Going through a divorce can raise difficult financial questions, with spousal maintenance being one of the most pressing concerns. This blog outlines what this can mean for you and what role it plays in your divorce proceedings.
How Minnesota defines spousal maintenance
Spousal maintenance, sometimes called alimony, is a court-ordered payment from one spouse to another following a divorce. State courts may award it when one spouse lacks the income or resources to cover their basic needs based on the lifestyle they had during the marriage.
How transitional and indefinite maintenance differ
Minnesota recognizes the following types of alimony:
- Transitional maintenance provides financial support for a limited time. Judges often award it when you or your spouse needs help completing education, gaining job skills or taking other steps toward becoming financially independent.
- Indefinite maintenance does not have a set end date. Judges usually consider it in longer marriages when you or your spouse is unlikely to reach full financial independence due to age, health or long-term absence from the workforce.
Understanding recent terminology changes also helps you clarify these distinctions. In August 2024, state law replaced the phrase “permanent maintenance” with indefinite maintenance.
The term temporary maintenance still applies to support paid while your divorce remains pending. However, once the court issues a final divorce order, any support set for a defined period now falls under the term transitional maintenance.
How courts decide spousal support
If the judges identify a need, it then weighs several factors to set the amount and length of support. These factors can include:
- The financial resources, including the property you will receive in the divorce
- The time you need to acquire sufficient education or training to find appropriate employment
- The marital standard of living, and critically, how much of that lifestyle was funded by debt
Before awarding maintenance, a court must first determine whether a genuine financial need exists by looking at whether you or your spouse lacks enough property or income to maintain the lifestyle you shared during the marriage.
How long maintenance payments may last
For marriages lasting fewer than five years, courts generally presume that they should not award alimony. When the marriage extends into the five-to-20-year range, judges may instead award transitional maintenance for up to half the length of the marriage. Once a marriage reaches 20 years or more, however, the presumption shifts entirely, with courts generally finding indefinite maintenance appropriate.
These benchmarks are what the law calls “rebuttable presumptions.” In simple terms, they act as a starting point, but a court may adjust the timeline if the facts of the case call for it. Either partner can present evidence to argue for a longer or shorter period.
