Alimony

Alimony signifies, in English law, the allowance which a married woman is entitled to receive out of her husband's estate, pendente lite, or after decree of judicial separation, or for dissolution of the marriage. In the case of separation, the court can only increase, and not diminish, money previously secured to the wife; in the case of divorce, they can deal with the settlements. Alimony is sometimes called maintenance. In the United States, as in England, it is fixed by the court, and is generally proportioned to the standing and mode of life of the parties. When the wrongful cause of separation is in the wife, she is not allowed permanent alimony.