If you are going through a divorce and are worried about how you will support yourself or what you may be asked to pay, you are asking the right question.
Missouri courts do not award spousal support automatically. The law sets a specific two-part test that must be met before a judge can order it, and understanding that test is the first step toward knowing where you stand.
Missouri Calls It Maintenance, Not Alimony
First, a quick note on terminology. Missouri law does not use the word “alimony.” The statute, Section 452.335 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, refers to it as “maintenance.” You may also hear “spousal support.” All three terms refer to the same thing: payments from one spouse to the other during or after a divorce. Courts and attorneys in St. Louis will use “maintenance,” so that is the word you will see in your paperwork.
The Two-Part Test: Who Can Qualify
Under Missouri law, a court may award maintenance to either spouse, but only if the spouse requesting it meets both parts of a threshold test:
- They lack sufficient property to provide for their reasonable needs. This includes the marital property they receive in the divorce. If the property division leaves a spouse with sufficient assets to meet their reasonable needs, maintenance is generally unavailable, regardless of how large the income gap between the spouses may be.
- They cannot support themselves through appropriate employment, or they are caring for a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate that they not be required to work outside the home.
Both parts must be satisfied. A spouse who earns far less than the other does not qualify on that basis alone. The question is whether their own property and realistic earning ability, taken together, fall short of covering their reasonable needs.
What Counts as “Reasonable Needs”
Reasonable needs are measured in part against the standard of living established during the marriage, but “reasonable” is the key word. Courts look at housing, transportation, insurance, food, and other ordinary living expenses. Maintenance is not meant to fund a lavish lifestyle. It is designed to bridge a genuine gap between what a spouse needs and what they can provide for themselves.
What Counts as “Appropriate Employment”
Appropriate employment means work suited to a person’s skills, education, experience, and health. A spouse who spent twenty years out of the workforce raising children is not expected to immediately replace a professional income. At the same time, a spouse who is capable of working is generally expected to make reasonable efforts to become self-supporting. Courts can consider earning capacity, not just current income, which matters when one spouse is voluntarily underemployed.
Situations Where Maintenance Is Often Considered
Every case turns on its own facts, but maintenance requests often arise in situations like these:
- Long-term marriages where one spouse left the workforce or reduced their career to manage the home or raise children
- Large income gaps combined with limited property, where one spouse cannot realistically meet expenses on their own earnings
- Health issues that limit a spouse’s ability to work
- A spouse caring for a child with special needs or circumstances that make outside employment impractical
- Divorce later in life, where the years remaining before retirement make retraining or rebuilding a career difficult
On the other side, maintenance is less likely in shorter marriages, where both spouses work and earn comparable incomes, or where the property division itself provides enough for each spouse to meet their reasonable needs.
If You Qualify, These Factors Shape the Amount and Duration
Meeting the two-part test opens the door. It does not decide how much maintenance is paid or for how long. Missouri gives judges broad discretion and directs them to weigh all relevant factors, including:
- The financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including the marital property they receive and their ability to meet their needs independently
- The time needed to gain the education or training required to find appropriate employment
- The comparative earning capacity of each spouse
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- Each spouse’s obligations and assets, including separate property
- The duration of the marriage
- The age and the physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance
- The paying spouse’s ability to meet their own needs while paying maintenance
- The conduct of the parties during the marriage
- Any other relevant factors
Missouri has no formula for maintenance. Unlike child support, there is no chart or calculator that produces a number. Two St. Louis judges could look at similar facts and reach different results, which is one reason the quality of the evidence and argument presented in your case matters so much.
Talk to a St. Louis Divorce Attorney About Your Situation
Maintenance is one of the most fact-dependent issues in a Missouri divorce. The same income gap can lead to very different outcomes depending on the property division, each spouse’s earning capacity, and how the case is presented. A conversation with an attorney early in the process can help you understand whether you may qualify, what you could be asked to pay, and how to protect your financial future either way.
The Betz Law Firm is a locally owned St. Louis family law firm helping individuals and parents through divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody, and parenting plans. Founded in 2012, our boutique team takes time to understand your goals, explains your options in plain language, and builds a strategy that fits your family and the realities of Missouri family law.