Alimony, which is also known as maintenance in Ireland, England, Canada, and Wales, aliment in Scotland, spousal maintenance in Australia, and spousal support in Canada and the United States, is an obligation backed by law that ensures that an individual provides financial backings to a spouse after or before the divorce or marital separation.

This obligation has its roots in family law or the divorce law of a country.

Alimony in the US

In the United States, there are requirements concerning maintenance, recovery, child support payment, and penalties established by law.

When a spouse is looking to get back alimony, such a spouse might use only the collection processes accessible by other creditors.

One of those processes is creating a collection agency aware of the amount involved.

When an individual lets their alimony responsibilities get into arrears even when they can make payments, they may be considered guilty of an offense in a law court and have to go to jail.

The only time alimony obligations can be overlooked is if an individual files for bankruptcy.

When an ex-spouse allows child support responsibilities to pass unattended, such a person might have to give up some licenses and, in extreme cases, go to jail.

Similarly to alimony, an individual can avoid child support responsibilities when successfully filing for bankruptcy.

Types of Alimony

Temporary Alimony: This form of support must be carried out when spouses are looking to get divorced but are already separated.

It is also known as alimony pendente lite. This means “pending the suit” in Latin.

Rehabilitative Alimony: This is financial support offered to a spouse who does not earn well for a while until the spouse can provide for themselves.

Reimbursement Alimony: This is financial support that serves as a payment for expenses made during the marriage by a spouse.

Permanent Alimony

Permanent alimony is financial support provided to a spouse that earns less until the spouse remarries or the death of either of the parties.