Each is designed by the state legislature to address different things. Child support addresses the needs of the children, and the obligation of the parent to clothe, shelter, and feed the children.

General term alimony – and that’s what most people understand alimony to be – is the periodic payment by one spouse to the other economically dependent spouse. That is also determined by need.

Child support is paid by the payor parent until the child is emancipated, and emancipation is defined by statute. It can be at age 18, it can be when the child graduates from college, or it can be up to 23 years of age, depending upon the circumstances.

Alimony is paid depending upon the length of the marriage. If it is a long-term marriage, it would be paid up to the payor’s retirement age under the federal statute, and for shorter periods of time in other situations where it’s not a long-term marriage. Long-term marriage in Massachusetts is anything over 20 years.