Theories of Property Division/Spousal Support: Searching for Solutions to the Mystery

The mystery that I was asked to write about is the relationship between property division and alimony. Easy enough. The court divides the property; that is property division. The court orders support pay ments; that is alimony. But what is the husband's obligation to pay the wife $3,000 per month for ten years when he kept the business? Was the entire equity in the marital home awarded to a wife as property or support? Which is an order for the husband to pay the wife 20 percent of renewal insurance commissions collected for five years after the divorce? Until questions like these arise, one finds little or no discussion in court opinions concerning the interrelationship between property division and alimony. Instead, trial and appellate courts treat orders labeled property division and orders labeled alimony as though there were an inherent substantive difference between them. The author of a