Maintenance or Alimony
“Maintenance” is the Idaho term for alimony. Spousal support is another term that is sometimes used in place of maintenance or alimony. Idaho courts have statutory authority to order maintenance in a divorce, whether as part of a final judgment or a temporary order.
The formal standard governing a claim for or award of maintenance is two-pronged. The court must find that the spouse seeking maintenance (a) lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable needs; and (b) is unable to support himself or herself through employment. As indicated, both of these criteria must be met. As should be evident from the wording, maintenance may be awarded to either the husband or the wife, depending upon the circumstances.
If the court finds that one of the parties meets the criteria for an award of maintenance, there are then several factors to consider in determining the amount and duration of a maintenance award.
The popular perception is that Idaho courts are conservative in their decisions on claims for maintenance. Another way of saying this is that Idaho is not California. However, there are several qualifiers in the statutory wording, and there are reported Idaho cases on the issue of maintenance, providing room for argument depending upon the facts of any given case.
Sometimes one party will agree to pay maintenance in exchange for something else, as part of the horse-trading that can go on in settlement negotiations. Whether maintenance is included in a settlement or is awarded by the court at trial, one should keep in mind that maintenance payments are tax deductible by the payor and are treated as income to the recipient. There are IRS rules as to how maintenance must be structured to qualify for the intended tax treatment.
This like all other blogs should be treated as a general discussion and not as legal advice for any specific situation.
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