One of the biggest events in Massachusetts divorce law to come down in recent years was the overhaul and reform of alimony law. This reform brings back the formerly eliminated idea of lifetime alimony. In 2012, a court order required termination of alimony benefits once the payer reached retirement age. This law was intended to apply to all payers of alimony rather than just those who divorced after March, 2012, but this was not always the case in practice. Recent appeals courts have now issued decisions to end those reform benefits. Three different decisions in January of 2105 have ended the retirement provision in these reforms for those who were divorced prior to the March 2012 cutoff date. Now, modifications to the termination of alimony that were initiated under the reformed alimony laws can only be rescinded if the former recipient of the alimony requests it. Certainly this is problematic for those left in uncertain gray areas who don’t know where they stand. The process of legislation reform regarding alimony law is ongoing, but if you are in this situation and need your rights protected, you would do well to speak to your divorce attorney. The new laws can be confusing and difficult to understand and navigate, and even if you’ve been divorced for years, a qualified divorce attorney will know how to help you best. They can explain where you stand, and help you to work within the bounds of the law to ensure that your alimony agreement remains

Alimony or spousal support, are payments made by one spouse to the other after a divorce. Many people do not fully understand the point of alimony. Indeed, alimony can be a bit complicated to figure out under Massachusetts’s law. Essentially, the purpose of alimony is to avoid unfair financial effects of the divorce on the spouse who earned less income than the other spouse. For example, alimony can provide a source of financial support to help the recipient spouse get back on his or her feet, develop the skills and experience needed to find employment, and/or continue the same standard of living he or she enjoyed during the marriage. The specific purpose of alimony in any given case depends on the type of alimony. According to Massachusetts law, there are four types of alimony: General term Rehabilitative Reimbursement Transitional General term alimony is for spouses who are financially dependent on their former spouse. This type of alimony is paid periodically, usually on a month-by-month basis, for a set duration. Rehabilitative alimony is intended to help spouses until they can financially support themselves. Due to the nature of this type of alimony, the award is usually for a certain period of time, such as when the recipient spouse finishes a degree, completes job training, or becomes employed. Reimbursement alimony serves to pay spouses back for what they did to contribute to the other spouse’s well-being. For example, alimony can be awarded to reimburse a spouse for paying for the other spouse