Learningly

An alimony payment is a common expense for many divorced Americans. There are more than a few people who are paying alimony to multiple ex-spouses, and while some payments may be limited to a short term (the time between separation and the final divorce decree, for example), it is more or less, a permanent condition.

Divorce laws, and therefore alimony payments, vary widely by state in terms of duration and qualification, but there are some generalities that can be made. First of all, the length of the marriage is taken into account; ten years is fairly standard in most states as an acceptable time frame, and some states include the time spent separated before the divorce as being part of the marriage term. The income (and potential future earnings) of both parties are considered, and normally, the spouse with the highest income (regardless of sex) will be the one paying alimony. (This is based on the assumption that the one with the least income will need support to maintain the same standard of living as in the marriage.) And, if the party who has been ordered to make the alimony payment remarries, his or her new spouse’s income may then, in some states, will be used to determine the amount of alimony to be paid to the ex-spouse. Additionally, in most states, permanent alimony payments cease if the receiving spouse remarries.

The concept of alimony dates back to the days when a woman not only had no other source of income but had to sign over any property she inherited to her husband. He maintained total control over the dispensation of funds, and therefore, if he divorced her, she was left homeless and penniless. Since divorce was only possible under the direst of circumstances (spousal abuse or infidelity), it was argued that, if the husband was at fault, he should continue to support his wife who would still be his wife had he not been guilty. Conversely, if the wife happened to be the transgressor, she was not entitled to alimony because, again, she would still be his wife had she not been at fault.

No-fault divorce laws brought sweeping changes to alimony payments in many states. For example, Texas limits payments to a maximum of three years and only if certain criteria are met, while the same set of circumstances could lead to lifetime payments in the state of Massachusetts.

There are four basic types of alimony payments. Temporary alimony is paid during the time between separation and a final divorce decree. Rehabilitative alimony is paid to a spouse for a designated time period to enable the spouse to acquire the education or training to become self-supporting, and is often ordered where the wife spent her marriage days in her home without ever holding an outside job. Reimbursement alimony is awarded in cases where one spouse has incurred major expenses on behalf of the other, such as putting a spouse through medical school or financing a business for him or her. And permanent alimony, as the name implies, is a lifetime decree that ends only upon the death of one of the principals or if the recipient remarries.