Alimony
Alimony is the former name for what is currently called spousal maintenance or spousal support. Spousal maintenance is money the court may order either a husband or wife to pay to the other during or after a dissolution or legal separation case. Spousal maintenance can be awarded in an action for dissolution or for legal separation.
The court may award spousal maintenance for any of the following reasons:
1. The person seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property, including property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for that person’s reasonable needs.
2. The person seeking maintenance is unable to be self-sufficient through appropriate employment, or is the custodian of a child whose age or condition is such that the custodian should not be required to seek employment outside the home or lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to be self-sufficient.
3. The person seeking maintenance contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse.
4. The person seeking maintenance had a marriage of long duration and is of an age that may preclude the possibility of gaining employment adequate to be self-sufficient.
