Spousal Support and Alimony

This FindLaw article explores alimony basics, including different types of alimony awards.

What Is Alimony?

Alimony provides continuing income to a spouse who has little or no pay. The purpose of alimony is to limit any unfair economic effects of a divorce.

One reason for spousal maintenance is that an ex-spouse may have chosen to give up a career to raise the family and care for the home. They may have also paid for the other spouse to go to school so they could get a higher-paying job. They may need time to develop job skills to support themselves.

Laws have also evolved to reflect that either spouse may be eligible for spousal support, not just women.

Types of Alimony or Spousal Support

There are different types of spousal support awards a court can make. Courts will tailor an alimony award based on the divorcing couples’ situation. Your state may have different names for each, but the following will give you a general idea of available options:

Rehabilitative Alimony

A court awards this during a transitional period while the lower-earning spouse is going back to school or is undergoing career training that will increase their earning capacity. Rehabilitative alimony is short-term support until the spouse becomes self-sufficient and can meet their financial needs. Often a judge will look at the duration of the marriage when deciding how long the support payments will continue.

Reimbursement Alimony

This alimony repays one spouse for their contributions to the marriage. Often, one spouse will have supported the other while they attended school or training to increase that spouse's income. This spouse may have even paid for training and higher education costs. One spouse may have stayed home to raise the family and care for the home instead of pursuing a career. This form of spousal support helps to balance the benefits the ex-spouse received from that support.

Temporary Alimony

A judge may order spousal support while the divorce process is ongoing or as part of a legal separation agreement. Temporary support usually terminates once the divorce is final or a new support agreement exists.

Permanent Alimony

The court orders this type of award when one spouse cannot work or support themselves due to age or disability. If there are children whose needs make it difficult for the parent to work to cover their living expenses, the court may grant them spousal support. It is not necessarily permanent. Spousal support will stop once certain conditions are met, such as remarriage or death of the supported spouse.

Lump sum alimony

A judge may order a support award in one lump payment. The ex-spouses may also decide on a lump sum instead of monthly payments.

Determining the Alimony Award

Alimony laws differ by state. Unlike child support, which is mandated according to very specific guidelines, courts have a lot of leeway in determining whether to award spousal support. If ordered, the family law judge will decide how much and for how long.

The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, on which many states' spousal support statutes are based, recommends that courts look at the following factors when determining the amount of alimony to award:

• The age, physical condition, emotional state, and financial situation of the former spouses

• The length of time the recipient would need for education or training to become self-sufficient

• The couple's standard of living during the marriage

• The length of the marriage

• The ability of the payer spouse to support the recipient and still support themself

Length of Time for Alimony Awards

Courts order spousal support for set periods of time, including long-term awards. This is especially true if a spouse is older, disabled, or ill. If the divorce decree doesn't specify a spousal support termination date, payments must continue until the court orders otherwise.

There has been an increase in judges ordering rehabilitative alimony. This form of support only continues for as long as necessary for the recipient spouse to receive training to become self-supporting. Most awards end if the receiving spouse remarries. Sometimes it ends when they begin to cohabitate with someone else.

Spousal support can end when the payer dies, although that isn't necessarily automatic. In cases where the recipient spouse is unlikely to become gainfully employed due to age or health considerations, the court may order support from the payer's estate or life insurance proceeds.

Increasing or Decreasing Alimony Awards

Unlike child support, which has occasional cost-of-living increases, an alimony order tends to stay the same from year to year. Even if the ex-spouse has a significant increase in taxable income or receives large bonuses at work, the former spouse will not benefit from that increase like a child might with an increase in support.

A court may consider adjusting spousal support if there is a significant change in the paying spouse's circumstances, such as a job loss or disability.

If a paying spouse's income significantly drops to the point where they can no longer afford alimony, they may petition the court to reduce their alimony payment. They must prove their inability to meet their spousal support obligations to the court.

Enforcing Support Orders

Alimony awards may be hard to estimate, but gauging whether the payer spouse will follow a support order is even harder to predict. Spousal support enforcement is not like child support enforcement, which has the "teeth" of wage garnishment, liens, and even arrests.

Because a court can order alimony, the mechanisms available for enforcing any court order are open to a former spouse who's owed alimony. The alimony recipient can return to court in a contempt proceeding to force payment.

Spousal Support Trends

In the past, most alimony awards were for former wives from breadwinning former husbands. Now that most marriages include two wage earners, women are less dependent. More men may be primary parents to minor children while the wife works. Courts and spousal support awards have kept pace. Orders of alimony payments from ex-wife to ex-husband are on the rise. A court may order spousal support regardless of whom has child custody.

Spousal Support and Same-Sex Marriages

Spousal support trends are also changing due to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Same-sex married couples have the same rights and privileges as any married couple. Courts award spousal support under the same guidelines regardless of the married couple's sexes.

Tax Implications of Alimony Awards

The tax advantages and penalties for spousal support have changed significantly as of 2019. Spousal support payments are no longer deductible for the paying spouse on their taxes if the alimony order was entered after January 1, 2019. The person receiving spousal support does not have to claim the payments as taxable income.

This will cost some tax savings to the spouse making payments. But it benefits the already financially disadvantaged spouse receiving support. For more information about how spousal support may affect your taxes, see FindLaw's article on Alimony and Taxes or consult a local divorce attorney.

Get Legal Help

If you are considering a divorce and need alimony, you should speak to a family law attorney. Spousal support plays an important role in adjusting to life, post-divorce. Many family law attorneys specialize in divorce law, so you can also choose to speak to a divorce attorney. Divorce attorneys are divorce law experts and can help you navigate your divorce case. Speak to a divorce attorney today.