Alimony, also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance, is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. The purpose of alimony is to help ensure that a divorce does not cause a drastic decline in quality of living for a lower-earning spouse, especially if the couple has been married for a long time and there is a large discrepancy in earning power between the two spouses. Here are some key points about alimony:

• Alimony is financial support paid by one ex-spouse to the other after the marriage has legally ended.
• Alimony can be temporary, time-limited, or permanent, depending on the circumstances of the divorce.
• Temporary alimony, also called pendente lite alimony, can be granted while the divorce is in progress, to help until the divorce is final.
• Time-limited alimony, also called rehabilitative alimony, lasts for a limited time, as determined by the judge, to allow the receiving spouse to obtain work experience or training necessary to become self-supporting.
• Permanent alimony is awarded when there is an ongoing need for support.
• Alimony payments are legally mandated monetary transfers from one ex-spouse to another in order to provide financial support.
• Alimony will often be awarded to ex-spouses of long-term marriages (for example, more than 10 years) and will stop upon death, remarriage, or court order.
• Refusing to pay or not keeping up to date with alimony payments may result in civil or criminal charges for the payer.

In summary, alimony is a court-ordered financial support paid by one ex-spouse to the other after the marriage has legally ended. The purpose of alimony is to help ensure that a divorce does not cause a drastic decline in quality of living for a lower-earning spouse. Alimony can be temporary, time-limited, or permanent, depending on the circumstances of the divorce.