Maintenance
Maintenance, also called alimony or spousal support, is money that one spouse must pay to the other after divorce, under the terms of the settlement. It can be a lump sum, payments for a fixed period of time or ongoing payments for the parties' joint lives or until the recipient's remarriage. A judge may award it to either spouse in an effort to maintain the standard of living that both parties were accustomed to during the marriage. In most Western countries, local laws and courts often determine the amount of maintenance to be awarded based on the earning capacity of the payer and recipient, the length of the marriage, the age and physical/mental capacity of both parties and the assets of both parties following the implementation of other aspects of the settlement. Regulations for alimony payments are still not clearly defined in many parts of the world, including India, where they have historically been tilted in favour of the man. However, the Supreme Court has recently ruled that a woman is entitled to maintenance if her income is insufficient for a lifestyle comparable to the one she had with her husband.
