The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 15 : Domestic Relations

Chapter 011 : Annulment and Divorce

Subchapter 006 : Property Settlement; Maintenance

• § 752. Maintenance

  (a) In an action under this chapter, the court may order either spouse to make maintenance payments, either rehabilitative or long term in nature, to the other spouse if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance:

  (1) lacks sufficient income or property, or both, including property apportioned in accordance with section 751 of this title, to provide for his or her reasonable needs; and

  (2) is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment at the standard of living established during the civil marriage or is the custodian of a child of the parties.

  (b) The maintenance order shall be in such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just, after considering all relevant factors, including:

  (1) the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, the property apportioned to the party, the party’s ability to meet his or her needs independently, and the extent to which a provision for support of a child living with the party contains a sum for that party as custodian;

  (2) the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment;

  (3) the standard of living established during the civil marriage;

  (4) the duration of the civil marriage;

  (5) the age and the physical and emotional condition of each spouse;

  (6) the ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his or her reasonable needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance;

  (7) inflation with relation to the cost of living;

  (8) the impact of both parties reaching the age of eligibility to receive full retirement benefits under Title II of the federal Social Security Act or the parties’ actual retirement, including any expected discrepancies in federal Social Security Retirement benefits; and

  (9) the following guidelines:

  Length of marriage	% of the difference	Duration of alimony award
  	between parties’	as % length of marriage
  	gross incomes
  0 to <5 years	0-16%	No alimony
  		or short-term alimony
  		up to one year
  5 to <10 years	12-29%	20-50% (1-5 yrs)
  10 to <15 years	16-33%	40-60% (4-9 yrs)
  15 to <20 years	20-37%	40-70% (6-14 yrs)
  20+ years	24-41%	45% (9-20+ yrs)

  (Amended 1981, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2009, No. 3, § 12a, eff. Sept. 1, 2009; 2017, No. 60, § 2, eff. June 5, 2017; 2019, No. 40, § 6; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 300.)