Key Takeaways
Alimony is based on need and ability to pay. Massachusetts defines alimony as support paid by a spouse who has the ability to pay to a spouse who needs support for a reasonable period of time.
There is no automatic formula. Income matters, but judges also consider the length of the marriage, age and health of the parties, employability, marital lifestyle, contributions to the marriage, lost economic opportunities, and other relevant circumstances.
Massachusetts recognizes four types of alimony. General term, rehabilitative, reimbursement, and transitional alimony serve different purposes and follow different rules.
The marital lifestyle matters. Massachusetts courts evaluate a recipient’s need in light of the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, although divorce does not guarantee that either spouse can maintain that lifestyle fully.
The length of the marriage affects duration. General term alimony is subject to statutory durational limits for marriages of twenty years or less, absent circumstances justifying deviation.
Child support and alimony interact. Income already used to calculate child support is generally excluded when an initial alimony award is calculated.
Alimony can sometimes be modified or terminated. A material change in circumstances, remarriage, cohabitation, or retirement may affect an existing obligation, depending on the type and date of the order.
What Is Alimony in Massachusetts?
Alimony can be one of the most misunderstood issues in a Massachusetts divorce. One spouse may assume that a significant income difference automatically means alimony will be paid. The higher-earning spouse may fear that payments will continue indefinitely. A spouse who left the workforce to raise children may worry about becoming financially independent after years away from a career.
Massachusetts law is more nuanced.
At its core, alimony is financial support from one spouse to another following the breakdown of a marriage. G.L. c. 208, § 48 defines it as support paid by a spouse who has the ability to pay to a spouse who needs support for a reasonable period of time.
That definition contains three concepts that appear in almost every alimony case: need, ability to pay, and duration. Massachusetts courts have long recognized that alimony is grounded in the recipient’s need for support and the other spouse’s ability to provide it. Gottsegen v. Gottsegen, 397 Mass. 617, 624 (1986).
But income alone does not answer the question. A judge may consider expenses, marital lifestyle, age, health, employment prospects, contributions to the marriage, career sacrifices, and other circumstances. The length of the marriage also plays an important role in determining the type and potential duration of support.
Understanding these rules will not always tell you exactly what a judge will order, but it can make alimony much less uncertain.
How Massachusetts Alimony Law Works
Massachusetts Recognizes Four Types of Alimony
The Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act created four categories of alimony: general term, rehabilitative, reimbursement, and transitional alimony. Each serves a different purpose.
General term alimony is periodic support paid to an economically dependent former spouse. This is the form most people think of when they hear the word alimony.
Rehabilitative alimony is designed for a spouse expected to become financially self-sufficient within a predictable period. That might happen after completing education or job training, returning to work, or receiving funds due under the divorce judgment. It generally may not exceed five years, although G.L. c. 208, § 50 permits an extension in certain compelling circumstances.
Reimbursement alimony may apply after a marriage of no more than five years. It is intended to compensate a spouse for economic or noneconomic contributions to the other spouse’s financial resources, such as supporting the household while the other spouse completes professional training. Unlike most other forms, reimbursement alimony is not subject to the ordinary percentage limitation and cannot later be modified.
Transitional alimony is also limited to marriages of no more than five years. It helps a recipient adjust to a new lifestyle or location after divorce and cannot last longer than three years. Once ordered, transitional alimony cannot be modified, extended, or replaced by another form of alimony.
The correct category matters because each type follows different rules regarding duration and modification.
How Does a Judge Decide Whether to Award Alimony?
General Laws chapter 208, § 53 identifies the principal factors a judge considers when deciding the form, amount, and duration of alimony.
Those factors include the length of the marriage; the parties’ ages and health; income, employment, and employability; economic and noneconomic contributions to the marriage; marital lifestyle; the ability of each party to maintain that lifestyle; lost economic opportunities resulting from the marriage; and other relevant circumstances.
This is why comparing salaries alone rarely provides a complete answer.
Consider a twenty-five-year marriage in which one spouse earns $300,000 and the other earns $60,000. The income disparity matters, but so does why it exists. Did the lower-earning spouse leave a career to raise the children? What lifestyle did the family maintain? Can the recipient realistically earn more? Does either spouse have health issues?
Now compare that with a four-year marriage between two healthy professionals who both remained employed. Even with the same income disparity, the alimony analysis could look very different.
Need is Connected to the Marital Lifestyle
One of the most important concepts in Massachusetts alimony law is that “need” does not necessarily mean only the amount required for basic living expenses.
Massachusetts appellate decisions connect need to the marital lifestyle. In Hassey v. Hassey, 85 Mass. App. Ct. 518 (2014), and Young v. Young, 478 Mass. 1 (2017), the courts emphasized the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage when evaluating support.
That does not guarantee either spouse the exact lifestyle enjoyed while married. Two households usually cost more to maintain than one. But the marital standard of living remains an important reference point for determining reasonable need.
This is why financial statements and evidence of historical spending can matter so much. Housing, travel, dining, automobiles, savings, recreation, and other expenditures may help establish how the family actually lived.
How Much Alimony Can a Court Order?
Under G.L. c. 208, § 53(b), alimony generally should not exceed the recipient’s need or 30 to 35 percent of the difference between the parties’ gross incomes, except for reimbursement alimony or circumstances supporting deviation.
The word “or” is important.
The statute does not simply tell judges to subtract one income from the other and award a fixed percentage. If the recipient’s reasonable need is lower, then their need may limit the award. Massachusetts appellate authority has emphasized that distinction.
A court may deviate when appropriate, but it must make written findings. Potential reasons can include advanced age, chronic illness, unusual health circumstances, tax considerations, health or life insurance costs, certain unearned income, inability to support oneself because of abuse, insufficient employment opportunities, or another relevant and material factor.
The tax treatment can also matter. For most divorce or separation instruments executed after December 31, 2018, federal law generally does not allow the payor to deduct alimony, and the recipient generally does not include it as taxable federal income. Older agreements may be treated differently.
What Income Counts for Alimony?
General Laws chapter 208, § 53 generally uses the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines’ definition of income when calculating alimony, but important exclusions apply to an initial order.
Capital gains, dividends, and interest generated by assets equitably divided in the divorce are generally excluded. Income already considered in establishing child support is also excluded.
Modification cases can be different. In Dolan v. Dolan, 99 Mass. App. Ct. 284 (2021), the Appeals Court distinguished between initially ordering someone to pay alimony from income generated by property divided at divorce and later considering all the payor’s income and assets when deciding whether an existing obligation should continue.
The court may also attribute income to a spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, which is called imputed income. This can become important when a party reports little income despite having the capacity to earn substantially more.
How Long Does General Term Alimony Last?
The length of the marriage plays a major role in determining the presumptive maximum duration of general term alimony.
Under G.L. c. 208, § 49, general term alimony for a marriage of five years or less generally may continue for up to 50 percent of the number of months married. Marriages longer than five but no more than ten years have a 60 percent limit. For marriages longer than ten but no more than fifteen years, the limit is 70 percent. For marriages longer than fifteen but no more than twenty years, it is 80 percent. Finally, the statute allows courts to order alimony for an indefinite period of time if the marriage is longer than twenty years.
These are maximum durational limits, not guarantees that alimony will continue for the entire period.
The statutory length of the marriage generally runs from the date of marriage through service of the divorce complaint or petition. In appropriate circumstances, the court may also consider a premarital period of economic partnership when determining duration. Bortolotti v. Bortolotti, No. 16-P-1742, 2018 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS. 324 (Mass. App. April 13, 2018).
When Can Alimony End or Change?
General term alimony ordinarily ends upon the recipient’s remarriage or the death of either spouse. For orders governed by the Alimony Reform Act, the payor’s attainment of full retirement age can also affect termination, subject to statutory exceptions.
Older judgments require special attention. Massachusetts appellate decisions including Chin v. Merriot, 470 Mass. 527 (2015), Rodman v. Rodman, 470 Mass. 539 (2015), and Doktor v. Doktor, 470 Mass. 547 (2015), make clear that the Act’s retirement and cohabitation provisions do not automatically apply retroactively to every pre-2012 judgment.
Cohabitation may also affect post-Act general term alimony. If a payor proves that the recipient maintained a common household with another person continuously for at least three months, alimony may be suspended, reduced, or terminated. Courts may consider economic interdependence, the parties’ representations about their relationship, shared household responsibilities, community reputation, and other circumstances.
General term alimony may also be modified when there has been a material change in circumstances. Other forms are more restrictive. Reimbursement and transitional alimony generally cannot be modified.
Common Examples of Alimony in Massachusetts
A Long Marriage With a Stay-at-Home Parent
Suppose a couple divorces after twenty-six years. The husband earns $275,000 annually. The wife left the workforce when the children were born and now earns $35,000 part time.
This presents a strong factual setting for general term alimony. A judge would consider the income disparity, her reasonable need, marital lifestyle, contributions to the family, employability, and lost economic opportunities. Because the marriage lasted more than twenty years, the court could order alimony for an indefinite period, although it would not be required to do so.
A Short Marriage Between Two Professionals
Consider spouses divorcing after four years. One earns $190,000 and the other $110,000. Both are healthy, employed, and financially independent.
The income disparity does not automatically create an alimony award. The court would consider whether the lower-earning spouse actually needs support and whether one of the shorter-term forms of alimony is appropriate.
One Spouse Supported the Other Through Graduate School
Suppose a marriage lasted four years. During much of it, one spouse paid the household expenses while the other completed a professional degree that substantially increased future earning capacity.
Reimbursement alimony could become relevant because the marriage lasted no more than five years and one spouse contributed to the other’s increased financial resources. The ordinary 30 to 35 percent limitation does not apply to reimbursement alimony.
A Recipient Begins Living With a New Partner
Imagine that a recipient of post-2012 general term alimony moves in with a new partner and remains there for more than three months. They share expenses, divide household responsibilities, vacation together, and publicly present themselves as a couple.
The payor may have grounds to seek suspension, reduction, or termination under G.L. c. 208, § 49(d). Simply having a roommate is not enough. The court examines the actual nature of the household and relationship.
The Payor Loses a High-Paying Job
Suppose a payor earning $350,000 loses a job when the employer eliminates the position and later finds comparable work paying $220,000.
That may constitute a material change in circumstances supporting modification. The court would examine whether the income reduction is genuine, whether the payor made reasonable efforts to obtain appropriate employment, the recipient’s continuing need, and the payor’s current ability to pay. A voluntary decision to earn less could receive very different treatment.
Fictional Example: How Alimony Can Work in Practice
David and Laura are divorcing after twenty-two years of marriage. Both are fifty-one years old. David earns approximately $310,000 annually as an executive, including a salary and performance bonus. Laura earns about $65,000 working in nonprofit administration.
Earlier in the marriage, Laura had a promising corporate career. After their first child was born, the parties agreed that she would leave full-time employment. She spent approximately ten years primarily caring for the children before gradually returning to work. During that same period, David’s career advanced substantially.
The family lived comfortably. They owned a four-bedroom home, traveled several times each year, regularly dined out, saved for retirement, and spent significant amounts on their children’s activities and education.
David argues during the divorce that Laura has a college degree, works full time, and should support herself. Laura argues that her present income does not allow her to maintain anything reasonably approaching the marital lifestyle and that her years outside the workforce permanently affected her earning potential.
Both submit financial statements. Laura introduces evidence of historical family spending and her current expenses. Employment records help establish her earlier career trajectory, while David’s compensation records show both regular salary and variable bonuses.
The judge would not simply subtract Laura’s income from David’s and award a percentage of the difference. First, the court would evaluate Laura’s reasonable need in light of the marital lifestyle and David’s ability to pay.
The judge would also consider the twenty-two-year marriage, their ages and health, employment and employability, contributions to the marriage, and Laura’s lost economic opportunities from leaving the workforce.
Because the marriage lasted more than twenty years, G.L. c. 208, § 49 permits general term alimony for an indefinite period. That does not mean the court must order indefinite payments or award the maximum amount permitted by statute.
David’s bonuses could also require careful analysis. Young v. Young cautions against orders that simply allow a recipient to participate automatically in future earnings without a relationship to the marital lifestyle. At the same time, a percentage-based approach may occasionally be appropriate where variable earnings and the parties’ historical lifestyle justify it.
A likely result could therefore involve general term alimony based on Laura’s demonstrated need, David’s ability to pay, and the lifestyle established during the marriage.
The example illustrates why alimony cases often turn on details. Income matters, but so do expenses, career decisions, history, credibility, and evidence showing how the family actually lived.
Frequently Asked Questions About Massachusetts Alimony
Is alimony automatic in a Massachusetts divorce?
No. A difference in income does not automatically entitle one spouse to alimony. Courts evaluate need, ability to pay, and the statutory factors in G.L. c. 208, § 53.
Is alimony always 30 to 35 percent of the income difference?
No. Alimony generally should not exceed the recipient’s need or 30 to 35 percent of the difference in gross incomes. Need can therefore limit the amount, and courts may deviate when appropriate.
Can a husband receive alimony from a wife?
Yes. Massachusetts alimony law is gender-neutral. The relevant questions are financial need, ability to pay, and the circumstances of the marriage.
Does adultery determine whether someone receives alimony?
Usually not by itself. Alimony primarily focuses on financial circumstances and the statutory factors, although conduct may become relevant in particular circumstances.
Does alimony end if the recipient remarries?
General term and rehabilitative alimony ordinarily terminate upon the recipient’s remarriage. The specific effect depends on the type of alimony and the governing judgment.
What if my former spouse is living with a new partner?
For qualifying post-Act general term alimony orders, maintaining a common household continuously for at least three months can support suspension, reduction, or termination. Sharing an address alone does not necessarily establish cohabitation.
Does alimony automatically end at retirement?
Not in every case. Retirement rules depend on the date and type of alimony judgment, and different rules may apply to older judgments.
Can alimony be modified after divorce?
General term alimony can often be modified upon a material change in circumstances unless the judgment or agreement provides otherwise. Reimbursement and transitional alimony generally cannot be modified.
Is alimony taxable?
For most divorce or separation instruments executed after 2018, alimony is generally not deductible by the payor or taxable federal income to the recipient. Older agreements may follow different rules.
Can the court require life insurance to secure alimony?
Yes. General Laws chapter 208, § 55 permits reasonable security, including life insurance, after considering factors such as age, insurability, cost, duration, and the amount of the obligation.
Final Thoughts
Understanding alimony in Massachusetts begins with recognizing that it is not simply a percentage of the higher-earning spouse’s income. Alimony is based on need, ability to pay, marital lifestyle, the length and circumstances of the marriage, and the statutory rules governing the particular form of support.
For some families, that may mean long-term general term alimony. For others, rehabilitative, reimbursement, or transitional alimony may better address the economic consequences of divorce. In some cases, no alimony may be appropriate at all.
The most useful question is therefore not merely, “How much does each spouse earn?” The considerations are broader: What economic relationship did the marriage create, what does each spouse reasonably need after divorce, and what can each spouse realistically afford?
About the Author: Damian Turco is the Founder and Managing Partner of Turco Legal and has practiced divorce and family law since 2008.
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