Alimony in Maine: Who Qualifies and How Long It Lasts

In Maine, alimony is officially called "spousal support," and it's governed by 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A. There is no fixed formula. Instead, a Maine family court judge chooses from five distinct types of support, and how long a marriage lasted heavily shapes whether — and for how long — general support can be ordered. If you were married less than 10 years as of the date the divorce was filed, there's a rebuttable presumption against a general support award at all. If you were married 10 to 20 years, there's a rebuttable presumption that any general support award can't last longer than half the length of the marriage. Everything else — amount, whether other types of support apply, how long they last — depends on the specific facts of your case.

What Maine Calls "Alimony"

Maine's family courts and statutes don't use the word "alimony" anymore. The Maine Judicial Branch's Family Division explains that spousal support is money the court may order one spouse to pay to the other, temporarily or on an ongoing basis, as part of a divorce order — and notes this used to be called "alimony." The court typically considers it when one spouse earns significantly more than the other. The controlling statute is 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A, part of the divorce chapter of Maine's domestic relations law (Title 19-A, Chapter 29).

The Five Types of Spousal Support in Maine

Under 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A(2), Maine law recognizes five distinct categories of spousal support, and a court order must state which type or types are being awarded:

• General support — the main, longer-term category, subject to the marriage-length presumptions described below.
• Transitional support — generally geared toward a spouse's shorter-term transition (for example, into new employment or education).
• Reimbursement support — generally aimed at compensating a spouse for contributions made during the marriage.
• Nominal support — a token amount, which can preserve the court's ability to revisit support later.
• Interim support — temporary support ordered while the divorce case is still pending, before a final judgment.

The statute and the Maine Judicial Branch's spousal support page both describe these five categories, but the materials available here don't spell out the detailed eligibility rules for each one. Because the type of support awarded changes what rules apply to your case, confirm with the Maine Judicial Branch's family division resources or a Maine family law attorney which type fits your situation before assuming general support is what's at stake.

Marriage Length Matters a Lot

Maine law builds marriage length directly into the general support analysis, using rebuttable presumptions — meaning a party can still argue the presumption shouldn't apply, but the starting position is set by the length of the marriage as of the date the divorce was filed:

• Under 10 years: There is a rebuttable presumption that general support may not be awarded at all.
• 10 to 20 years: There is a rebuttable presumption that any general support award may not exceed a term longer than one-half the length of the marriage.
• Over 20 years: The materials available don't specify a presumption for longer marriages. This will vary by case — confirm current rules with the Maine courts or a Maine family law attorney rather than assuming a particular outcome.

These presumptions apply specifically to general support. Transitional, reimbursement, nominal, and interim support operate on different terms that aren't spelled out in the materials here.

Factors the Court Considers

Under 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A(5), when a Maine court decides whether to award general support and how much, it must weigh a list of factors, including:

• The length of the marriage
• The ability of the paying spouse to pay support
• The age of each spouse
• Employment history, income history, and future earning potential of each spouse
• Education of each spouse
• Health of each spouse
• Contributions as a homemaker
• Contributions by one spouse to the other's earning potential (for example, supporting a spouse through school or training)
• Economic misconduct by either spouse
• Economic abuse
• The standard of living established during the marriage

No single factor controls. A judge weighs all of them together against the specific facts in your case.

Time-Sensitive: Modifying a Spousal Support Order

The rules for changing a spousal support order in Maine depend on when the order was issued — this is a genuine trap for the unwary.

• For spousal support orders issued on or after October 1, 2013, the order may be modified only upon a showing of a substantial change in the financial circumstances of either party.
• For orders issued before October 1, 2013, the order remains modifiable unless the order expressly states otherwise.

If you're looking at an older Maine divorce judgment, read the order itself carefully (or have a Maine attorney read it) to see whether it addresses modifiability directly, since the answer changes depending on that language and the issuance date.

What Happens If the Paying Spouse Dies

Under 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A(8), a spousal support obligation ends when either the paying spouse or the receiving spouse dies — unless the court's order specifically provides otherwise. If continuation after death matters to you (for example, in estate planning or when negotiating a settlement), that needs to be addressed explicitly in the order itself.

Watch Out: A $0 Award May Be Permanent

This is a genuinely time-sensitive, hard-to-reverse decision point. The Maine Judicial Branch's Family Division notes that if a divorce judgment awards $0 in spousal support, that determination generally cannot be changed later. In other words, agreeing to (or failing to contest) a $0 spousal support outcome at the time of divorce may permanently close the door on requesting support afterward — even if your financial circumstances change. If there's any chance you may need spousal support later, raise it before the judgment is entered, not after.

Spousal Support and Bankruptcy

Spousal support obligations get special protection under federal bankruptcy law. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5), a "domestic support obligation" — which includes alimony/spousal support and child support — cannot be discharged (wiped out) in bankruptcy. Under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1), domestic support obligations are also paid first among unsecured claims in a bankruptcy case. Separately, property-settlement debts owed to an ex-spouse under a divorce decree are generally non-dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(15). If your former spouse files for bankruptcy, spousal support you're owed is treated very differently — and more protectively — than most ordinary debts.

What You Can Do in Maine

1. Identify which of the five types of support is actually at issue in your case — general, transitional, reimbursement, nominal, or interim — since the rules differ for each.
2. Calculate your marriage length as of the date the divorce was filed. This single date determines which rebuttable presumption applies to any general support request.
3. Gather documentation on the § 951-A(5) factors that apply to you: income and employment history, education, health records, evidence of homemaker contributions, and any documentation of economic misconduct or economic abuse.
4. Check the date on any existing spousal support order before assuming you know the modification standard — October 1, 2013 is the dividing line between the two sets of rules.
5. Don't agree to $0 spousal support without thinking it through, since that outcome is generally not something you can revisit later.
6. Review your order's language about what happens on death if that matters to your planning — the default is that support ends unless the order says otherwise.
7. Use the Maine Judicial Branch's Family Division resources (courts.maine.gov) for current forms and self-help information, and consult a Maine family law attorney for advice specific to your situation, especially given how much of this analysis is case-by-case.

This article is general information, not legal advice — for guidance on your specific situation, consult a licensed Maine family law attorney.