Alimony is often thought to be a payment made from divorced men to their ex-wives to help support them financially. However, these days, more men are getting alimony than ever. Though you need to talk to a divorce lawyer to find out if you are likely to receive spousal support, you can get an idea of whether you may be eligible to get alimony as a male.

The current law for maintenance was enacted in 1980 under Domestic Relations Law Section 236-B(6). In order to distinguish old cases from the new ones, the term alimony was left for old divorce actions, while the term maintenance was adopted for new actions.