Alimony and spousal support are different terms for the same payment. Alimony comes from the Latin alimony, which means sustenance to assure the wife’s lodging, clothing, food and other necessities after separation.


Alimony compensates a spouse for her (and sometimes now his) contribution to the home or for the development of the other spouse’s career. It is also given to make up for the financial problems of one spouse.

The gender neutral term spousal support came into use in 1981, when a court ordered a woman to pay monthly support to her husband. The term alimony historically meant a support payment from a husband to a wife, and in the main, when alimony is awarded, it is the woman who receives it. A judge may order either a husband or a wife to pay support, depending on which spouse was the high earner in the relationship.

In most jurisdictions, judges exercise broad discretion in awarding alimony, its amount and duration. The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, on which many states' spousal support statutes are based, recommends that courts consider the following factors in making decisions about alimony awards: the age, physical condition, emotional state, and financial condition of the former spouse, the length of time the recipient needs education or training to become self-sufficient, the couple's standard of living, the length of the marriage, and the ability of the payor spouse to support the recipient and support himself or herself.

Alimony is mainly divided into four categories: temporary alimony, rehabilitative alimony, permanent alimony and reimbursement alimony. Temporary alimony (alimony pendent lite) is given to one spouse (usually the woman) pending a divorce. Rehabilitative alimony is given to a lesser earning spouse till she (or he) becomes self-sufficient. Permanent alimony is also given to the lesser earning spouse until the death of either one of them or until remarriage of the recipient. Reimbursement alimony is given as reimbursement for the expenses incurred by a spouse during the time of marriage.

Courts are most likely to award permanent alimony in the case of a middle-aged stay-at-home mother who faces a heroically difficult climb to reenter a job market indifferent to her stale job skills. Even though lifetime alimony is raw material for standup comedians in nightclubs, the career homemaker very often needs this protection.

Sometimes, a judge awards a one-time payment known as "lump sum" spousal support.

Communication is the single most important thing to consider when saving a marriage: really listening. Without open communications and being able to discuss issues, spouses cannot save marriages. A healthy relationship is based on open communication.

The enforcement of alimony payments is not like child-support, which has the "teeth" of wage garnishment, liens, and other enforcement mechanisms. In the event of failure to comply, the recipient can, however, return to court to force payment in a contempt action.

Alimony is often considered "rehabilitative," that is, ordered as long as necessary for the recipient to receive training and become self-supporting. If the divorce decree does not specify a termination date, the payments continue until the court orders otherwise. Most awards end if the recipient remarries. Termination upon the payor's death is not necessarily automatic; in cases in which the recipient spouse is unlikely to obtain gainful employment, due perhaps to age or health considerations, the court may order that further support be provided from the payor's estate or life insurance proceeds.

In the past, most alimony awards provided for payments to former wives by breadwinning former husbands. Now most marriages include two wage earners. Women are viewed as less dependent, and men may be primary parents. More and more, the tradition of men paying and women receiving spousal support is being eroded, and orders of alimony payments from ex-wife to ex-husband are on the rise.