New Jersey Divorce Lawyers Blog
In New Jersey alimony (sometimes called spousal support or maintenance) is an award of money from one spouse (the payor) to their ex-spouse (the payee) after a divorce. The purpose of alimony is to help the spouse receiving alimony (the payee) maintain a financial lifestyle which is reasonably comparable to the financial lifestyle enjoyed by the parties during the term of their marriage.
Alimony is not awarded automatically. It has to be demanded. In terms of duration of alimony payments, the courts recognize four distinct types of alimony: open durational (which recently replaced permanent alimony), limited duration (term) alimony, rehabilitative alimony and reimbursement alimony. Each type of alimony is discussed in greater detail in separate blog posts.
NJSA 2A:34-23 is the specific statute which governs alimony awards in New Jersey. The statute lists 14 factors which the court must consider in order to decide whether to award alimony. The 14 factors are set out in detail on my website itonlaw.com.