Each routine, modifiable and nonmodifiable, has advantages and disadvantages to payor and recipient of alimony; in general, modifiable alimony routines are more common.

Although husbands who pay it may feel otherwise, alimony is not damages for a failed marriage. Beginning in the 1970s, courts began to realize that alimony should is rehabilitative for the nonworking spouse whose contributions to the marriage did not lend themselves to a dollar-and-cents calculation. Coincidentally, this happened at the same time most jurisdictions followed the lead of California in liberalizing divorce laws.

To determine the quantity and duration of alimony -- the how much and for how long -- courts consider factors that include the need of the spouse, his or her ability to pay, the length of the marriage, the lifestyle of the couple when married, and the age and health of both spouses.

It should be remembered that spouses sometimes opt for a single lump-sum payment.

See also Lump Sum Alimony.

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