What are the factors for awarding alimony?

In Maryland, when awarding alimony, the Court must consider all factors necessary for a fair and equitable award.

The factors for alimony include: (1) the ability to be wholly or partly self-supporting; (2) the time necessary to gain sufficient education or training to find suitable employment; (3) the parties’ standard of living during the marriage; (4) the duration of the marriage; (5) each party’s contributions, monetary and non-monetary, to the well-being of the family; (6) the circumstances that contributed to the parties’ estrangement; (7) each party’s age; (8) each party’s physical and mental condition; (9) the ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party’s needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony; (10) any agreement between the parties; (11) the financial needs and resources of each party; (12) whether the award would affect State Assistance; (13) whether due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability, the recipient cannot make substantial progress toward becoming self-supporting; and (14) whether even after such progress, the respective standards of living of the parties will be unconscionably disparate.