Making a Claim for Alimony

To get a rough idea about how to assess your situation, 
First read a few facts about alimony and 
then take the Quiz.

• Alimony is a periodic payment by one former spouse to the other. The purpose is to provide the means for both of you to deal with your new, unmarried lives on your own.
• You may be able to receive alimony as part of a "limited divorce". A limited divorce is a court-sanctioned legal separation. It is different from a final and complete divorce called an "absolute divorce"
• As a result of Maryland’s equal rights amendment, either a husband or a wife in a marriage may be required by the court to pay alimony. Md. Code Ann. Family Law § 11-101(b).
• Alimony can be awarded only before the final ending of the marriage. Failure to make a claim for alimony as part of a divorce means that you cannot come back later after the marriage has ended and start an alimony claim. The Maryland Court of Appeals has noted," [t]he longstanding rule in Maryland… that the right to claim alimony is extinguished at the time of the severance of the marital relationship." Altman v. Altman, 282 Md. 483, 490, 386 A. 2d 766 (1978).
• If you signed an agreement about alimony, the court is likely to be "bound" by that agreement. This means that the court will not be able to change the agreement as part of your divorce. An agreement between spouses can be broader than what the court might decide if asked to award alimony on its own. For example, the court will only award a periodic monetary payment, however an agreement may cover payment of a mortgage or other type of support. Read Note on Alimony agreements
• The court will consider a long list of factors in deciding if you or your spouse should get alimony. These factors include: length of your marriage; your financial situation during the marriage, now and in the future; your age, physical and mental health; and the reasons for the divorce. See below for a full list of the factors. How important each factor is will depend on individual circumstances and judges (and masters) have very broad discretion. Take the alimony quiz to see if you should consider a claim for alimony.
• There are two types of alimony.
• Alimony during the wait for the divorce – This is also called "alimony pedente lite". A court can award this type of alimony between the time you file for divorce (and make a request for alimony) and the time the divorce is final. The purpose of this type of alimony is to maintain the status quo during the divorce. It does not necessarily mean that you will be awarded alimony after the divorce.
• Alimony after the divorce –
• Indefinite alimony – this is a relatively rare type of alimony awarded with no specific end point. You may receive alimony if (because of your age, an illness, or a disability) you cannot (1) make reasonable progress toward supporting yourself or (2) even if you can make reasonable progress; your ex-spouse’s standard of living is "unconscionably disparate" from yours. "Unconscionably disparate" means that there is a very large and unfair difference between your living standards. Alimony awards may be changed or ended in the future. This may happen if one of the ex-spouses asks the court to consider the alimony amount in the future.
• Rehabilitative alimony – this is the type of alimony most likely to be awarded. Usually it is associated with a time-limited goal such as going back to school. For example, a court may award you alimony for the two years that it takes you to go back to school and finish a degree program that will enable you to better support yourself. While results will vary based on your individual circumstances, a good range for you to use in this estimate is an average of 3-10 years of rehabilitative alimony (if your situation matches the criteria).
• Factors the court will consider in alimony decisions - the court shall consider all the factors for a fair and equitable award, including: but not limited to:
  • the ability of the parties seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
  • the time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
  • the standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
  • the duration of the marriage;
  • the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each of the party to the well-being of the family;
  • the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
  • the age of each party;
  • the physical and mental condition of each party;
  • the ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party's needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony;
  • any agreement between the parties;
  • the financial needs and financial resources of each party, including:
        - all income and assets, including all property that does not produce income;
        - any monetary award concerning property and award of possession and use of the family property
        - the nature and amount of the financial obligations of each party; and
        - the right of each party to receive retirement benefits; and 
  • whether the award would cause a paying spouse or a spouse who is a resident of a care facility with more than two patients to become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur.

Although the court is not required to use a formal checklist, it must demonstrate consideration of all necessary factors, including any that are not expressly listed in this section.  Such "other factors" can be defined as any factors that the court may deem necessary or appropriate in order to arrive at a fair and equitable award of alimony.

Now,
  TAKE THE QUIZ!

Last legal update 5/16/01 (MLAN/LB/AC)