alimony
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 245 U.S. 151 - Gould v. Gould · 1917Most cited · 1,314 citing opinions
not income
Alimony does not arise from any business transaction, but from the relation of marriage. It is not founded on a contract, express or implied, but on the natural and legal duty of the husband to support the wife. The general obligation to support is made specific by the decree of the court of appropriate jurisdiction. Permanent alimony is regarded rather as a portion of the husband's estate to which the wife is equitably entitled, than as strictly a debt.
How the Supreme Court has restated “alimony”
Each Supreme Court definition of “alimony,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “alimony”
Court decisions citing the 5 opinions that defined “alimony” — 3,495 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 5 definitions, chronological · 1858–1940
- 1858·62 U.S. 582 - Hiram Barber v. Huldah a Barber by Her Next Friend George Cronkhite[p29]· cited 652×ORIGINAL
Alimony decreed to a wife in a divorce of separation from bed and board is as much a debt of record, until the decree has been recalled, as any other judgment for money is.
as debt of record
Alimony decreed to a wife in a divorce of separation from bed and board is as much a debt of record, until the decree has been recalled, as any other judgment for money is.
debt of record
a provision for annual payments to serve the purpose of alimony, that is, to assure to the wife suitable support
Amounts paid to a divorced wife under a decree for alimony are not regarded as income of the wife but as paid in discharge of the general obligation to support, which is made specific by the decree.