Alimony and Spousal Support Attorneys in West Springfield, MA

Alimony in Massachusetts is governed by the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, which defines four types of support, sets limits on amount and duration, and specifies when an order ends.

Attorney Tanya K. Moriarty has handled alimony matters in Hampden County Probate and Family Court for more than two decades. Sclafani & Moriarty has served families across Western Massachusetts for over 25 years, from our office at 776 Westfield Street in West Springfield.

The initial consultation is free and takes place in our office. Payment plans are available. Call 413-732-8356.

What Are the Four Types of Alimony in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts recognizes general term, rehabilitative, reimbursement, and transitional alimony. General term is periodic support for an economically dependent spouse. The other three carry duration limits, and reimbursement and transitional alimony are available only after marriages of five years or less.

The Alimony Reform Act of 2011, at Chapter 208, Sections 48 through 55, replaced a single open-ended concept of alimony with four defined forms.

General term alimony is periodic support paid to a spouse who is economically dependent on the other. Its duration is tied to the length of the marriage.

Rehabilitative alimony supports a spouse expected to become economically self-sufficient by a predicted date, through reemployment, completion of job training, or receipt of a sum owed by the payor. It is capped at five years.

Reimbursement alimony follows a marriage of not more than five years and compensates a spouse for economic or non-economic contributions to the payor’s financial resources, such as supporting a household while the payor completed a degree. It may be periodic or a single payment, and it is not modifiable.

Transitional alimony also follows a marriage of not more than five years, and helps a spouse adjust to a new lifestyle or location. It cannot exceed three years, and no court may modify it, extend it, or replace it with another form of alimony.

Which form applies affects how much can be ordered, how long it lasts, and whether it can be changed later.

How Much Alimony Will a Court Order?

Under Chapter 208, Section 53, the amount of alimony should generally not exceed the recipient’s need or 30 to 35 percent of the difference between the parties’ gross incomes at the time of the order. Reimbursement alimony is excepted, and a court may deviate on written findings.

The statute sets a ceiling rather than a formula. Two figures drive it: what the recipient needs, and the gap between the two incomes.

Section 53 directs the court to consider:

• The length of the marriage
• The age and health of both parties
• The income, employment, and employability of both parties, including employability through reasonable diligence and additional training
• Economic and non-economic contributions of both parties to the marriage
• The marital lifestyle, and each party’s ability to maintain it
• Lost economic opportunity as a result of the marriage
• Any other factors the court considers relevant and material

Income is defined as it is under the Child Support Guidelines. Where a party is unemployed or underemployed, the court may attribute income rather than accept what that party actually earns.

A judge may go outside the amount and duration limits for general term and rehabilitative alimony, but only on written findings that a deviation is necessary.

How Long Does General Term Alimony Last?

Duration is tied to the length of the marriage, measured from the date of the marriage to the date the divorce complaint is served. Marriages of twenty years or more may result in alimony of indefinite duration. Shorter marriages carry percentage limits set by statute.

Section 49 sets the durational limits for general term alimony:

• Five years or less — no more than 50 percent of the number of months of the marriage
• More than five up to ten years — no more than 60 percent
• More than ten up to fifteen years — no more than 70 percent
• More than fifteen up to twenty years — no more than 80 percent
• Twenty years or more — the court may order alimony of indefinite duration

The length of the marriage runs from the date of the marriage to the date the complaint for divorce is served on the other party.

Alimony paid under a temporary order while a divorce is pending does not count toward the maximum duration.

A court may order alimony beyond these limits, but only on written findings that a deviation is required in the interests of justice.

Does Alimony End When the Payor Retires?

It depends on the date of the judgment. Section 49(f) provides that general term alimony terminates when the payor reaches full retirement age, but the Supreme Judicial Court has held that this provision applies only to judgments entered on or after March 1, 2012.

The Alimony Reform Act took effect on March 1, 2012, and that date controls the analysis.

For a judgment entered on or after March 1, 2012, Section 49(f) provides that general term alimony terminates when the payor attains full retirement age as defined in the statute.

For a judgment entered before that date, the retirement provision does not apply. In three decisions issued in 2015 — Chin v. Merriot, Rodman v. Rodman, and Doktor v. Doktor — the Supreme Judicial Court held that the retirement provision operates prospectively, based on an uncodified section of the Act. A payor divorced before March 2012 cannot rely on it to end an alimony obligation.

A pre-2012 payor is not without options. Retirement that materially reduces the ability to pay can still support a complaint for modification under the standard that applied before the Act. The difference is that nothing occurs automatically, and the payor carries the burden of proving both the change and its effect.

Alimony obligations that existed before the Act are treated as general term alimony.

What If My Former Spouse Remarries or Moves In With Someone?

General term alimony terminates on the recipient’s remarriage. Cohabitation is treated separately under the statute: alimony may be suspended, reduced, or terminated where the payor shows that the recipient has maintained a common household with another person for a continuous period of at least three months.

Remarriage. Under Section 49(a), general term alimony terminates when the recipient remarries. It also terminates on the death of either spouse, though a court may require the payor to carry life insurance or provide other reasonable security for payments due during the alimony term.

Cohabitation. Section 49(d) allows a court to suspend, reduce, or terminate general term alimony where the payor shows that the recipient has maintained a common household with another person for a continuous period of at least three months. The statute defines a common household as sharing a primary residence, with or without others.

The statutory test is residential rather than romantic. A recipient who shares a primary residence with a relative or a friend can fall within the definition, and the court examines the economic circumstances that result.

The March 2012 date applies here as well. The cohabitation provision was held to operate prospectively, so it does not reach judgments entered before the Act took effect. For those orders, a payor would proceed on the ground that the cohabitation has materially reduced the recipient’s need.

How Do Alimony and Child Support Interact?

Where both may be ordered, the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Cavanagh v. Cavanagh requires a judge to run the calculation twice (alimony first, then child support first) compare the results including tax consequences, and enter whichever order is most equitable for the family.

When a family has both a child support obligation and an alimony claim, the order in which the two are calculated changes the result.

In Cavanagh v. Cavanagh, 490 Mass. 398 (2022), the Supreme Judicial Court set out a three-step process, since incorporated into the 2025 Child Support Guidelines:

1. Calculate alimony first under the Section 53 factors, then calculate child support using the parties’ post-alimony incomes
2. Calculate child support first, then calculate alimony
3. Compare the base award and the tax consequences of both results, and enter the order that is most equitable for the family

Where a judge enters an order that includes no alimony, the decision must explain why in light of the statutory factors.

Section 53 also provides that in setting alimony, the court excludes gross income it has already considered in setting a child support order.

How Do I Change or End an Alimony Order?

Modifying alimony requires filing a complaint for modification in the Probate and Family Court and showing a material change in circumstances since the last order. Reimbursement and transitional alimony cannot be modified, and certain changes are excluded from the court’s consideration by statute.

An alimony order is modified by filing a complaint for modification in the Probate and Family Court and demonstrating a material change in circumstances since the order was entered.

Two statutory protections limit what a court may take into account:

A payor’s remarriage. Under Section 54, if the payor remarries, the income and assets of the new spouse may not be considered in a redetermination of alimony.

Second jobs and overtime. Income from a second job or overtime work is presumed immaterial to a modification where the party works more than one full-time equivalent position and the additional work began after the initial order was entered.

Common grounds for modification include a substantial change in either party’s income, a significant change in health, retirement where the judgment postdates March 2012, and cohabitation by the recipient. What qualifies also depends on the terms of the existing judgment, including whether its alimony provisions merged with the judgment or survived it as an independent contract.

Is Alimony Taxable in Massachusetts?

For divorce instruments executed after December 31, 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payor and not counted as income to the recipient for federal purposes. Massachusetts adopted the same treatment for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.

Two changes took effect at different times, and older orders can be affected by both.

Federal. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ended the alimony deduction for any divorce or separation instrument executed after December 31, 2018. For instruments executed on or before that date, the earlier treatment generally continues, with the payment deductible to the payor and taxable to the recipient.

Massachusetts. The Commonwealth did not follow immediately. For Massachusetts returns covering tax years before 2022, alimony remained deductible by the payer and included in the recipient’s Massachusetts gross income. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, Massachusetts follows the federal treatment. The Department of Revenue publishes the current rules.

Modifying an older order can affect its tax treatment, and the result depends on how the modification is drafted. Anyone considering a modification of a pre-2019 judgment should obtain advice on the tax consequences before filing.

What Does an Alimony Case Cost?

The initial consultation at Sclafani & Moriarty is free and takes place in our office. We quote a fee once we understand what the case involves, and payment plans are available. Court costs are separate from attorney’s fees and are explained before anything is filed.

Cost depends on whether alimony is contested and how complex the income picture is.

An agreed order drafted as part of an uncontested divorce is a contained expense. A contested case involving a self-employed payor, variable compensation such as bonuses or equity, or a dispute over attributed income requires considerably more work and sometimes a financial expert.

We quote fees up front once we understand the situation, and we offer payment schedules.

Contact a West Springfield Alimony Lawyer

Whether you expect to pay alimony, expect to receive it, or hold an order entered years ago, the terms of your judgment determine which rules apply to you.

Sclafani & Moriarty
776 Westfield Street
West Springfield, MA 01089
413-732-8356

Attorney Tanya K. Moriarty offers free initial consultations in our West Springfield office and represents clients throughout Hampden County, including Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Agawam, Westfield, Longmeadow, and Ludlow. Payment plans are available. Call 413-732-8356 or use the contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I receive alimony if we were only married a few years?

Possibly. Reimbursement and transitional alimony exist specifically for marriages of five years or less, and general term alimony is available for shorter marriages subject to the percentage limits. The amount and the form both depend on the circumstances of the marriage.

Does it matter who filed for divorce or who caused the breakup?

Massachusetts is a no-fault state, and who files first does not determine alimony. The statutory factors focus on the length of the marriage, the parties’ incomes and employability, contributions to the marriage, and the marital lifestyle. Conduct during the marriage carries more weight in property division than in alimony.

Can alimony be paid as a single lump sum?

Reimbursement and transitional alimony may be ordered as a one-time payment. General term alimony is periodic by definition, though parties can agree to resolve support through a lump sum or a property transfer instead. Whether that serves you depends on the tax treatment and your circumstances.

What if my former spouse quits a good job to avoid paying?

Section 53 permits the court to attribute income to a party who is unemployed or underemployed. The court is not required to accept current earnings where the evidence shows a party is capable of earning more. Establishing this generally requires employment history, qualifications, and sometimes expert testimony.

Can we agree to waive alimony permanently?

Parties often do, and a separation agreement can provide that alimony is waived and that the waiver survives the judgment as an independent contract rather than merging with it. Whether a waiver holds later depends on how it is drafted, which is worth attention at the time of the agreement.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws and statutes are revised and updated periodically, and the information here may not reflect the most current version of the law. You are strongly advised to speak with an attorney about the specifics of your situation.