Divorce alimony

Dear Madam,
There is no formula to fix and determine alimony. It depends upon various factors and law is flexible. Apart from alimony your children will get maintenance if you file separate maintenance case and never agree to receive lumpsum amount towards children maintenance and educational expenses. If you are in urgency to get divorce immediately then you may get less alimony.

Dear Client,
Under Section 37 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, any person having sufficient means is liable to support his wife and children, provided that she is unable to maintain herself and the children. This support is provided by way of a fixed amount determined by a judicial magistrate, known as ‘maintenance or alimony’, once an application is filed by the aggrieved spouse seeking maintenance from her husband in the Family Court. Certain guidelines had been set down by the Supreme Court in its judgment in the case of Rajnesh Vs. Neha (2021(2) SCC 324). Said criteria include the parties’ status, the respondent (Wife) needs, the respondent’s income and property, the claimant’s liabilities and financial responsibilities, the parties’ age and employment status, the parties’ residential arrangements, the parties’ minor children’s maintenance, and illness or disability, etc. The courts have held that the husband's income, as well as his assets and properties, can be taken into consideration while determining the maintenance amount. The courts have also held that maintenance/alimony can be granted to the wife even if she is living separately from her husband due to his ill-treatment or other reasons. As regards the quantum of alimony/maintenance in divorce cases, there is no set rule for paying the one-time amount of alimony/maintenance. However, the court can grant one-third or one-fifth of the husband's net worth as alimony or maintenance. Under divorce alimony rules, no lump-sum settlement benchmark exists. If alimony/maintenance gets paid monthly, the Supreme Court of India has established a benchmark value of 25% of the husband's net monthly earnings to be awarded to the wife. There is no such benchmark for a one-time settlement/compensation, but usually, the amount ranges between 1/3rd to 1/5th of the husband's net worth.