Spousal Support Overview
Spousal Support Resources
During a divorce or legal separation proceeding, a court may impose a financial obligation on one spouse to continue supporting the other after the divorce or separation. This obligation may be called alimony, spousal support or maintenance, and will depend on the individual circumstances of the parties. The factors that determine the amount and duration of alimony or support that will be granted include:
- the length of the marriage,
- the age of each party at the time of the divorce,
- the amount of time the parties were separated while still legally married,
- the future financial prospects of each party,
- the income of each party, and
- the health or well-being of each party.
In the United States, the tax law treats alimony as income, so the spouse that pays alimoney may deduct it from his or her income and the spouse that receives alimony must declare it on his or her income tax form.