Alimony (Meaning and Law)

Author: Legal Resolved

Alimony (Meaning and Law)

Alimony or maintenance is awarded to a spouse in the form of financial support by the other spouse under Sec. 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act or Sec. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Legally stating, either husband can claim alimony from wife or vice-versa. But in practise, it is the wife who claims the alimony from her husband. It may be provided either as a lump-sum payment (one-time), periodical payments or monthly payments till the life of the spouse or less than that.

The formula for calculation of Alimony

There is no strait-jacket formula to calculate alimony but a number of factors come into play, merits of which are pondered upon by the family court. It solely depends upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the case.

Factors upon which it is calculated (when husband pays to wife)

  • Income and all properties of the husband;
  • Income and all properties of the wife;
  • Conduct of the parties;
  • Mandatory Deductions such as Income tax, loan and debt repayments, etc from the husband’s salary so as to arrive at his net income;
  • Other liabilities also matter such as old-age parents, children, etc;
  • Wife’s educational qualification and experience;
  • Lifestyle and social status of the husband and wife;
  • Expenses of the wife on food, clothing & shelter;
  • The economic, financial and social status of the wife prior to separation;
  • Expenses for the children for their upbringing including their education, medical,etc;
  • Age and health of the spouses;
  • Time duration of their marriage.

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Statutory Law References

Sec. 24, 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Sec. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

Landmark Judgments

U. Sree v. U. Srinivas, (2013) 2 SCC 114

Shabana Bano v. Imran Khan (2010) 1 SCC 666

Danial Latifi & Anr v. Union of India (2001) 7 SCC 740

Important Things to Remember

  • Alimony or maintenance can be claimed under Sec. 25 of HMA or Sec. 125 of CrPC;
  • Alimony awarded to the wife mostly varies between 1/4th - 1/3rd of the income of the husband;
  • Award of alimony can be modified or varied if there is any change of circumstances in the husband’s or wife’s life such as remarriage of the husband;
  • The court will try to restore the lifestyle and social status of the wife prior to her separation from her husband;
  • Custody of baby remains with her mother till she reaches the age of 5;
  • Find a divorce lawyer before claiming alimony;
  • Execute the agreement for alimony.

Alimony Amount Assessment-Important factors

The alimony amount is given at the time of dissolution of marriage. It is a financial support to either spouse who is unable to earn or unable to maintain himself/herself. The alimony amount can be claimed by either spouse but usually wife claims it from husband in our patriarchal society. The alimony amount depends on various facts, contexts and their assessment by the court and there is no specific mathematical formula to calculate it despite considerations of all factors involved

The alimony amount can be provided as one-time payment or as periodical/monthly payment.

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Important points while determining the alimony amount

  1. Husband’s income from various sources(salary, rent, premium from insurance policies/mutual funds etc.) and his assets, esp. self acquired
  2. Other mandatory deductions from income of either spouse such as income tax, loan repayments etc.
  3. Other liabilities of either spouse such as dependents (old parents).
  4. If the other spouse is working and he/she has own income source, the same will be taken into consideration while determining the alimony amount.
  5. The social status and life style of either spouse may also be taken into consideration while determining the alimony amount.
  6. The expenses of children, education, living cost etc. will be considered.
  7. Period of marriage, age and health of either spouse.

Statutory law References.

Section 25 of Hindu Marriage act 1995

Section 37 of Special marriage act 1954

Section 36 of Divorce act 1869

Important Judgments

  1. U. Sree v. U. Srinivas, (2013) 2 SCC 114 (Supreme court)
  2. Ruby Vs Debasish Pradhan 118(2014) CLT859 (Supreme court)
  3. Vinny Parmar vs Paramvir Parmar 2011(3)RCR(Civil)900 (Supreme court)

4. Sumitra Manna vs. Gobinda Chandra Manna (AIR 1988 Cal 192)

Important Do: -

  1. Disclose all the facts related to the marriage.
  2. Disclose the status of pending cases and details.
  3. Provide the income details of either spouse.
  4. Provide the self-acquired property details of either spouse.
  5. Provide children details & their expenses.