Alimony

Alimony, spousal support, and maintenance all mean the same thing: money one spouse pays to the other after a divorce. The purpose is to help the lower-earning spouse—or someone who left the workforce to raise children or run the household—get through the divorce and become financially independent. 

Over the past decade, courts have awarded alimony less often and for shorter periods. Judges focus more on "rehabilitative" support, which helps a spouse get job training or reenter the workforce rather than providing long-term payments. When both spouses work and their incomes are fairly similar, courts usually don't award alimony at all. 

Some states, like Texas, have laws limiting alimony payments to a certain period of time. In other places, alimony ends automatically when the spouse receiving it remarries or begins living with a partner. Many divorce agreements and court judgments also include a specific date when alimony payments will end. 

Alimony Laws by State

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