Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia),[1] is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce.
Alimony pendente lite was given until the divorce decree, based on the husband's duty to support the wife during a marriage that still continued.
Post-divorce or permanent alimony was also based on the notion that the marriage continued, as ecclesiastical courts could only award a divorce a mensa et thoro, similar to a legal separation today.
[6] Alimony to wives was paid because it was assumed that the marriage, and the wife's right to support, would have continued but for the misbehavior of the husband.
[7] According to the American Bar Association, marital fault is a "factor" in awarding alimony in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
[11][14] Most recently, in several high-profile divorces, women such as Britney Spears, Victoria Principal, and Jessica Simpson have paid multimillion-dollar settlements in lieu of alimony to ex-husbands.
[15][16] According to divorce lawyers, aggressive pursuit of spousal support by men is becoming more common, as the stigma associated with asking for alimony fades.
An important distinction between the two is that common-law spouses must start an action claiming spousal support within one year of the breakdown of the relationship.
[21] While declaring bankruptcy does not absolve Canadians of obligations to pay alimony or child support, a 2011 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada established that under current laws "equalization payments agreed to as part of a divorce are considered debts, and are wiped off a person's balance sheet when they declare bankruptcy.
[24] The same "generally equal standard of living" applies also to post-divorce period in special cases, when the payee wasn't mostly responsible for the failure of marriage or did not agree with the divorce and the payee suffered serious harm due to the divorce and hadn't committed an act of domestic violence against the payer.
In such case the payee may request alimony in amount providing "generally equal standard of living" for a period adequate to circumstances, but no longer than three years.
[25] Under traditional English common law, a woman gave up her personal property rights on marriage (see Coverture).
The spouse who is not responsible for the separation has, in fact, the right to receive from the other "what is necessary for its maintenance" (Article 156 of the Italian Civil Code).
5, paragraph 6, of Law 898/1970 provides for the obligation for a spouse to periodically provide the other with a check "when the latter does not have adequate means or in any case cannot obtain them for objective reasons", the determination of which it is entrusted to certain specific parameters (conditions of the spouses, reasons for the decision, personal and economic contribution given by each to the family management and to the formation of the patrimony of each or the common one, income of both, duration of marriage).
Japanese courts typically award a one-time payment of isha-ryo, or consolation money, to the "wronged" spouse in the divorce, a type of compensation which does not exist in some other jurisdictions such as most U.S.
Once the requesting spouse can reasonably demonstrate that he/she has given the best effort in good faith to secure an independent income but failed, only then the case is taken into consideration.
In Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee, for example, there are 135 Appellate Cases in addition to 47 sections of State Statute that shape divorce law.
Similarly, in 2013, Colorado signed into law alimony reform, creating a standardized non-presumptive guideline upon which courts can rely.
California is the only state with a law that requires that the parties be represented by counsel if spousal support (alimony) is limited by the agreement.
[11][52][53] Some of the critical issues that proponents and opponents of alimony reform disagree upon are: In 2012, bills were introduced in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate.
[63] California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia have all passed laws that allow for the modification or termination of alimony upon demonstration that the recipient is cohabitating with another person.
[66] In divorces and separation agreements signed on December 31, 2018 and earlier, alimony is tax-deductible for the payer, and treated as taxable income for the recipient.
Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, for divorce judgments dated January 1, 2019 and later, spousal support is treated as not-taxable and non-deductible for either party.