San Diego Divorce Lawyer

Q: What is alimony?

A: Alimony, also known as maintenance or spousal support, is a court-ordered payment made by one former spouse to the other, in order to mitigate any negative effects that the divorce may have on one spouse's standard of living. For example, if a couple has been married for a long period of time, and only one spouse has been active in the workforce during that time, the other spouse may have a hard time finding a suitable job after such a long time. Alimony is designed to lessen the financial burden on that spouse and allow them to maintain a similar standard of living even after the divorce is finalized.