Alimony, Maintenance and Spousal Support

Whenever there is a significant disparity in income and in earning potential, a court may order one spouse to support the other spouse. Such support comes by many names—alimony, maintenance, and spousal support.

These terms are often used interchangeably, but in some states they have very different meanings.

Generally speaking, alimony is tax-deductible to the person who makes the payments. However, it is treated as income and is therefore taxable to the person who receives the alimony. The amount of the alimony paid, and the length of time for making payments, depends on many factors, such as the relative income, earnings, and assets of the parties. The earning abilities of the parties, the amount of child support paid and received, and the comparative financial needs and budgets of the parties.

When parties are getting divorced after a relatively long marriage, or where there is a significant disparity in income, the court may award permanent alimony. In general, permanent alimony must be paid until one of the parties dies, or until the recipient remarries.

In other cases, rehabilitative alimony is awarded to assist a dependent spouse in completing her education, returning to the labor force, or otherwise rehabilitating herself financially. Rehabilitative alimony generally continues for a fixed term and then expires. Some courts recognize other forms of alimony, such as lump sum payments, or periodic payments to reimburse a spouse for contributions she made during the marriage to a spouse’s education or professional practice. Many lawyers negotiate limited term alimony arrangements, and many courts now recognize limited term payment plans.

Many factors contribute to the alimony analysis. These include the length of the marriage, the age and health of the parties, the responsibilities for the children, the earning history of each of the parties, as well as the history of contributions made to the family during the marriage, the availability of other marital assets, investments, and property, and what distribution the court may be making of those assets and property, other sources of support for the parties, and in some cases, whether one of the parties has exhibited marital misconduct of some form. These factors vary from state to state, and different judges will give different weight to certain factors.