Hingham, MA family law attorney Carmela M. Miraglia explains the difference between child support and alimony and how they both work. She points out that child support is awarded to the custodial parent and is determined using a formula that calculates both parties’ pretax income. Alimony, on the other hand, is generally awarded when there are no children involved or when the children are grown. Its purpose is to equalize the parties’ incomes—particularly when one spouse has been a stay-at-home parent while the other earned a significant income during the marriage. Alimony is intended to place the lower-earning spouse in a financial position similar to the one they had during the marriage.