What is rehabilitative alimony?
Just like limited duration alimony, rehabilitative alimony is payable for a specific term. The purpose of rehabilitative alimony is to provide support to a dependent spouse while she acquires education or training to permit her to obtain employment that would allow this spouse to support herself. Rehabilitative alimony does not terminate if the supported spouse gets remarried.
Rehabilitative alimony is financial support that is provided for a short period of time; to allow the receiving spouse time to get adjusted, establish him or herself, financially. This type of alimony will allow the divorced spouse time to “rehabilitate” him or herself and become completely self-supporting. For example: once the divorce is finalized, the decree or judgment will order “rehabilitative alimony” based upon certain termination criteria, like but not limited to, remarriage and/or gaining employment. The wife may need a certain amount of time to gain employment in a career-oriented position. This may be possible, but only if she first goes to school, this may take two years. Some reform activists have objected to the use of the word “rehabilitative,” believing that it has a pejorative context. These people believe that the use of “rehabilitative” implies that the recipient was incapable of making a living, or that some type of personal fault must be “corrected.” On the other
