Spousal maintenance (what used to be called alimony) is under attack in Missouri. Missouri currently has no statutory limits on the duration or amount of spousal maintenance. Section 452.335 RSMo., provides a list of factors for the judge to consider in awarding spousal maintenance in Missouri:

The financial resources of the spouses;
1. Time needed for the spouse with the lower income to secure employment/better employment;
2. The comparative earning capacities of the spouses;
3. The standard of living established during the marriage between the spouses;
4. The financial obligations and assets of the spouses;
5. The duration of marriage;
6. The age, physical, and emotional condition of the spouses;
7. The ability of the spouse paying maintenance to meet his or her own needs;
8. The conduct of the spouses during marriage; and
9. Any other relevant factors

There are currently three separate bills being considered by the Missouri House of Representatives that would limit the duration of spousal maintenance in Missouri. The first, HB247, would limit spousal maintenance to a period of five years post divorce and would apply retroactively to some divorce decrees. The second, HB503, would limit spousal maintenance to a period of ten years post divorce and would apply retroactively to some divorce decrees. The third bill, HB877, seeks to create a rebuttable presumption that spousal maintenance should end if the receiving spouse is cohabiting with a person of the opposite sex.

The first two bills, creating an artificial limit on the duration of spousal maintenance, are bad for at least four reasons.

1. They are unnecessary. The Missouri statute already provides for modification of maintenance based on changed circumstances;
2. There are no exceptions in the bills for the disabled spouse, or someone who truly cannot become self sustaining in the set time period for other reasons;
3. The bills discount the efforts of a spouse in a long marriage who has always stayed home; and
4. The bills discount the efforts of a spouse who worked while the other went to college and/or graduate/professional school and, as a result, has less of an ability to earn a higher salary.

If spousal maintenance is such a hot button issue for the Missouri legislature, perhaps it should look at other states for a more balanced reform effort. For example, Massachusetts and Colorado have recently amended their spousal maintenance statutes to provide a duration limit based on the length of the marriage and other factors.

If you have a spousal maintenance, divorce or other family law matter that you need to discuss, please contact us.