Can I claim support if I gave up the chance to finish my degree because of the marriage?

Giving up educational opportunities because of the marriage is one of the recognized bases for compensatory spousal support. If you left school, put a degree on hold, or declined educational advancement to support the household, your spouse's career, or to care for children, that is an economic disadvantage caused by the relationship.

Courts look at what your earning capacity would likely have been had you completed the education, compared to where you are now. Expert evidence about income differences between those with and without the credential, or evidence about your specific career trajectory before the interruption, can be persuasive.

The longer the disruption and the more significant the credential you gave up, the stronger the claim. A person who was halfway through a professional degree (law, medicine, engineering, accounting) and left to support a spouse's career has a stronger case than someone who delayed a few elective courses. The key is connecting the educational sacrifice to a measurable financial disadvantage — not just a general sense of lost opportunity. A lawyer can help you build that connection with the right evidence.