Define: Palimony

A non-legal term coined by journalists to describe the division of property or alimony-like support given by one member of an unmarried couple to the other after they break up.

A form of alimony paid to a former partner in a nonmarital relationship.

The key issue is whether there was an agreement that one partner would support the other in return for the second making a home and performing other domestic duties beyond sexual pleasures. Written palimony contracts are rare, but the courts have found “implied” contracts, when a woman has given up her career, managed the household or assisted in the man’s business for a lengthy period of time. In the past 20 years palimony suits have proliferated, particularly against celebrities and wealthy businessmen, but the earliest was the famous California case of Sarah Althea Hill v. Senator William Sharon in the 1880s, which Ms. Hill lost. The line between a mutual “affair” and a relationship warranting palimony is a difficult one which must be decided on a case by case basis. Palimony suits may be avoided by contracts written prior to or during the relationship.

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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March, 2024.