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Legal Information: Alabama

Divorce

Laws current as of October 3, 2024

Can I get alimony once the divorce is finalized?

Alimony is financial support paid by one spouse to another. Depending on various factors, alimony can be granted once the divorce is finalized.1 The alimony can be payable in one lump sum, by installments, or by a combination of the two.2 The judge will consider different factors depending on the type of payments to be order, but in general s/he will consider:

  1. the length of the marriage;
  2. the age, health, and social position (station in life) of each spouse;
  3. each spouse’s future prospects, such as possibilities for success, advancement, etc.;
  4. the source, value, and type of property owned by each spouse;
  5. the standard of living during the marriage and potential to maintain that standard; and
  6. the fault of the spouses related to the cause for the divorce, when appropriate.3

Alimony will be terminated once the spouse who receives alimony has remarried or is openly “cohabitating” with a romantic partner of the same sex or opposite sex. Cohabitation involves the couple taking on marital rights, duties, and obligations even though they are not married.4

1 See generally Ala. Code §§ 30-2-51; 30-2-52
2 See, for example, Madden v. Madden, 399 So.2d 304 (1981)
3 See Currie v. Currie, 550 So.2d 423, 425 (Ala.Civ.App.1989)
4 Ala. Code § 30-2-55