Indiana Alimony / Spousal Support

Indiana alimony, also referred to as spousal support is the amount of money one spouse pays to the other, by court order or through agreement of the parties, for support and maintenance. Spousal support can be awarded to either spouse.

Indiana spousal support is intended to preserve the economic status of both parties, as it existed during the marriage.

According to Indiana statute IC 31-15-7-2 Findings concerning maintenance; Sec. 2. A court may make the following findings concerning maintenance the court may find that maintenance is necessary for the spouse in an amount and for a period of time that the court considers appropriate if

• The court finds a spouse to be physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent that the ability of the incapacitated spouse to support himself or herself is materially affected, the court may find that maintenance for the spouse is necessary during the period of incapacity, subject to further order of the court.
• The court finds that a spouse lacks sufficient property, including marital property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for the spouse's needs; and the spouse is the custodian of a child whose physical or mental incapacity requires the custodian to forgo employment:

If after considering the following the court may find that rehabilitative maintenance for the spouse seeking maintenance is necessary in an amount and for a period of time that the court considers appropriate, but not to exceed three (3) years from the date of the final decree:

• The educational level of each spouse at the time of marriage and at the time the action is commenced
• Whether an interruption in the education, training, or employment of a spouse who is seeking maintenance occurred during the marriage as a result of homemaking or child care responsibilities, or both
• The earning capacity of each spouse, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, and length of presence in or absence from the job market
• The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse who is seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment

Modification and Termination of Alimony in Indiana

Indiana statute IC 31-15-7-3 Modification or revocation of order for maintenance Sec. 3. states that an order with respect to maintenance may be modified or revoked. Except as provided in IC 31-16-8-2, modification may be made only:

• Upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unreasonable or
• Upon a showing that a party has been ordered to pay an amount in child support that differs by more than twenty percent (20%) from the amount that would be ordered by applying the child support guidelines; and the order requested to be modified or revoked was issued at least twelve (12) months before the petition requesting modification was filed.

Indiana statutes for alimony can be found here: Indiana statutes IC 31-15-7

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