What is Spousal Maintenance?

Spousal maintenance isn’t an automatic thing. One party must request it from the court in order for the judge to consider it. If a judge does order spousal maintenance, it can be paid over time on a monthly basis or in a lump sum. There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how long someone will pay or receive alimony, either; the court evaluates spousal maintenance on a case-by-case basis. Usually, the timeframe has a lot to do with how long the marriage lasted and how long it would take for the receiving spouse to get on his or her feet and become self-sufficient.

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