How to Receive Alimony in Maine

Alimony is more commonly called “spousal support” in Maine.

When a marriage breaks down, one spouse may be entitled to receive financial support to help transition to a single, self-sufficient life.

How you receive alimony, how much the payments are, and for how long they are made depend on several factors besides the length of the marriage.

Let us find out more about alimony and how it is received in Maine.

Spousal support or alimony refers to periodic payments from one spouse to another after separation and divorce have been finalized. Its purpose is to ease the transition to single life and to help both spouses enjoy a standard of living as close as possible to that experienced during the marriage.

One spouse usually earns more than the other in a marriage. The Maine courts want to ensure that financial resources are “equalized” so that one spouse is not unfairly disadvantaged by the marriage breakdown. While support payments are usually for a limited number of years, in some circumstances they may be permanent.

Note that alimony is handled separately from child support in Maine. Both can be volatile subjects for divorcing couples because they have the potential to severely impact the finances of both parties.

You should seek legal advice if you are facing a spousal support dispute in Maine as such matters can delay and disrupt divorce proceedings—and may require mediation to resolve them.

Alimony is not an automatic award in Maine and is not always granted in divorces—though any spouse has the right to apply for it with the court. Typically, a lower-earning spouse applies for support from a higher-earning spouse, but either spouse can apply, and it is “gender-neutral.”

If an application for alimony is received, the court will consider several factors when deciding on the spouse’s eligibility. The most important factor is the respective earnings and earning powers of each spouse, but each case is considered on its merits.

Family law judges will also consider the length of the marriage and the applicant’s spouse’s financial need compared with the other spouse’s ability to pay the alimony.

A judge may also award interim or “temporary” alimony to cover a spouse for the period during which the divorce is “pending” or proceedings are passing through the Maine family court system.

A spouse can receive alimony in Maine in several ways:

• If spousal support is covered in a correctly executed prenuptial or postnuptial agreement filed with the court, this can be the guiding document for issuing support.
• Couples can agree on a fair sum together and include it in their divorce settlement.
• A spouse can petition the court and ask a judge to decide whether alimony should be awarded.

If the case goes to court, how much alimony you might receive will be decided by a family court judge after consideration of multiple factors, including:

• The length of the marriage
• The age and physical/mental condition of each spouse
• The ability of each spouse to support themselves
• The necessary time for the applicant spouse to acquire a job or get training to become employed
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The circumstances that led to the separation—while spousal support awards are not usually punitive, evidence of domestic abuse may be used to support spousal support claims
• The ability of the paying spouse to pay support
• Other financial responsibilities, obligations, and resources of each party, such as previous child support awards, the rights of each party to receive retirement benefits, etc.

Five different types of alimony may be awarded by family court judges in Maine. One type may be awarded before the divorce is finalized:

• Interim or “temporary” support: This may be awarded to cover the period after separation until the divorce proceedings are finalized.

Following the finalization of the divorce, one of the above types of alimony may be replaced with one of four other forms of support:

Transitional or “rehabilitative” support

This is the most common type of spousal support in Maine, intended to provide financial support to help a spouse transition to a single life by acquiring an education or new employment skills, for instance.

Reimbursement support

This may be ordered to equalize finances when the division of marital property is not enough to compensate one spouse for his/her contributions to the other spouse’s career or education during the marriage.

General support

This is the least common type of spousal support because courts reserve it for marriages lasting more than 10 years. Payments last only as long as half the length of the marriage but may be indefinite if the recipient spouse is unable to become financially independent due to age or health.

Nominal support

This is essentially a placeholder spousal support, such as an order for $1 to be paid, utilized by a judge who may later need to visit the issue of spousal support.

The duration of alimony varies according to the type awarded. However, the stated payments must be made until the date specified on the agreement or court order unless one of the following applies:

• Either spouse passes away
• The recipient spouse remarries or enters a relationship that is the equivalent of a marriage with another individual
• A significant and material change in financial circumstances arises and one of the spouses petitions the court for a modification of spousal support

Alimony in Maine is generally paid as periodic payments, either temporary or permanent. However, in some cases, it can be a lump sum, especially with reimbursement support that is intended to “equalize” marital property division.

To petition a court for spousal support in Maine, a spouse can either file a claim for support when submitting the “Petition for Divorce” or include a claim in their Answer and Counterclaim for Divorce if he/she was served with the divorce paperwork.

The party petitioning for the support must serve the documents on the other spouse, complete an income worksheet, and provide evidence to the court regarding their financial and spouse’s financial information.

Full financial disclosure is required so that the court can determine eligibility and amounts. Your divorce attorney can assist with this so that you can avoid mistakes and potential penalties from the court or other unintended outcomes.

If you need legal assistance with alimony during a divorce in Maine, speak to an experienced family law attorney at The Maine Divorce Group during an initial consultation. Contact us directly online or call us at (207) 230-6884.