and occupation of the parties; lifestyle of the spouses during marriage; needs and liabilities; contributions to the marital during the marriage; and employability.

Courts also have latitude in the noncustodial parent (usually the father).

In many states the behavior of the parties during the marriage is a mandatory factor, and courts frown on economic misbehavior, such as dissipating or hiding assets.

How a court weighs and considers these factors, even the mandatory ones, is, to some degree, a matter of judicial discretion. Implicit in the idea of mandatory and discretionary factors is the recognition that one set formula cannot cover all particular situations that may arise in domestic relations.

See also Judicial Discretion; Mandatory Factors.