A Brief Primer on Alimony

• Author: Brittany Ranson Stonestreet, Andrea Cozza
• Pages: 25-27

SUMMER 2020 25

Types of Alimony Payments

ere are several possible types of alimony:

• A temporary/pendente lite alimony payment may be

ordered during the divorce proceeding in states where

judges have the authority to order it. Temporary alimony

may be awarded to a dependent spouse to ensure his or her

nancial expenses are met during the divorce proceeding.

On a temporary basis, the judge will often try to preserve

the parties’ nancial “status quo” while also considering

each party’s temporary living expenses and current income.

How the court divides the temporary payment of marital

expenses during the divorce process (i.e., who is ordered to

pay for the mortgage, car payments, insurance, credit cards)

could either increase the dependent spouse’s need or decrease

the income-earning spouse’s ability to pay temporary

alimony depending on who is ordered to pay. Temporary

alimony typically terminates upon entry of a nal divorce

order (or order modifying it) and may or may not be

replaced with one of the other forms of alimony below.

A Brief Primer on Alimony

By BRITTANY RANSON STONESTREET AND ANDREA COZZA

Alimony (also referred to as “spousal

support” or “maintenance”) is the

payment of nancial support for a

dependent spouse’s benet during or after

a divorce. e support could be paid by

direct payment of funds to the dependent

spouse or to a third party for the dependent spouse’s benet

(e.g., mortgage payment, car payment, or health insurance

payment). Alimony could be paid as a result of a written

agreement between the parties or by court order. State laws

vary as to what information courts will rely on when

awarding alimony. Most states give judges considerable

exibility (referred to as “judicial discretion”) in determining

the amount and duration of alimony given the particular

facts of each case. However, in limited states or counties,

your judge may use a formula to calculate the alimony award.

Due to the dierences among states, you should always

consult with an attorney in your area to nd out what rules

will apply in your case. e information below is intended as

a general overview.

Published in Family Advocate, Volume 43, Number 1, Summer 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.