Alimony, which is also called “spousal support,” is the continuation of financial support from one former spouse to another after a marital separation or divorce.  The motivation of the court to grant alimony is to alleviate the unreasonable economic burdens of divorce or separation that often arise because of the nature of the marriage.  Alimony will be granted in the case that one spouse disproportionally relied upon the other for financial support during the marriage.

The amount of alimony is generally determined by a number of factors.  The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, which was approved by the ABA in 1974, recommends the following determining factors in the amount of alimony granted:  age, physical condition, emotional state, and financial condition of the former spouses; length of time the recipient would need for education or training to become self sufficient; the couple’s standard of living during the marriage; and the ability of the payer spouse to support the recipient as well as himself or herself.  Because it depends so much on the discretion of the judge, the amount of alimony one is likely to be granted is hard to estimate.

Because alimony is often rehabilitative in nature, it is usually ordered only for the length of time that is necessary for the recipient spouse to become able to support himself or herself.  If the divorce decree does not specify the length of time for the spousal support payments to occur, then the payments must continue until the court orders them to end.  There are a few events that are likely to lead to the termination of alimony.  Most alimony payments end when the recipient spouse remarries, though even the payer’s death will not end payments per se.  The court may order that the alimony continue from the payer spouse’s estate or life insurance proceeds if the circumstances dictate.

Types of Alimony

There are a few different types of alimony.  Temporary alimony is given when the couple separates, but has not yet finalized their divorce.  Once the divorce is finalized, the decree will specify the amount and length of the alimony ordered, if any.

Rehabilitative alimony is the most common type of alimony, which is given to a spouse for the sole purpose of supporting them while they take the necessary steps to become self-sufficient.  It is generally given for a fixed period of time, at the end of which, it will be subject to review so the court can determine how to move forward with payments.  The specifics of review, if there even is a prescribed review period, depend on the applicable state’s law.

Permanent alimony continues indefinitely – generally until the death of the payer spouse, the death of the recipient spouse, or the remarriage of the recipient spouse.  Sometimes cohabitation can trigger the termination of alimony, but that varies on a case to case basis because cohabitation does not necessarily imply support. 

Someone who is a party to a permanent alimony arrangement may request a change in their agreement through a motion to raise or lower alimony payments based on a material change in circumstances.  Some examples of events that may qualify as a material change in circumstances are the cohabitation of one of the parties with another person, a drop in income of the payer spouse, or a raise in income of the recipient spouse.

Reimbursement alimony is designed to reimburse one spouse for expenses incurred on behalf of the other during the course of the marriage.  One example of this is if one spouse supported the other while he or she went to college or another career training program.  This applies in scenarios where the recipient spouse directly paid for the payer spouse’s education or training, and if the recipient spouse simply gave financial support to the payer spouse during his or her education or training.

The final type of alimony is lump sum alimony, which is a fixed payment, and cannot be returned even if what would otherwise be a basis for termination of alimony payments occurs after the payment is made.  This type of alimony is usually made in lieu of a property settlement.