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 Alimony Calculator India

What is Alimony?
Alimony (Maintenance) is a legal obligation on a person to
provide financial support to their spouse during or after
marital separation or divorce under divorce maintenance
rules in India.

The term alimony comes from the Latin word alimōnia

(“nourishment, sustenance”, from alhere, “to nourish”), from
which also alimentary (of, or relating to food, nutrition, or
digestion) and the Scots law concept of aliment, and was a
rule of sustenance to provide for the wife’s lodging, food,
clothing, and other necessities after divorce.
Alimony vs Child Support
Often, people confuse alimony with child support. However,
they are two completely different types of financial
remedies. In simple terms, the financially weaker spouse
receives alimony. Whereas child support is about providing
financial assistance by one parent to the other, who has
custody of the child. Alimony, in many cases, is awarded
alongside child support and at the discretion of the judge
presiding over the case.

There are two types of Alimony

As per divorce alimony calculator India the alimony is of
two types:

 First is Interim Maintenance amount provided during

court proceedings
 Second is the
amount provided on
final legal separation

It could either be in the

form of:

 a one-time lump sum

amount
 a fixed payment – which could be monthly, quarterly or
as per the spouse’s requirement
The decision to award lump-sum alimony or
monthly/periodical payment depends on the court as per
the alimony calculator in India.

Who is eligible for Alimony?

If a couple marries under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, both the husband and
wife can legally claim permanent alimony and
maintenance under divorce alimony rules.

Divorced via mutual concern

In case a couple decides to get a divorce mutually, the
decision on whether any alimony/maintenance is to be paid
by either party is a matter of agreement between them. In
such cases, alimony/maintenance could be paid by either
the husband to the wife or by the wife to the husband
subject to the mutual understanding between the couple.
The court then gives directives with reference to the
agreement between the couple under divorce
maintenance rules. It binds the couple to follow the
directives enforced by the court.

Provision of Alimony under the Hindu

Adoption and Maintenance Act
As per the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, a Hindu
wife whether married before or after the commencement of
this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained by her husband
during her lifetime.

 Under Hindu Marriage Act – 1955, a Hindu wife can

live independently from her husband without
forfeiting her claim to a maintenance, if the husband:

1. He is guilty of desertion or abandoning her without a

proper cause. Without her consent or against her wish
or willfully neglecting her;
2. Has treated her with such cruelty as to cause a
reasonable apprehension in her mind that it will be
harmful or injurious to live with her husband;
3. Is suffering from a virulent form of leprosy;
4. Has any other wife living;
5. Keeps a mistress in the same house in which his wife is
living or habitually resides with a mistress elsewhere;
6. Is no more a Hindu by conversion to another religion;
 7. Creates any other situation that justifies living
separately.

Cases where Hindu wives don’t qualify for

alimony; Under the Hindu Adoption and
Maintenance Act:
 A Hindu wife shall not be granted separate
accommodation and maintenance from her husband
in case she is unchaste or by conversion ceases to be
a Hindu.
 When the wife lives separately and brings up all the
children without any support from the husband. In
the case of Meera Nireshwalia v. Sukumar
Nireshwalia, there was a clear case of seclusion, thus
the court granted the wife separate residence and
maintenance.
 The plea for maintenance by a wife can also be
continued under clause (g) even covered on the basis
of one or other clauses i.e. clause (a) – (f) of section
18(2) substantially but not fully. In case the wife fails
to rightly prove the specific grounds urged by her,
she cannot be denied relief; Meera Nireshwalia v.
Sukumar Nireshwalia, AIR 1994 Mad 168.
Quantum of Alimony

When alimony is paid periodically

The Supreme Court in one of its landmark judgments has
set a benchmark for maintenance to be paid by a husband
to his estranged wife. It stated that 25% of the net salary of
the husband might constitute a “just and proper” amount as
alimony. However, a hard and fast rule for alimony
calculator in India has not been defined under any law.
Neither is it possible due to its dependency on the facts and
circumstances. As each case differs, the court administers
the divorce maintenance rules.

A one-time lump sum amount Alimony

Under divorce alimony rules no lump-sum settlement
benchmark exists. Although it ranges from 1/5th to 1/3rd of
the husband’s net worth and is a one-time settlement.

Below are some important factors that decide the quantum

of Alimony under Hindu Law, and divorce maintenance
rules.

If the wife is working and drawing a

handsome salary
Under divorce maintenance rules: When the wife is
working and drawing a handsome salary, the Court will
certainly take the earning into consideration along with the
husband’s income. Depending on the facts and situations of
the case, the court decides whether the wife will receive
alimony/maintenance. And if yes, then they decide on the
amount she shall receive from the husband. This is how the
alimony calculator in India works.

What if Husband earns less than his wife

Provisions under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, allow a
Hindu husband to claim alimony from his wife. When he
earns less than her or does not earn at all, though this is
rare.

Time Period of Alimony

How long Alimony need to be paid by the spouse?

Usually, the husband to maintain his wife until her lifetime.

What if wife remarries?

If the wife remarries, the husband is not responsible for her

maintenance. The husband can petition the court for orders
to stop the alimony.

What in case of a change in circumstances where the

wife started earning more than her husband and the
husband is unable to maintain his wife due to financial
crises?

Likewise, if there is a change in situations, for example, the

husband is unable to maintain the wife due to a financial
crisis or any other adverse situation. Where the wife is
financially independent earning a decent salary. In this

Situation, the husband may petition the court to address the

changed circumstances under divorce alimony rules. The
court may take into account the facts, evidence, and
circumstances prevailing at that point of time, modify, vary
or rescind the order.

What if the earning of a spouse increases after the

award of permanent Alimony?

When the alimony/maintenance paying spouse earns more

after the award for permanent alimony/maintenance has
been passed. Then the spouse receiving
alimony/maintenance may make a petition addressing the
court. It will address the issue related to the increase in the
husband’s income. But she will have to prove her inability to
maintain herself with the alimony already awarded by the
court. The court may take into account the facts, evidence,
and circumstances prevailing at that point of time to
increase the alimony payable. Although, it’s not necessary
that a wife is entitled to more alimony in case the husband
earns more.

When the person receiving alimony gets richer in the

future (creates/inherits more wealth) than the one
paying, will the flow of alimony be reversed?

It depends on the facts and situations of the case. In case

the wife receiving alimony inherits wealth and becomes
richer. Then the husband would have to make a
miscellaneous petition to prove the same to the court. The
court will again look into the merits of the case, that is,
evidence produced. To show that the wife is a richer lady
than what she was at the time of grant of the alimony. Also
that the husband is incapable of maintaining his wife. So, if
the husband claims alimony for his maintenance it will again
have the court’s decision. After looking into the parameters
for awarding alimony/maintenance as per the divorce
alimony calculator in India.

Taxability of Alimony
Periodical payout: Alimony in the form of
monthly/quarterly payouts is treated as revenue receipt and
taxed in the hands of the receiver. Added to her total
income and taxed as per the tax bracket. No deductions are
available for the payer.

Lump-sum – Lump sum alimony is treated as a capital

receipt and hence is tax-free.

What belongs to a wife after separation?

Factors considered with alimony calculator in India
include any type of jewellery (gold, silver, precious stones,
alloy), fixed property and other assets like cars, paintings,
artefacts, appliances, furniture, etc. Presented to the woman
before, after and during her marriage.
To claim alimony in case of a dispute, people can use a list
of items with signatures of two witnesses can be given

Gifts from anyone to her is the wife’s property: husband, in-

laws, parents, friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

Women’s earnings before or after.

What does not belong to a wife after

separation?
 Any jewellery, like a gold chain or ring, and other
valuables gifted to the husband by the wife’s parents.
Before, after and during the course of the marriage.
 Any asset bought by the husband in the wife’s name
without passing it on as a gift.
 The wife’s earnings spent on the household is
unclaimable.

The law is equal for both and considers that the richer
spouse must support for the financially weaker spouse. It
ensures the livelihood and wellbeing of a couple under
divorce maintenance rules as per the divorce alimony
calculator in India.
 Hope you liked it!
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