In the U.S.--The word alimony describes support payments made by one ex-spouse to the other. In some states this is called maintenance or spousal support. **Few states have legal guidelines about alimony**. Some states continue to grant long-term alimony if there has been a long marriage and there will be a significant disparity in earning capacity, but in recent years the trend has been away from providing life-long income for the former spouse. In most states, alimony is paid if there is a significant imbalance in income, and only to allow the less-moneyed person to become self-supporting over a specific period of time through education or special training. Spousal support is also sometimes provided for a specific period of time so that a parent can stay home to care for a very young child. In questions one and two, we will explore some of the common sense factors which you will want to consider in deciding whether alimony is right for your situation. In other words, there is no specific formula that is used to calculate alimony payments on a "one size fits all" basis. If there are children involved, child support is the first prioroty (most states do have a specific formula to calculate that unlike alimony). There is a great Q&A on the topic located here: http://www.divorcehq.com/articles/alimonysupport.html Also, alimony is more or less archaic and was initially intended for a society where women did not work and men were the sole wage earners. It also used to be common for the party who was deemed at fault or more at fault for the breakdown of the marriage to pay alimony or forfeit rights to claim alimony pyments--this has changed considerably too. It is still granted and very much an issue in family courts today though. Some couples choose to decline alimony payments or reduce them in exchange for other considerations. I can give you a personal example of this: I live in VA and they award alimony payments more liberally than most states. I was married for 7 years. Spouse worked full time, I worked part. He earned 1.5 times more than me. No kids. I filed "no fault". I agreed to only accept 2 years of alimony payments at roughly $15,000 a year (I was entitled to 5 years) if he would accept responsibility for 100% of the marital debt and cash in his 401(k) and give me the proceeds. A trade off of sorts. Of course I had to pay taxes on the alimony payments and he got a tax deduction for it. We worked out the terms so that a judge did not decide for us. If you can avoid letting a judge decide, I recommend you do so. Hope this answers the question for you and be sure to check out the link provided (it is VERY thorough regarding alimony payments).