Divorce & Family Law
How a New Hampshire divorce proceeds, property division under RSA 458:16-a, parenting plans, and child support.
Full family law overviewAlimony & Spousal Support
Alimony Attorney in Manchester, New Hampshire
New Hampshire rewrote its alimony law in 2019, and much of what people have heard about alimony predates it. This page explains how term alimony is actually decided today under RSA 458:19-a, and how Attorney Cynthia P. Gilman handles alimony in divorce and legal separation cases across the state.
The short version
New Hampshire alimony now starts with a formula.
Before 2019, alimony in New Hampshire was largely left to the judge’s discretion, and two similar cases could end very differently. The current statute replaced that with a formula, a duration cap, and a defined list of reasons to depart from either.
For divorces and legal separations filed on or after January 1, 2019, term alimony is governed by RSA 458:19-a. If alimony is contested, the court first has to find that one spouse genuinely lacks the income and property to meet reasonable needs, and that the other spouse can meet their own needs while helping. If both are true, the amount is the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 23 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes, and it may last for up to half the length of the marriage. The court can adjust either number when justice requires it, and the statute lists the circumstances that count.
Attorney Gilman has practiced family law in New Hampshire since 1997, which means she handled alimony for more than twenty years under the old law and has handled it under the new one since the day it took effect. That matters more than it sounds: orders from cases filed before 2019 are still modified under the old rules unless the parties adopted the new statute, so which law applies is one of the first questions in any alimony dispute.
She represents spouses seeking alimony and spouses being asked to pay it. In either position, the work is the same: get the incomes right, identify the circumstances that justify moving off the formula, and put the case in a form the Family Division can act on. Alimony is handled as part of divorce and legal separation cases at the Circuit Court Family Division in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, and elsewhere in the state.
A note on words: people search for “spousal support” and “maintenance,” but the New Hampshire statute uses only one term, alimony. They mean the same thing here.
What we handle
Alimony matters the firm takes on
Handled personally by Attorney Gilman, whether alimony is the main dispute in a divorce or one issue among several.
Term Alimony in Divorce
Seeking or defending a term alimony award as part of a divorce or legal separation, including the income analysis the formula depends on.
Reimbursement Alimony
Compensation for a spouse who supported the other’s education or career when property division cannot make up for it. Capped at five years and not modifiable except by agreement.
Modification
Changing the amount or duration of an existing order after a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances, under the clear-and-convincing standard in RSA 458:19-aa.
Termination for Cohabitation or Remarriage
Ending or reducing alimony when the recipient remarries or enters a relationship resembling a marriage, and defending against termination when the facts do not support it.
Retirement
How the payor’s retirement affects an order, including the notice the statute expects and when a court may extend alimony past retirement.
Negotiated Agreements & Waivers
Drafting and reviewing alimony provisions in settlement agreements, including step-down schedules, security, and waivers, so the terms hold up years later.
The process
How a New Hampshire court decides term alimony
RSA 458:19-a lays out the analysis in a fixed order. Knowing the order tells you where a case is actually going to be fought.
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The threshold: need and ability to pay
If alimony is contested, the court may order it only if the spouse asking lacks sufficient income and property to meet reasonable needs (or cannot be self-supporting through appropriate work, or is caring for a child whose circumstances make full-time work inappropriate), and the other spouse can meet their own reasonable needs while paying. Both sides are measured against the marital lifestyle, adjusted for the reality of two households.
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The amount: the 23 percent formula
The award is the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 23 percent of the difference between the parties’ gross incomes at the time of the order. Child support and alimony actually paid are subtracted from the payor’s income first, and child support received is added to the recipient’s. The formula can be varied where an equal parenting schedule has already adjusted child support.
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The duration: up to half the marriage
Term alimony may last for up to 50 percent of the length of the marriage unless the parties agree otherwise or the court finds that justice requires an adjustment. The court may also use a different start or end date in measuring the marriage where justice requires, which can matter for couples who separated long before filing.
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Adjustments for special circumstances
Either number can be adjusted, but the party asking bears the burden. The statute lists what counts: health and disability, the degree of one spouse’s financial dependency, vocational skills and employability, voluntary unemployment or underemployment, a child’s special needs, the property awarded in the divorce, conduct during the marriage including abuse, differences in Social Security benefits, dissipation of assets, tax consequences, and anything else the court finds material.
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The order has to spell it out
Every alimony order must state the type of alimony, its duration or number of payments, how retirement will affect it, whether security is required, and whether it rests on an agreement. In a contested case the court must also make written findings supporting the award or denial and any adjustment. Those findings are what a later modification or appeal turns on.
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Timing
A request for term alimony must be made before the final decree takes effect or within five years afterward. Reimbursement alimony must be requested before the final decree. Waiting past those windows generally closes the door regardless of the merits.
New Hampshire law
The rules that most often change the number.
General information, not legal advice for your situation, but these are the provisions that decide most alimony disputes after the formula has been run.
Remarriage ends it; cohabitation can
Term alimony ends when the recipient remarries unless an agreement says otherwise. Cohabitation is not automatic. Under RSA 458:19-aa the court looks at whether the recipient and another adult are living as though married: a shared primary residence, shared expenses, economic interdependence, joint property or accounts, an intimate relationship, and how they present themselves to others. If alimony ends for either reason and the new relationship later ends, the original award can be reinstated if the request is made within five years.
Retirement is a built-in end date
Term alimony ordinarily ends when the payor reaches full Social Security retirement age or actually retires, whichever is later, unless the parties agreed otherwise or the court finds special circumstances. The payor’s ability to keep working past retirement is not by itself a reason to extend alimony, and sixty days’ notice of retirement is presumed reasonable. In limited cases the court can extend payments to equalize the parties’ Social Security benefits.
Modification requires more than a change
To modify a contested term alimony order, the moving party must show by clear and convincing evidence a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances, no undue hardship on either side, and that justice requires the change. Income from a second job or overtime taken on after the original order is presumed irrelevant, and a new spouse’s income is generally not counted unless the payor is voluntarily underemployed.
Taxes are baked into the formula
Since 2019, alimony is neither deductible to the payor nor taxable to the recipient under federal law, and the 23 percent figure assumes that. The statute itself provides that the percentage would rise to 30 percent if federal tax treatment ever reverted. When comparing an offer to the formula, make sure both are being calculated on the same tax footing.
Orders from before 2019 follow the old law
Cases whose original divorce petition was filed before January 1, 2019 are still modified under the law in effect when they were filed, unless the original order adopted the new statute or the parties later agree to. Many people seeking to change an older order are surprised to learn the formula does not apply to them.
Coming January 1, 2027
A 2026 amendment to RSA 458:19-a adds two provisions effective at the start of 2027: orders for past-due alimony are to be enforced according to their terms unless properly modified, and agreements waiving alimony are to be enforced unless shown to be invalid for reasons such as coercion, fraud, mistake, or unconscionability, or unless circumstances have changed enough to make the agreement unenforceable. Anyone negotiating a waiver now should have it drafted with those standards in mind.
Frequently asked
New Hampshire alimony questions
For anything specific to your marriage and finances, the free consultation is the right next step.
How is alimony calculated in New Hampshire?
For cases filed on or after January 1, 2019, term alimony under RSA 458:19-a is the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 23 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes at the time of the order. Child support and alimony actually being paid are subtracted from the payor’s income first, and child support received is added to the recipient’s. The court can adjust the result when justice requires, based on a list of special circumstances in the statute, but the party asking for the adjustment has to prove it.
How long does alimony last in New Hampshire?
Term alimony may last for up to 50 percent of the length of the marriage unless the parties agree otherwise or the court finds that justice requires a different duration. It ends earlier if the recipient remarries, and ordinarily ends when the payor reaches full retirement age or actually retires, whichever is later. Reimbursement alimony, which compensates a spouse who supported the other’s education or career, is capped at five years from the final decree.
Is alimony taxable in New Hampshire?
Not under current federal law. For divorce agreements and orders entered after 2018, alimony is not deductible by the person paying it and is not taxable income to the person receiving it. New Hampshire’s 23 percent formula was set with that treatment in mind, and the statute provides that the percentage would change to 30 percent if federal tax law reverted. Tax treatment is one of the special circumstances a court may consider in adjusting an award.
Can alimony be changed after the divorce?
Yes, but the standard is demanding. Under RSA 458:19-aa, a contested modification requires clear and convincing evidence of a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances since the order, no undue hardship on either party, and that justice requires the change. The party seeking the change bears the burden. Separate and easier paths exist for termination on remarriage, cohabitation, or retirement. Reimbursement alimony cannot be modified except by agreement.
Does living with a new partner end alimony in New Hampshire?
It can. A court may reduce or end term alimony on a finding of cohabitation, meaning a relationship with another adult that resembles a marriage. The statute directs the court to weigh factors such as living together in a primary residence, sharing expenses, economic interdependence, jointly owned property or accounts, an intimate relationship, and whether the couple holds themselves out as one. No single factor is decisive, which is why these cases turn heavily on the evidence gathered.
What is the difference between alimony and spousal support?
In New Hampshire, nothing. The statute uses the word alimony for what other states call spousal support or spousal maintenance. New Hampshire recognizes two kinds: term alimony, which is periodic support for a defined duration, and reimbursement alimony, which compensates a spouse for contributions to the other’s earning capacity when property division cannot. Both are ordered by the Circuit Court Family Division as part of a divorce or legal separation.
My divorce was filed before 2019. Does the formula apply to me?
Usually not. Modifications of orders from cases whose original petition was filed before January 1, 2019 are governed by the law in effect at that time, unless the original order was based on an agreement adopting the new statute or specified that the court was applying it. The parties to an older case can agree to adopt the new provisions, in the original agreement or in a later modification, and sometimes that is in both sides’ interest. It is worth having the original order reviewed before assuming which rules apply.
Go deeper
More on New Hampshire family law
Manchester Divorce Lawyer
Family law at the 9th Circuit Family Division in Manchester, and the towns it covers.
Manchester divorce lawyerGuardianship of a Minor
When a grandparent or relative needs legal authority to care for a child whose parents cannot.
Guardianship of a minorBring your last three years of tax returns.
The formula runs on income, so the consultation is more useful with the numbers in hand. The first meeting is free and confidential.