Alimony is the financial support for spousal maintenance that one spouse provides to the other after divorce. It is in addition to and separate from division of marital property.
It can be either temporary or permanent. In the period intervening between the institution of legal action for dissolution of marriage and enforcement of decree of divorce, the court may pass orders for temporary alimony to address the immediate concerns of the parties, which cannot wait until the final resolution of disputes.
Factors that weigh with the court in deciding alimony matters include the age and marketable skills of the claimant, the income of both the spouses, the length of the marriage etc.
A spouse who was financially dependent on the other spouse during the marriage is entitled to alimony.
Many states allow the courts to take into account marital faults and abuses for deciding if alimony should be allowed and if so, the amount of the same
