Is There A Difference Between Alimony And Child Support?

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Alimony is not child support, which is another ongoing financial obligation often established in a divorce. Child support is where one parent is required to contribute to the support of their children through the child's other parent or guardian.

Alimony is treated very differently from child support with respect to taxation. Alimony is treated as an income to the receiving spouse, and deducted from the income of the paying spouse. Child support is not a payment that affects taxes in the United States as it is viewed as a payment that a parent is making for support of their own offspring.

If a party fails to pay alimony, there are not any special legal options available to the party that is owed the money. In many jurisdications, people whose child support obligations go into arrears can have licenses siezed and in a few states they can even be arrested. Someone trying to recover back alimony can only use the collection procedures that are available to all other creditors, such as a collection agency.


Resources:
WWW.IRS.GOV
WWW.NEWADVENT.ORG
WWW.DIVORCESUPPORT.COM



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