Maintenance is the terminology that Kansas uses to define what is commonly termed alimony.  Maintenance is not awarded in all cases, and further, must be asked for in the pleadings in order to receive it.  The purpose of maintenance is to rectify an imbalance in earning power of the parties.  The needs of one spouse and the ability to pay of the other spouse are the main factors in a court awarding maintenance, however, the particular facts in each specific case are carefully reviewed by the courts when determining maintenance.

Kansas Law Regarding Maintenance

K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 60-1610(b)(2) allows the court to award maintenance in an amount the court finds fair, just and equitable under all the circumstances. As mentioned previously, the trial court is not required to award any maintenance.

Factors the Kansas Court reviews in determining maintenance:

1. age of the parties
2. the parties’ present and prospective earning capacities
3. the length of the marriage
4. the property owned by the parties
5. the parties’ needs
6. the time, source and manner of acquisition of property
7. family ties and obligations, and
8. the parties’ overall financial situation

Additionally, the court may consider dissipation of assets, the retraining or education of the parties, the number of years a party has been absent from the job market and the parties skills and ability to re-enter the job market.