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Definition: alimony from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide

In the USA, money allowance given by court order to a former spouse after separation or divorce.

The right has been extended to relationships outside marriage and is colloquially termed palimony. Alimony is separate and distinct from court orders for child support.

In the UK the legal term is maintenance.


alimony

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in law, allowance for support that an individual pays to his or her former spouse, usually as part of a divorce settlement. It is based on the common law right of a wife to be supported by her husband, but in the United States, the Supreme Court in 1979 removed its limitation to husbands, to account for cases in which the wife is wealthier. Alimony is distinct from child support, which is the duty of both mother and father to contribute, based on ability to pay, to the support of minor children. Temporary alimony is allowed pending the outcome of a suit for divorce or separation , or for a decree of nullity of marriage , whether initiated by husband or wife; permanent alimony may be granted after a divorce has taken effect. In contemporary law, alimony is generally awarded only in cases where one spouse is unable to support himself or herself. Such cases are not common: recent figures show that some 90% of U.S. divorces are free of alimony requirements. Alimony ceases on the death of…
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Full text Article Alimony Issues in the United States

From The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies
alimony alimony reform permanent alimony spousal support Abstract Alimony issues are among the most contentious in family dissolution. As of 2015 there are alimony law reform proposals before most US state legislatures that still continue to have alimony laws, particularly permanent alimony laws. …
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Full text Article alimony

From Word Origins
Alimony is an anglicization of Latin alimōnia , which is based on the verb alere ‘nourish’ (source of alma ‘bounteous’, as in alma mater , and of alumnus ). This in turn goes back to a hypothetical root *al-, which is also the basis of English adolescent, adult, altitude (from Latin altus ‘high’), …
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Full text Article alimony

From Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law
:an allowance made to one spouse by the other for support pending or after legal separation or divorce —compare child support alimony in gross : lump sum alimony in this entry alimony pen•den•te li•te \-pen-ˈden-tē-ˈlī-ˌtē, -pen-ˈden-tā-ˈlē-tā\ :alimony granted pending a suit for divorce or…
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Full text Article alimony

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in law, allowance for support that an individual pays to his or her former spouse, usually as part of a divorce settlement. It is based on the common law right of a wife to be supported by her husband, but in the United States, the Supreme Court in 1979 removed its limitation to husbands, to account…
| 289 words
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Full text Article alimony

From Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics
After divorce or separation, alimony is the money paid by one spouse to the other to meet the financial obligations of marriage. It is based on the common-law right of a wife to be supported by her husband, but in 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court removed its limitation to husbands to account for cases in…
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Full text Article alimony

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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Full text Article alimony

From The Macquarie Dictionary
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Full text Article alimonied

From Collins English Dictionary
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Full text Article alimony

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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Full text Article permanent alimony

From Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law
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