The judge decides on a case-by-case basis whether a spouse is entitled to maintenance and, if so, the amount.  Among the variables that the judge will examine are the incomes of the parties, the duration of the marriage, the ability of each party to earn an income, the health of the parties, whether there are young children, whether either party sacrificed a career for the marriage, and the extent to which, if at all, either spouse helped the other to further his or her education or career.

      Today, maintenance is seldom granted for life. Instead, maintenance is granted for a limited amount of time to allow the party with less income an opportunity to gain skills to improve his or her ability to earn a higher income.