Alimony in Alabama| Spousal Support (Guide) 2023

It’s no secret that going through a divorce may be emotionally draining, but it can also leave you financially drained when everything is said and done. The court may grant you alimony if you require financial assistance during or after your divorce and your spouse is able to provide it.

In Alabama, alimony, also known as “spousal support” or “spousal maintenance,” is money paid by one spouse to the other for financial support. Alimony is intended to ensure that both spouses are financially able to meet their basic needs during and after the divorce.

If one spouse earns more money than the other, the court may order that spouse to help the lower-earning spouse for a set length of time. This article will explain to you about alimony in Alabama.

Spousal Support In Alabama

The Governor of Alabama signed HB 257 into law on April 13, 2017, which establishes new regulations of alimony in Alabama. In the past, the court might grant interim, periodic, or permanent assistance to parties in divorce cases. The court can still grant permanent—or forever—support under the new statute, but only if the case fits tight criteria.

Interim Support

Interim support, often known as “alimony pendente lite,” is a temporary monetary award made while a divorce is pending. To be eligible for temporary support from a spouse, the petitioning party must show the court that there is a need for support, that the other party is capable of providing it, and that the marriage is legal. The court may make the interim award retroactive to the divorce filing date because the request for interim alimony takes time. When a court issues a final order, temporary support stops.

Periodic Alimony

Periodic alimony is when one spouse pays the other a fixed sum of money weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly for a specified period of time. The most prevalent type of periodic alimony is “rehabilitative support,” which is a payment made to the lower-earning spouse until that spouse obtains the necessary job training, education, or skills to enter the workforce and become self-sufficient. In circumstances when one party has left the workforce to raise a family, rehabilitative support is prevalent.

Rehabilitative alimony, which is now limited to a maximum of 5 years for the recipient, is one of the most important modifications to Alabama’s support rules. The only exception to the new rule is if the court determines that rehabilitation is impossible or that there are other compelling reasons to depart from the 5-year guideline. A judge may grant assistance up to the length of the divorcing couple’s marriage if the court decides to differ.

Permanent Alimony

Permanent alimony was once popular, but more and more courts, including Alabama’s, are phasing it out. Persistent alimony is still a possibility for some couples, especially in cases where one spouse has a permanent disability or is too old to start work and become self-sufficient.

Although Alabama’s new law limits alimony to 5 years, there is an exception for couples who have been married for more than 20 years. In some instances, the court can grant perpetual alimony if a party can persuade the court of the need for support.

Qualification for Spousal Support

A court must determine that the requesting spouse is financially reliant on the other and that the other spouse is financially capable of paying alimony. A court will first assess whether independent assets or any marital assets received in an equitable property division will provide an adequate means of support without an alimony order when analysing a spouse’s need. (This means that alimony is always decided after the property has been divided.)

The court will not consider any independent property that the paying spouse possessed before the marriage unless it was used as a source of income during the marriage when determining the paying spouse’s ability to give support.

Previously, the court may consider retirement savings as an alimony resource if the couple had been married for at least ten years. The Governor signed HB 208 into law in April 2017, removing the couples’ requirement to be married for ten years before the court can consider retirement funds as marital property. The way courts assess retirement accounts for alimony purposes has also changed as a result of this reform.

Previously, the court may consider retirement savings as an alimony resource if the couple had been married for at least ten years. The Governor signed in April of 2017. The court will additionally consider the following factors in determining support eligibility

• The age and health of each spouse.
• Each spouse’s standard of living during the marriage.
• The parties’ relative responsibility for the divorce.
• Each party’s employment prospects in the future.
• Whether one or both parties contributed to the other’s education or earning potential.
• The amount to which one partner sacrificed wealth or career changes in order to benefit the other.
• Excessive spending, destruction, concealment, or dishonest disposition of marital property.
• Expenses incurred as a result of domestic abuse.
• Any other factor that the court deems reasonable.

• In Alabama, the court does not use a formula to decide the amount and length of alimony. Judges have complete authority in determining an appropriate award depending on the facts and circumstances of each case.

Read child support in Alabama to see if it influences alimony payments.

Periodic Payments

The majority of alimony payments are made on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Almost every time a court imposes a support order, it also issues an income withholding order. The purpose of an income withholding order, each spouse’s identifying information, the paying spouse’s work information, the amount and frequency of payments, and directions to the paying spouse’s employer are all listed on an income withholding order. Payroll must begin the process of withholding the support payment from each paycheck once the employer gets the document.

The paying spouse may be able to make a lump-sum payment to the supported spouse in the amount of total alimony payable in some instances. If one spouse possesses more personal or real property than the other, instead of making bi-weekly or monthly payments for 5 years, the paying spouse can transfer over title to valued property worth the amount owing, so ending the responsibility for continued support.

Failure to Pay

If someone fails to pay court-ordered support, the recipient spouse can file a contempt petition with the court, asking for the order to be enforced. Failure to obey a court order can result in fines, interest, an increase in the length of support, garnishment of tax returns and bank accounts, or more serious consequences such as a lien on property or jail time.

Modifying or Terminating an Alabama Divorce Laws Alimony

If the filing party can show that one or both parties’ circumstances have changed materially since the last order, the court can amend or cancel existing support orders. The following are some of the criteria that a judge will consider while altering an order:

• A major shift in either party’s health, degree of education, or age.
• A change in the receiving spouse’s job status.
• A change in either party’s financial circumstances.
• Any occurrence that has a major impact on the ability to pay the paying spouse.
• The amount of time between the initial award and the modification request.

Taxes and Alimony In Alabama

Periodic payments of alimony in Alabama were taxable as income to the recipient and tax-deductible to the support payer before December 31, 2018. However, in December 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which significantly altered the link between alimony and taxes. Alimony payments are no longer tax deductible for the payer and are no longer recognised as income for the recipient spouse as of January 1, 2019.

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