Alimony and Spousal Support in Maryland

Alimony in Maryland is not automatic, it is not a percentage, and there is no calculator that produces the answer. A court weighs a list of statutory factors and decides what is appropriate on the facts. Two families with similar incomes can reach very different results.

What alimony is meant to do shapes everything else: in most cases it is intended to help a financially dependent spouse become self supporting, not to equalize incomes permanently.

The three kinds of alimony

Alimony pendente lite

Temporary support while the divorce is pending, awarded to maintain the status quo until the case is resolved. It is decided at a pendente lite hearing and it does not predict what the final award will be.

Rehabilitative alimony

The most common form. Support for a defined period while the receiving spouse gets the education, training or work experience needed to become self supporting. The period is set with a purpose in mind, and the amount and duration are usually the heart of the negotiation.

Indefinite alimony

Awarded in limited circumstances. A court may award indefinite alimony only if either:

• the party seeking alimony cannot reasonably be expected to make substantial progress toward becoming self supporting because of age, illness, infirmity or disability; or
• even after the party makes as much progress toward self support as can reasonably be expected, the respective standards of living of the two parties would be unconscionably disparate.

Unconscionably disparate is a demanding standard, and it is fact intensive. Long marriages with a large and durable income gap are the usual setting, but no gap guarantees the result.

The factors a court considers

Maryland courts weigh a statutory list that includes:

• The ability of the party seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self supporting
• The time needed to gain sufficient education or training to find suitable employment
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The duration of the marriage
• The monetary and non-monetary contributions of each party to 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 paying party to meet their own needs while meeting the other’s
• Any agreement between the parties
• The financial needs and resources of each party, including income, assets, obligations and retirement benefits
• Whether an award would affect a party’s eligibility for medical assistance

Note the sixth factor. Marital misconduct is no longer a ground for divorce in Maryland, but the circumstances that led to the breakdown of the marriage remain relevant here.

Proving the numbers

Alimony disputes are usually disputes about income and expenses rather than about law. Where a spouse is self employed, controls a closely held business, or is voluntarily underemployed, establishing actual earning capacity takes work. That is a discovery exercise, and in complex cases an expert one. See also high asset and business owner divorce.

Modification and termination

Whether alimony can be changed later depends on the order and on any agreement. Court ordered alimony may generally be modified on a showing of changed circumstances, but parties can agree to make alimony non-modifiable, and that agreement will usually be enforced. This is one of the terms most worth understanding before signing.

Alimony generally terminates on the death of either party or on the remarriage of the recipient, unless the parties agreed otherwise. See enforcing or modifying an order.

Alimony and the rest of the case

Alimony is decided alongside property division, and each affects the other. A larger property award may reduce the need for support. Alimony paid and received also enters the child support calculation.

Related: family law overview, the divorce process.

Official Maryland resources

• Md. Code, Family Law section 11-106, alimony factors
• Maryland People’s Law Library

Talk with a Towson family law attorney

Every divorce and custody matter turns on its own facts. The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation so you can get straight answers about your situation before you decide what to do next.

Call (410) 847-9075 or request a consultation online. The office is at 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204.

This page provides general information about Maryland law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and how it applies depends on the facts of your case.