ALIMONY. The allowance which a hus band by order of court pays to his wife, liv ing separate from him, for her maintenance. Bishop, Marr. & D. 549.
Alimony pendente lite is that ordered during the pendency of a suit.
Permanent alimony is that ordered for the use of the wife after the termination of the suit during their joint lives.
2. To entitle a wife to permanent alimony, the following conditions must be complied with. First_ a leral and valid marriavu must be proved. 1 Rob. Eccl. 484; 2 Add. Eccl. 484; 4 Hen. & M. Va. 507; 10 Ga. 477; 5 Sess. Cas. N. s. Sc. 1288. Second, by the com mon law the relation of husband and wife must continue to subsist; for which reason no alimony could be awarded upon a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, or a sentence of nullity.
1 Lee, Eccl. 621; 1 Blackf. Ind. 360; 1 Iowa, 440; 2 Hagg. Cons. 395; Saxt. N. J. 96; 13 Mass. 264; 5 Pick. Mass. 461; 18 Me. 308; 4 Barb. N. Y. 295; 1 Gill & J. Md. 463; 8 Yerg. Tenn. 67. This rule, however, has been very generally changed by statute in this country. Bishop, Marr. & D. 563. Third, the wife must be separated from the bed and board of her husband by judicial decree; voluntary separation, for whatever cause, is insufficient. And, as a general rule, the ali mony must be awarded by the same decree which grants the separation, or at least in the same suit, it not being generally compe tent to maintain a subsequent and independent suit for that purpose. 9 Watts, Penn. 90; 27 Miss. 630, 692; 21 Conn. 185; 1 Blackf. Ind. 360; 8 Yerg. Tenn. 67. Fourth, the wife must not be the guilty party. 1 Paige, Ch. N. Y. 276; 2 Barb. Ch. 311; 2 Ill. 242; Wright, Ohio, 514; 6 B. Monr. Ky. 496; 11 Ala. N. s. 763; 24 N. H. 564.
3. Alimony pendente lite is granted much more freely than permanent alimony, it being very much a matter of course to allow the former, unless the wife has sufficient separate property, upon the institution of a suit, 1 Hagg. Eccl. 773 ; 1 Curt. Eccl. 444; 2 B. Monr. Ky. 142; 2 Paige, Ch. N. Y. 8; 11 id. 166, either for the purpose of obtaining a separation from bed and board, 1 Edw. Ch. N. Y. 255, a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, 9 Mo. 539; 18 Me. 308; 1 Bland. Ch. Md. 101, or a sentence of nullity, and whether the wife is plaintiff or defendant. The reason is, that it is improper for the parties to live in matrimonial cohabitation during the pend ency of such a suit, whatever may be its final result. 1 Sandf. Ch. N. Y. 483. Upon
the same principle, the husband who has all the money, while the wife has none, is bound to furnish her, whether plaintiff or defend ant, with the means to defray her expenses in the suit; otherwise she would be denied justice 2 Barb. Ch. N.Y. 146; Walk. Ch. Mich. 421; 2 Md. Ch. Dec. 335, 393. See 1 Jones, No. C. 528; Bishop, Marr. & D. if 569-590.
4. Alimony is not a sum of money nor a specific proportion of the husband's estate given absolutely to the wife, but it is a con tinuous allotment of sums payable at regular intervals, for her support from year to• year. 6 Harr. & J. Md. 485 ; 9 N. H. 309; 9 B. Monr. Ky. 49; 6 Watts & S. Penn. 85. It must secure to her as wife a maintenance separate from her husband : an absolute title in specific property, or a sale of a part of the husband's estate for her use, cannot be de creed or confirmed to her as alimony. 3 Hagg,. Eccl. 322; 7 Dan. Ky. 181; 6 Harr. & J. Md. 485; 4 Hen. & M. Va. 587; 6 Ired No. C. 293. Nor is alimony regarded, in any general sense, as the separate property of the wife. Hence she can neither alienate nor charge it, 5 Paige, Ch. N. Y. 505; if she suffers it to remain in arrear for more than one year, she cannot generally recover such arrears, 3 Hagg. Eccl. 322; if she saves up any thing from her annual allowance, upon her death it will go to her husband, 6 Watts & S. Penn. 85 ; 12 Ga. 201; if there are any arrears at the time of her death, they cannot be recovered by her executors, 8 Sim. Ch. 321; 8 Term, 545 ; 6 Watts & S. Penn. 85 ; as the husband is only bound to support his wife during his own life, her right to alimony ceases with his death, 1 Root, Conn. 349; 4 Hayw. Tenn. 75; 4 Md. Ch. Dec. 289; and as it is a maintenance for the wife living separate from her husband, it ceases upon reconciliation and cohabitation. So also its amount is liable at any time to be increased or diminished at the discretion of the court. 8 Sim. Ch. 315, 321, n. ; 6 Watts & S. Penn. 85 ; Bishop, Marr. & D. 591-599. The pre ceding observations, however, respecting the nature and incidents of alimony should be received with some caution in this country, where the subject is so largely regulated by statute. 10 Paige, Ch. N. Y. 20; 7 Hill, N. Y. 207; Bishop, Marr. & D. N 600-602 a, 619 d-631.