Алименты и содержание супругов при раздельном проживании и разводе.

Legal obligation to provide financial support to one's spouse due to marital separation

Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U. S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. The obligation arises from the divorce law or family law of each country. In most jurisdictions, it is distinct from child support, where, after divorce, one parent is required to contribute to the support of their children by paying money to the child's other parent or guardian.

The term alimony comes from the Latin word alimonia ("nourishment, sustenance", from alere, "to nourish"), from which the terms alimentary (of, or relating to food, nutrition, or digestion), and aliment (a Scots Law rule regarding sustenance to assure the wife's lodging, food, clothing, and other necessities after divorce) are also derived.

Laws of the Czech Republic provide for spousal maintenance both during marriage and after divorce. As main principle, both spouses have the right for generally equal standard of living during the marriage. The same "generally equal standard of living" applies also to post divorce period in special cases, when the payee wasn't mostly responsible for the failure of marriage or did not agree with the divorce and the payee suffered serious harm due to the divorce and hadn't committed an act of domestic violence against the payer. In such case the payee may request alimony in amount providing "generally equal standard of living" for a period adequate to circumstances, but no longer than three years. Under traditional English common law, a woman gave up her personal property rights on marriage (see Coverture). Upon separation from marriage, the husband retained the right to the wife's property, but, in exchange, had an ongoing responsibility to support the wife after dissolution of the marriage.

The duty of mutual assistance of the spouses turns into an obligation of maintenance following the personal separation. The spouse who is not responsible for the separation has, in fact, the right to receive from the other "what is necessary for its maintenance" (Article 156 of the Italian Civil Code). In case of dissolution of the marriage, art. 5, paragraph 6, of Law 898/1970 provides for the obligation for a spouse to periodically provide the other with a check "when the latter does not have adequate means or in any case cannot obtain them for objective reasons", the determination of which it is entrusted to certain specific parameters (conditions of the spouses, reasons for the decision, personal and economic contribution given by each to the family management and to the formation of the patrimony of each or the common one, income of both, duration of marriage).

Under the Japanese Civil Code, spousal support is available while the parties are married, but terminates upon divorce. Japanese courts typically award a one time payment of isha ryo, or consolation money, to the "wronged" spouse in the divorce, a type of compensation which does not exist in some other jurisdictions such as most U. S. states.

Prenuptial agreements are recognized in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, and every jurisdiction allows parties to agree to spousal support and alimony terms in a premarital or postnuptial agreement, if their marital agreement is prepared in accordance with state and federal law requirements. Divorce courts retain the discretion to refuse to enforce prenuptial agreement terms restricting a party’s right to seek alimony if that party would have to seek public assistance as a result of the alimony waiver, or if the restriction on the right to seek alimony is unconscionable or unfair when the divorce occurs. Lack of financial disclosure prior to signing a prenuptial agreement or a post nuptial agreement by the party against whom alimony is sought may also cause a court to invalidate a waiver of alimony provision. Prenuptial Agreements with valid alimony waivers or restrictions entered into in one state should be fully enforceable by the courts of another state in the event of a divorce, unless the terms of the prenuptial agreement are in material violation of the foreign jurisdiction's laws. California is the only state with a law that requires that the parties be represented by counsel if spousal support (alimony) is limited by the agreement. Instead of a complete waiver of the right to seek alimony, prenuptial agreements and post nuptial agreements can also contain terms where the parties agree to a set amount of guaranteed alimony for the lower wage earner at the time of divorce, or a cap/limit on the amount of alimony either party can seek in the event of a divorce.

In divorces and separation agreements signed on December 31, 2018 and earlier, alimony is tax deductible for the payer, and treated as taxable income for the recipient. Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, for divorce judgments dated January 1, 2019 and later, spousal support is treated as not taxable and non deductible for either party.