Maintenance and alimony: the basics

Maintenance is money one spouse pays to support the other after separation. Indian courts do not use a single formula. In Rajnesh v. Neha the Supreme Court set out the factors a court weighs, including both incomes, the standard of living during the marriage, the length of the marriage, and the needs of any children.

Because so many facts matter, any estimate you see should be a range, not one number. A tool that hands you a single figure is guessing. unknots shows a band and the method behind it, and a court decides the actual amount on the full record.

Child maintenance is treated separately from spousal maintenance, and it follows the child's needs. Both can be part of a settlement you reach together, which a court can then make enforceable.