Spousal Support in Vermont

Eligibility

Under § 752(a), a Vermont court may order maintenance, either rehabilitative or long-term, if it makes a specific finding. The spouse seeking it must lack enough income or property, including any property apportioned in the divorce, to cover reasonable needs. That spouse must also be unable to support themselves through appropriate employment at the standard of living set during the marriage, or must be the custodian of a child of the parties.

The nine statutory factors

Section 752(b) directs courts to consider several things. These include the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including apportioned property and the ability to meet needs independently. Courts also weigh the time and expense needed to acquire education or training for appropriate employment. The standard of living established during the marriage matters too, along with the duration of the marriage. Judges look at the age and physical and emotional condition of each spouse, and at the paying spouse's ability to meet their own reasonable needs while paying maintenance. Inflation relative to the cost of living factors in as well. So does the impact of both parties reaching full Social Security retirement eligibility, or actual retirement, including any discrepancy in expected benefits.

The statutory guideline table

The ninth factor is a table. It ties both the amount and the duration of maintenance to marriage length, working in guideline bands.

For marriages under 5 years, the table points to 0% to 16% of the income difference between the parties. Duration here is short: no alimony, or short-term alimony up to one year. For marriages of 5 to under 10 years, it points to roughly 12% to 29% of the income difference. Duration runs around 20% to 50% of the marriage length, or about 1 to 5 years. For 10 to under 15 years, the range runs roughly 16% to 33% of the income difference. Duration runs around 40% to 60% of the marriage length, or about 4 to 9 years.

For 15 to under 20 years, the range runs roughly 20% to 37% of the income difference. Duration runs around 40% to 70% of the marriage length, or about 6 to 14 years. For marriages of 20 years or more, the range runs roughly 24% to 41% of the income difference. Duration runs around 45% of the marriage length, spanning roughly 9 to 20-plus years. These are guideline ranges built into the statute, not automatic entitlements. The court still applies the other eight factors alongside them.

Rehabilitative vs. long-term maintenance

Vermont's statute names two forms of maintenance. Rehabilitative maintenance supports a spouse through a period of transition back toward self-sufficiency. Long-term maintenance applies where the facts point toward more extended support, often after a longer marriage. Which one a court orders, and for how long, flows from the same nine-factor analysis described above, including the guideline table. Because the guideline table is advisory rather than mandatory, a court can depart from it. That happens when the nine statutory factors, taken together, point toward a different amount or duration than the table alone would suggest.

Where Vermont maintenance cases are filed

Divorce cases in Vermont, including any request for maintenance, are filed in the family division of the Vermont Superior Court, in the county where one of the spouses lives. Maintenance is typically addressed together with property division and, where children are involved, parental rights and responsibilities, in the same case. The Vermont Judiciary's self-help resources can point filers to current forms, and the family division clerk in the relevant county can confirm local filing procedures.