Glossary · UK
What is Spousal Maintenance?
Regular payments one ex-spouse makes to the other after divorce to help meet their income needs, separate from child maintenance and from the division of capital and property.
Full Definition
Spousal maintenance is a regular (usually monthly) payment made by one former spouse or civil partner to the other after divorce or dissolution, intended to help meet the recipient's reasonable income needs where they cannot otherwise support themselves, typically because of a significant income disparity built up during a long marriage, caring responsibilities for children, or time out of the workforce. It is legally and practically distinct from child maintenance, which is paid specifically for the benefit of children and is usually calculated under the statutory Child Maintenance Service formula, and from the division of capital assets such as the family home or pensions, which is dealt with separately in a financial settlement. There is no fixed formula for spousal maintenance in England and Wales (unlike child maintenance); the court has wide discretion under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to decide whether it should be paid, how much, and for how long, considering factors including both parties' income, earning capacity, needs, standard of living during the marriage, and the length of the marriage, with the court required to consider whether a clean break -- ending financial ties with a lump sum or asset transfer instead of ongoing payments -- is possible. Maintenance can be ordered for a fixed term (a "term order", often to allow the recipient time to become self-sufficient, for example while retraining or until the youngest child finishes school) or, less commonly now, for the recipient's and/or payer's joint lifetime, until either party dies, the recipient remarries, or a further court order varies or ends it, and the amount can usually be varied later if circumstances change significantly, such as a job loss or substantial pay rise. Spousal maintenance received is not taxable income and is not deductible for the payer, unlike some historic arrangements, and unpaid maintenance can be enforced through the courts, including via an attachment of earnings order against the payer's salary.