Alimentum

A Latin word meaning “food” or “nourishment,” it is the base root of the word “alimony.” As early as Code Hammurabi in Babylon in 1754 BCE, the law required a husband continue to provide for his wife after a separation. In England, from which most American law is derived, divorces were handled by ecclesiastical courts (i.e., in medieval England, divorces were religious in nature). Alimony first originated in these ecclesiastical courts, and again represented a husband’s continuing obligation to support his wife. In present day, Arizona recognizes spousal maintenance by which a spouse may be required to support the other spouse. Generally (but not always), this is meant to help them transition to self-reliance. Unlike the Babylonian, English, and other alimentum systems, Arizona’s spousal maintenance are not gender specific.