In rare cases, judges may determine that a spouse deserves permanent alimony. That means that payments are made to the other spouse that last as long as the person paying or the person getting paid is alive or remarries. Usually, this kind of alimony will result from specific circumstances such as extremely long marriages, debilitating health issues, or age.

Permanent alimony doesn’t have to come in the way of cash payments but may also take the form of use, ownership, or possession of real, personal or intangible property owned by the other spouse.

This is becoming increasingly rare as the majority of people in this stage of life no longer have continual income but instead are living off of retirement and assets accumulated in the marriage.

To learn more about other types of Alimony, see our informational page here.