Alimony, also known as spousal support, may be ordered by a court if there is a significant difference in the parties’ incomes. In Massachusetts alimony is first based on the ability of the payor spouse to make periodic payments and the need of the recipient spouse to receive them. If the potential payor has the ability to pay and the recipient has the need, a court will next consider whether there are children to be supported and the level of contribution each parent should be making to their support. Then the court will determine whether there are funds left over for alimony. At that point, the court is required to consider multiple factors such as the length of the marriage, the relative ages and health of each party, the contribution of each to the marital estate, who was primarily responsible for the home during the marriage and so on. The court may also look at the tax ramifications of any payments to be made. In the end, if alimony is appropriate, the court will often order a payment that is 22% – 28% of the difference in the parties’ incomes (after factoring out child support). If there are no children, and the Wife earns $250,000 per year and the Husband earns $100,000 per year and the Wife has healthcare coverage for both of them at no additional cost to her, the Wife could be required to pay the Husband $37.500 per year or $721.15 per week. The length of time she would be required to make these payments would be directly related to how long the parties were married. If these same two people have two young children to support, and the children reside primarily with the Husband, it is very likely their combined income of $350,000 would be accessed for child support and no alimony would be ordered at all.
Alimony in Massachusetts
