NOTICE: None of these questions and answers constitute legal advice. To obtain legal advice, consult with an attorney. This is especially important in divorce and family law matters, in which outcomes are often peculiar to the particular facts and circumstances of the case.
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a court ordered payment from one spouse to the other with the intention of rehabilitating the economically dependent spouse.
It depends. Under the Maryland Family Law Article, alimony does not automatically terminate upon the receiving spouse’s cohabitation with another individual. However, language is commonly included in marital settlement agreements that alimony payments will terminate upon the receiving spouse’s cohabitation.
In Maryland, there are no mandatory alimony guidelines. However, The Kaufman Center for Family produced guidelines using a web-based program known as the “Kaufman Guidelines.” The Kaufman Guidelines rank alimony cases along a continuum ranging from unjustifiable for alimony to justifiable for alimony. This calculation may be be used to argue a duration and amount for alimony in Court, but the Court is not required to consider the calculation.
