As per the Cambridge
Dictionary, Alimony is a regular amount of money that a court
of law orders a person to pay to his or her partner after divorce,
whereas Maintenance is the money that a person must pay
regularly by law in order to support his wife , child or parents.
As per
the Cambridge Dictionary, Alimony is a regular amount of money
that a law court orders a person to pay to his or her partner after divorce,
whereas Maintenance is the money that a person must pay
regularly by law in order to support his wife , child or parents.
The term Alimony is derived
from the Latin term Alimonia, which means sustenance, whereas the term
Maintenance is derived from the old French verb Maintenir, which means shelter,
protection.
In general language,
Alimony and Maintenance are synonymous to each other and are used in different
names in different places, and is a financial arrangement by which a partner
provides financial support to other partner either in onetime payment or
regular payment.
Under the Indian Law, Alimony is
onetime payment made to the spouse who is unable to maintain herself/himself
and it can be paid in lump sum in cash or any other kind of payment method,
even in the form of property.
Whereas, Maintenance is
the periodic financial support to the spouse who is unable to maintain
herself/himself. It means Maintenance can be paid monthly, annually or as
directed by the Court of law, but it cannot be paid in the form of property.
Generally, Alimony or
Maintenance is provided if a spouse does not have adequate means to take care
of the basic needs of life, and usually provided by the husband to wife.
Types of Alimony or
Maintenance
There are three types of
Alimony or Maintenance
👉Lump sum Alimony or
Maintenance
👉Interim or temporary
Alimony or Maintenance
👉Permanent Alimony or
Maintenance
Lump sum Alimony or
Maintenance
It is a one-time allowance
given by one spouse to other, and generally paid after the divorce is
finalized, and mostly it is paid at the time of granting mutual consent
divorce.
Interim or temporary
Alimony or Maintenance
It is given for a certain
period and generally for the period of proceedings of maintenance petition.
Permanent Alimony or
Maintenance
It is granted after the
conclusion of maintenance petition or proceedings for lifetime of the spouse or
till the time the other spouse gets remarried.
Calculation of Alimony or
Maintenance
There is no fixed formula
for calculating the Alimony or Maintenance. However as per Supreme Court if it
is paid on monthly basis then it should be 25% of the husband’s net monthly
salary, and for one –time settlement, the amount usually ranges between 1/5th to
1/3rd of the husband’s net worth.
Conclusion:
In India, if one –time
payment is made by one spouse to other, who is unable to maintain himself
/herself is considered as Alimony.
If payment is made monthly,
periodically or annually or the period fixed by the Court, then it is
considered as Maintenance.
Alimony may be paid to the spouse in lump sum in Cash or in the form of property, whereas Maintenance is only paid in the form of cash and it cannot be paid in the form of property.
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