Indiana Spousal Maintenance Laws: Why Indiana Has No General Alimony (2026)

Indiana does not award general alimony. Under Indiana Code 31-15-7-2, a court may order spousal maintenance only in three narrow circumstances: physical or mental incapacity, caregiving for an incapacitated child, or up to three years of rehabilitative support after a career interruption.

Information last verified on June 1, 2026.

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Does Indiana Have Alimony?

The short answer is no. Indiana does not recognize general alimony the way many other states do. In most states a court can weigh factors such as the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, or the income gap between the spouses to justify ongoing support payments. Indiana law does not authorize that analysis.

Indiana courts are not permitted to award maintenance simply because one spouse earns significantly more than the other, or because the marriage lasted many years, or because one spouse stayed home for decades. Those are relevant facts for property division, not for maintenance.

The word "alimony" does not appear in Title 31 of the Indiana Code. The statute instead uses the term "maintenance," and it grants courts the authority to order it only in the three narrowly defined situations described in the next section.

This distinction matters. Many people approaching an Indiana divorce expect that a long marriage or a large income gap will generate a support obligation. Under Indiana law it will not, unless the specific statutory conditions are satisfied. Property division is where the financial balancing happens.

The Three Kinds of Spousal Maintenance in Indiana

Indiana Code 31-15-7-2 sets out the only three grounds on which a court may order spousal maintenance over a party's objection.

1. Incapacity Maintenance

A court may order maintenance when a spouse is physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent that the spouse is unable to support themselves. The incapacity must prevent self-support, not merely reduce earning capacity. This type of maintenance can continue for as long as the incapacity persists. There is no fixed time limit. If the incapacitated spouse recovers to the point of being able to support themselves, the paying spouse may petition the court to terminate or reduce the obligation.

The incapacity must be real and significant. A spouse who is capable of some work but earns less than the other spouse does not meet this standard. The question is whether the physical or mental condition materially prevents self-support.

2. Caregiver Maintenance

A court may order maintenance when a spouse lacks sufficient property to provide for their own needs and is the custodian of a child whose physical or mental incapacity requires the custodian to forgo employment. This ground addresses the practical reality that a parent may be unable to work because round-the-clock care for a seriously ill or disabled child consumes their full time and energy.

Caregiver maintenance is tied to the caregiving need. If the child's condition improves, or if the custody arrangement changes, those facts can become the basis for a modification petition.

3. Rehabilitative Maintenance

A court may order rehabilitative maintenance when a spouse needs support to re-enter the workforce after having interrupted education or career development during the marriage to fulfill homemaking or child-rearing responsibilities.

In deciding whether rehabilitative maintenance is warranted and in what amount, the court considers:

• The education level and earning capacity of each spouse at the time of the divorce.
• The extent to which the requesting spouse interrupted education or training during the marriage because of homemaking or child care responsibilities.
• The future education and training expenses that will be necessary for the requesting spouse to find appropriate employment.

Rehabilitative maintenance is the most commonly sought type in Indiana divorces, but courts have full discretion whether to award it. A spouse is not automatically entitled to it simply because they reduced their workforce participation during the marriage.

Rehabilitative Maintenance and the 3-Year Limit

Indiana Code 31-15-7-2 expressly limits rehabilitative maintenance to a maximum of three years from the date of the final divorce decree. The court may set the amount and duration within that ceiling based on what it finds appropriate given the evidence.

A three-year cap reflects a specific legislative choice. The Indiana legislature determined that three years is enough time for a spouse to obtain education, retraining, or job placement and re-establish financial independence. Courts cannot extend the period beyond three years, even if the spouse argues that more time is needed.

The amount of rehabilitative maintenance is not fixed by any formula. A court looks at the costs of retraining, the current income of both spouses, and the circumstances of the interruption. Two spouses who both interrupted their careers in similar ways could receive different amounts depending on current income levels and the cost of the retraining they actually need.

Rehabilitative maintenance ends no later than three years from the final decree. It may end sooner if the court sets a shorter duration, or if the recipient remarries, or if the paying spouse successfully petitions for modification based on changed circumstances.

How Property Division Fills the Gap

Because general alimony does not exist in Indiana, property division carries the full weight of financially rebalancing the parties after divorce. Indiana courts operate under what the Indiana Court of Appeals has called the "one pot" theory.

Under Indiana Code 31-15-7-4, the marital estate includes all property belonging to either spouse, regardless of when it was acquired or whose name it is in. The court must consider all of it before deciding how to divide it.

Indiana Code 31-15-7-5 establishes a presumption that an equal division of the marital estate is just and reasonable. Either party may rebut that presumption by presenting evidence that an equal split would be unfair given the circumstances. Factors the court may consider in deviating from equal division include:

• The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of property, including contributions as a homemaker.
• The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division would take effect, including the desirability of awarding the family residence to the parent with primary custody of children.
• The conduct of the parties during the marriage as it relates to the dissipation of property.
• The earnings or earning capacity of each party.
• The property each spouse brought into the marriage.

A spouse who stayed home for many years while the other built a career will not receive alimony. But that same spouse has a strong argument that the presumption of equal property division should apply in full, and that their homemaking contributions justify their share of the marital estate on an equal footing.

The practical result is that a long-married, lower-earning spouse may walk away with half of a substantial marital estate, which can include retirement accounts, home equity, business interests, and savings. That lump-sum or in-kind division replaces the ongoing income stream that alimony would provide in other states.

When Maintenance Ends or Changes

Modification

Under Indiana Code 31-15-7-3, a court may modify or revoke a maintenance order upon a showing of changed circumstances that are substantial and continuing to the point that the existing order has become unreasonable. A temporary setback does not meet that standard. The change must be significant and expected to persist.

Common reasons to petition for modification include a substantial change in the paying spouse's income, a significant change in the recipient's income or earning capacity, or a material change in the recipient's physical or mental condition.

Termination Upon Remarriage

Indiana case law treats the remarriage of the recipient spouse as a significant changed circumstance that can support termination of maintenance. A new marriage creates a new financial relationship, and a court may find that maintenance is no longer needed as a result. The paying spouse should file a modification petition promptly after learning of the remarriage rather than stopping payments unilaterally, since self-help can result in arrears.

Termination Upon Death

A maintenance obligation generally does not survive the death of either party. The death of the paying spouse terminates the obligation, as does the death of the recipient. If a recipient spouse is concerned about continuity of support, that concern is better addressed during the divorce proceedings through property division or negotiated terms, not through an ongoing maintenance order.

Incapacity Maintenance Duration

For incapacity maintenance specifically, the obligation continues while the incapacity that triggered it persists. If the incapacitated spouse recovers, the paying spouse may return to court to show the changed condition and seek termination or reduction. Courts retain jurisdiction to revisit incapacity maintenance as circumstances evolve.

Is Maintenance Taxable, and How It Differs from Indiana Child Support

Federal Tax Treatment

For divorce and separation agreements finalized after December 31, 2018, federal tax law no longer treats alimony or spousal maintenance as deductible for the payer or taxable income for the recipient. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed this rule for new agreements. If your divorce was finalized after that date, the maintenance payments you receive are not included in your gross income, and the payments you make are not deductible on your federal return.

For agreements finalized on or before December 31, 2018 that have not been modified to adopt the new rules, the old treatment still applies: the payer may deduct the payments and the recipient must include them as gross income.

Consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation, as the rules around pre- and post-2018 agreements and subsequent modifications can be complex.

Difference from Child Support

Child support and spousal maintenance are separate legal obligations governed by different Indiana statutes. Child support is calculated under Indiana Code Title 31, Article 16 using the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, which set an income-based formula. Spousal maintenance is governed by Indiana Code 31-15-7-2 and involves court discretion rather than a formula.

Child support is not deductible by the payer at the federal level and is not taxable income for the recipient, regardless of when the divorce occurred. That treatment mirrors the post-2018 rule for spousal maintenance, but the two obligations arise from entirely different legal bases.

Child support runs for the benefit of the child and generally ends when the child reaches the age of majority or is otherwise emancipated. Maintenance runs between spouses and is shaped by the three-ground framework described in this article.

For more information on Indiana's child support rules, see our guide to Indiana child support laws.

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Indiana is one of the more restrictive states when it comes to post-divorce financial support. If you are planning or facing a divorce in Indiana, understanding that property division is the primary tool, and that maintenance requires meeting a specific statutory test, is essential to setting realistic expectations. See the full alimony laws by state guide for how Indiana compares to other jurisdictions.

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Indiana spousal maintenance law and is not legal advice. Laws may change, and individual circumstances vary. Consult a licensed Indiana family law attorney for advice about your specific situation.

Last updated: June 1, 2026.

More Indiana Laws

• Indiana Child Custody Laws
• Indiana Child Support Laws
• Indiana Common Law Marriage Laws
• Indiana Divorce Laws