Alimony in a Maryland Divorce - Southern Maryland Law

Alimony is a payment from one divorcing spouse to the other divorcing spouse in order to help the second spouse become self-supporting. It can be awarded during or after a divorce.

When alimony is ordered, the divorce courts in Maryland favor awarding temporary alimony. This is different from indefinite alimony. Both types are discussed below.

The idea is to allow a time period so the spouse receiving alimony can “rehabilitate” themselves. The Court wants the spouse receiving alimony to get back to become self supporting.

Self-supporting means more than just being able to get a job that pays the bills without financial assistance. The former spouses must be able to survive without an unfair financial difference between them.

So if you and your spouse both have jobs that pay about the same amount, alimony is not likely to be considered. However, if one spouse makes twice the income of the other spouse, or if one spouse does not work at all, alimony could be an issue in your divorce case.

Of course, the devil is in the details, and you should keep reading to find out what those details are. You should also definitely seek the advice and guidance of a family law attorney if you think alimony is a possibility in your divorce case.

Whether or not you get alimony depends on the specific facts of your case. Each situation is different. In Maryland, the court really looks at alimony requests on a case by case basis.

An attorney familiar with your local courts can tell you if it is likely to be awarded in your case.

YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR ALIMONY

In Maryland, alimony is not automatically given in divorce cases. A spouse has to specifically ask the Court for alimony, or the divorce Court will not consider it at all.

You can certainly get it if you need it, but you have to ask for it and prove you are entitled to it.

If you do request alimony, you then have to prove that you can actually get a divorce. The Court will not award any kind of alimony unless you show you are likely to get an annulment or an absolute divorce.

Basically, you have to ask for alimony and prove the grounds for a divorce before alimony is awarded.

See our Free Legal Guide to Divorce for more on what “grounds for divorce” are and why you need them.

TAXES

Warning: We are not accountants. They are the best people to give tax advice. You should consult one if alimony is an issue in your Maryland divorce case.

However, generally speaking, alimony is no longer something with tax implications as of January 1, 2019. If your agreement or award is dated after January 1, 2019, alimony is not taxable (or tax deductible). If you have an agreement or court order awarding alimony before January 1, 2019, then the spouse that pays alimony gets a tax deduction, and the spouse getting alimony has to claim it as income.

THE NEED FOR PROOF

In order to get alimony, you must have evidence that it is called for in your case. You must argue that you will get alimony based on the factors the court must consider under the law.

The Court will consider a lot of “factors”, based on what you present at a contested hearing with formal rules of evidence. These factors will decide if alimony should be awarded, how much, and for how long.

Courts will not consider your request for alimony if you do not present your reasons for or against it. This is why we never advise anyone to try and handle an alimony case on their own.

There are some proceedings you can do on your own. Even then, we encourage you to get a consultation for guidance. Alimony is complicated and requires a lot of proof.

Do not try to handle your own claim for alimony. If you want alimony, look at the attorney’s fees as an investment in getting that future alimony. If you may be subject to paying alimony, then you probably have enough money to consult an attorney.

TYPES OF ALIMONY

There are three different types of alimony in Maryland:

Temporary Alimony – awarded before the divorce proceeding.
Rehabilitative Alimony – awarded after the divorce proceeding, and for a limited time.
Indefinite Alimony – continues into the future, until death or remarriage.

TEMPORARY ALIMONY

Temporary alimony can be awarded before getting your final divorce order. The Court will base their decision on the current need for temporary alimony, and the likelihood of a spouse being awarded alimony at the divorce proceeding.

The spouse requesting temporary alimony must prove:

There was a marriage,
You have good grounds for the divorce,
You have a financial need, and
The other spouse has the ability to pay.

Temporary alimony can lead to more alimony later. If temporary alimony is paid before your divorce is formally filed, the Court may be more likely to grant rehabilitative or indefinite alimony later.

Get a divorce lawyer to help you early in the process.

REHABILITATIVE ALIMONY

This is also called statutory alimony. In Maryland, rehabilitative alimony is much more common than indefinite alimony in divorce proceedings.

Rehabilitative alimony is paid for a certain period of time – until the spouse receiving alimony is able to become self-supporting.

The Court will not often grant long periods of alimony. They want each party to a divorce proceeding to become self supporting as soon as practical.

Alimony can be awarded from the date the request for alimony was filed. This is called back dating.

Therefore, alimony can start on the day of the original complaint requesting alimony – even if it was filed months ago.

The spouse requesting rehabilitative alimony must prove it is fair because of:

Their inability to be self-supporting after the divorce,
The time required to find suitable employment,
The standard of living of the parties during the marriage,
The length of marriage,
The contributions (both monetary and non-monetary) made to the well-being of the family,
The circumstances contributing to the breakup,
The age of each party,
The physical and mental condition of each party,
The ability of the paying spouse to pay alimony while still supporting themselves after the divorce,
Any agreement between the parties concerning alimony,
The financial needs and resources of each party, and
The need of one spouse for medical care.

That is a long list, and it makes for a complicated trial. Each of these factors has special rules and exceptions that may apply in your case.

To make matters more confusing, rehabilitative and indefinite alimony can be awarded together. If awarded together, rehabilitative alimony will end at a specified time, and indefinite alimony would continue after that.

INDEFINITE ALIMONY

Indefinite does not mean permanent. Just because the Court does not set an end date, doesn’t mean it won’t ever end.

You can modify indefinite alimony as discussed below. It will also terminate if the spouse receiving alimony re-marries, or if either spouse dies.

A spouse might get indefinite alimony when they cannot be expected to become self-supporting due to an inability to earn enough, a disability, or other barriers to earning a living.

Indefinite alimony can also be awarded if there is a large difference between the incomes of the parties which will persist after the divorce. The law refers to this as a “disparity” between the parties.

There is no set guideline for finding a disparity in a divorce case. The Courts address it on a case by case basis. It is more than a simple math exercise.

If the disparity is so great to be considered grossly unfair, then indefinite alimony may be awarded.

Take this example: Ann makes $250,000 a year and Bob makes $20,000 a year. If Bob will never reach the same level of income as Ann, even if he had all the training he could, then Bob may get indefinite alimony. (This is an extreme example used to prove the point. Don’t take those numbers as necessary legal thresholds.)

When considering indefinite alimony, the Court will use the same factors as rehabilitative alimony.

After that, the Court will also consider:

Age, illness, sickness or disability prohibiting a person from making substantial progress towards becoming self-supporting after a divorce is final.
Will the standard of living of the parties after the divorce be unfairly different?

MODIFICATION OF ALIMONY

To modify alimony, the Court must find there has been a “change of circumstances” since the original divorce proceeding. There are two different ways this can be done.

There can be an extension of time that alimony is provided, or
The dollar amount of the payment can be changed

In order to extend the time period of alimony, a request must be made – and that request must occur before the original alimony award expires.

The Court will look at those same alimony factors listed above. The Court will award more alimony if they find that without the extension there would be a harsh and unfair result.

When modifying the amount of alimony paid, the requesting party must show there is a need for modification. There must be something new, or something that has changed since the initial award of alimony.

If the issues brought up now could have been dealt with at the original divorce proceeding, the Court may not consider them during the modification.

Also, if you and your spouse have an agreement about alimony that says a divorce Court may not modify it, or that specifically waives any right to alimony, the Court is less likely to modify that agreement during your divorce.

Alimony is not like child support, which the Court will always reconsider regardless of what you agree to. Children of divorce get special protection from the Court. Read more about this in our Free Legal Guide to Child Custody & Child Support.

The Court is more likely to let adults make their own deals after a divorce.

TERMINATION OF ALIMONY

The termination of alimony is rather simple. Unless you and your spouse agree otherwise (in a written agreement) it terminates upon:

The death of either party,
The marriage of the spouse receiving alimony, or
The Court finds termination is necessary to avoid a harsh and unfair result. The spouse who is trying to terminate alimony has the burden of proving the harsh and unfair result.

PALIMONY

Palimony is not actually a legal term of art (like alimony). It is a term coined in the media. It means Alimony that is paid to a pal, or girlfriend or boyfriend.

The situation is this: the parties are not married, but are living together in a marriage-like relationship. This is called a common law marriage.

Maryland does not have common law marriage, nor does it recognize a non-married couple’s right to alimony upon a break-up of the relationship.

You must have been married to receive alimony in Maryland. There is no palimony in Maryland.

(However, you may be able to make some claim for contribution or expenses under a contract law theory. This is not easy, but can be done. If you are not married and want monetary credit for contributions or expenses you made during the relationship, you should get a consultation with an attorney.)

Conclusion & Next Steps

If you think you may have a case for alimony in a Maryland divorce case, you should seek a consultation with a Maryland attorney.

Alimony is very fact specific, and an attorney must go over the specific facts of your case before they can tell you if you may qualify for it.

If you would like a consultation with our divorce attorneys, please call us for a consultation today.

Want to know more? Discover what you need to know about divorce in Maryland. Click here to see our Free Legal Consumer Guide to divorce cases in Maryland and get answers to your questions today. Click here to read our Free Legal Consumer Guide to Child Custody. Know your options. Be informed. Protect yourself.

Need a divorce lawyer or child custody attorney? Please contact us for a consultation today if you need a Maryland divorce lawyer for your family law case.

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All About Alimony in a Maryland Divorce

WHAT IS ALIMONY?

YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR ALIMONY

TAXES

THE NEED FOR PROOF