Separate question
It is separate from child maintenance and matrimonial asset division.
Alimony & spousal maintenance
HomeTopic 1 of 6
Topic 1
What is spousal maintenance?
Spousal maintenance—sometimes called alimony—is financial support between spouses or former spouses.
Not automatic
Divorce does not automatically produce maintenance at a fixed amount or duration.
When it may arise
Section 77 gives the Court powers during proceedings and when granting or after a relevant decree.
Start with evidence
Income, resources, expenses, health, work circumstances, and existing support matter.
Legal referenceSection 77+
Section 77 describes when the Court may order maintenance during proceedings and when granting or after divorce or judicial separation.
Topic 2
Who can be ordered to pay?
The statutory wording is gender-specific and should be explained accurately.
Wife or former wife
Section 77 empowers the Court to order a man to pay maintenance to his wife or former wife.
Corresponding power
A woman may be ordered to pay where a husband or former husband is wholly or partly incapacitated from earning by injury or ill-health and an order is reasonable having regard to her means.
No shortcut
Do not assume every wife receives maintenance or that both spouses always pay equally.
Children are separate
Personal support between spouses should be separated from child expenses.
Legal referenceSection 77(1)–(2)+
Section 77 states the Court’s powers and the circumstances for the corresponding power concerning an incapacitated husband or former husband.
Topic 3
How is maintenance assessed?
The Act does not prescribe a salary percentage or universal figure.
Means
Consider income, assets, earning ability, liabilities, and available resources.
Needs
Identify reasonable personal needs and distinguish children’s expenses.
Responsibility
Section 78 also directs consideration of responsibility apportioned for the breakdown.
No income-ratio formula
Assessment is primarily based on means and needs regardless of the amount’s proportion to income.
Legal referenceSection 78+
Section 78 bases assessment primarily on means and needs and requires regard to responsibility apportioned for the marriage breakdown.
Topic 4
How can payment be structured?
Amount, method, timing, and enforceability should work together.
Periodic payments
Record amount, first date, due day, method, duration, and review.
Capital settlement
A capital settlement of all future maintenance claims is not effective under section 80 until Court approval.
Security
Section 79 permits the Court, in its discretion, to secure maintenance through property held on trust.
Avoid vague terms
State amount, frequency, start date, and intended duration.
Legal referenceSections 79 and 80+
Section 79 concerns security. Section 80 requires Court approval for an agreed capital settlement of all future claims.
Topic 5
How long can maintenance continue?
Duration depends on the order or approved arrangement and statutory ending rules.
Shorter period
An order may expressly run for a shorter period or be rescinded.
Unsecured order
Subject to section 82, it expires on the death of either spouse, whichever occurs first.
Secured order
Subject to section 82, it expires on the death of the spouse in whose favour it was made.
Remarriage
Section 82 contains rules on remarriage and “living in adultery”; an agreement must also be read by its terms.
Legal referenceSections 81 and 82+
Sections 81 and 82 govern duration and cessation. Read the particular order or agreement together with the statute.
Topic 6
Can maintenance be changed?
A changed circumstance does not automatically rewrite an existing order.
Orders
An order may be varied or rescinded for misrepresentation, mistake of fact, or material change.
Agreements
Subject to section 80, the Court may vary a maintenance agreement after a material change.
Evidence
Income reduction, retirement, illness, or increased need should be supported.
Proper process
Do not simply stop complying because circumstances changed.
Legal referenceSections 83 and 84+
Sections 83 and 84 provide mechanisms for varying orders and agreements. Section 84 requires a material—not merely minor—change.