Am I entitled to spouse maintenance?

Maintenance is when a spouse/partner has to maintain their former spouse/partner after a relationship ends.

You may receive maintenance:

• If you are separated or divorced from a spouse or separated from your de facto
  partner.

A party claiming spousal maintenance needs to be able to show:

1. There is a need for maintenance and
2. The other party has capacity to pay.

There are time limits. You must apply with one year of the date of your divorce or annulment or within two years from when your de facto relationship ended.

A maintenance order normally ends:

• When you receive a property settlement.
• You enter into a new de facto or marriage relationship.
• Your responsibility for caring for children changes significantly.
• The person paying maintenance dies.