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Spousal Support (Alimony)

Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

Spousal support, also called alimony or maintenance, is money one spouse pays the other after separation or divorce. It is distinct from child support, which is for a child's benefit and is calculated under a separate state formula, and distinct from property division, which allocates what already exists rather than creating an ongoing obligation.

Unlike child support, spousal support is discretionary in most states. There is no national formula and many states have none of their own, leaving the court to weigh statutory factors: the length of the marriage, the standard of living during it, each spouse's income, earning capacity, age and health, contributions to the other's career or education, and the time a spouse needs to become self-supporting. A minority of states use advisory guidelines or local formulas, which produce a starting figure a court may depart from.

Support comes in recognizable shapes. Temporary support runs while the case is pending. Rehabilitative support runs for a defined period while a spouse retrains or re-enters work. Durational support runs for a set term. Permanent or indefinite support, once common after long marriages, has been narrowed or abolished by statute in a number of states. Which of these is available is a question of state law before it is a question of the facts.

The tax treatment changed fundamentally and the change is often missed. For divorce or separation instruments executed after 31 December 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payer and not included in the recipient's income. Older instruments generally keep the previous treatment unless modified in a way that expressly adopts the new rule. Because the earlier arrangement effectively subsidized support through the tax code, figures and rules of thumb from before that date do not transfer.

Where this comes from

Spousal support is state law; there is no federal statute setting entitlement, amount or duration, and the factors a court must consider are listed in each state's domestic relations code. The tax treatment is federal: section 11051 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 115-97, repealed the deduction under 26 U.S.C. § 215 and the corresponding inclusion in income under 26 U.S.C. § 71 for any divorce or separation instrument executed after 31 December 2018, and for instruments executed before that date and later modified where the modification expressly provides that the repeal applies. Whether marital misconduct may be considered, whether guidelines apply, and whether indefinite support remains available differ by state. Any minimum marriage length, review period or termination period is fixed by state statute and none is stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

This is the most negotiable major term in a divorce and one of the least predictable, which is why the range of possible outcomes is worth understanding before positions harden. Advice is worth taking where the marriage was long or the incomes are very unequal; where one spouse left the workforce, moved for the other's career, or supported the other through training; where a payer is self-employed or has variable income, since what counts as income is itself litigated; where either spouse expects to remarry or cohabit, because that commonly ends or suspends support and the terms of the order decide how; and where a support figure is being agreed rather than ordered, since an agreement that is not drafted to be modifiable may not be, whatever changes later. The tax change is worth confirming with a professional in any case where an older order is being modified, because the modification can move the instrument onto the new rules.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Divorce & Separation law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z.

Alabama (Birmingham)
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- and 7 more with fewer listed firms
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West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin (Madison)
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Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

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Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

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