Alimony is basically defined as the payment by one spouse to the other under a court order or the couple's agreement after a divorce or while a divorce case is being processed. States use different terms for alimony, such as spousal support and support, but they generally mean essentially the same thing. When the court grants a divorce, the property will be divided equally (not always equally) between the two spouses. This is decided under the Equal Distribution Act.
During the divorce, both spouses must inform the court about their income and the debts they owe. As noted, alimony is generally based largely on what each divorcing spouse earns This means that if a person is deliberately working in a job that pays less than they could earn, courts sometimes calculate the amount of alimony based on a more high, in what is called the imputation of maintenance income. For example, if a couple bought a house, but only the husband's name was on the deed, the wife would still be entitled to a share of the value of the house if they divorced. In fact, families with more than one young child can quickly discover that keeping children in daycare costs more than the family would with the wife working, resulting in a decision for her to stay home.
