Alimony
No general requirement in Bahá'í law for a husband to continue to support his former wife beyond the ending of the year of waiting and the granting of the divorce[edit]
"The Universal House of Justice has received your letter of 9 December 1982 requesting guidance on the responsibility of Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies in the matter of financial support in divorce cases. It has instructed us to send you the following reply.
...
"In the case of ... and ... you state that there is unlikely to be a civil judgement covering the question of financial support of the wife by the husband following the divorce. The House of Justice states that there is no general requirement in Bahá'í law for a husband to continue to support his former wife beyond the ending of the year of waiting and the granting of the divorce. Therefore, in the absence of a ruling by the civil court or of an agreement between the couple registered with the Spiritual Assembly, there is nothing further for your Assembly to do in this case."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, January 13, 1983, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1335)
In Bahá'í law, the husband has continuing obligation to support his children after divorce, but not his wife[edit]
"The following points are summarized from guidance of the Universal House of Justice given to Spiritual Assemblies and individual believers so that they may arrive at decisions in accordance with the spirit of Bahá'í Law either in coming to an amicable agreement to present to the civil courts, or in making a decision when no civil divorce decree is involved.
...3. Financial Support...
3.2 Following the granting of the divorce the father continues to be under the obligation of providing the necessary funds for the support of the children, but he has no continuing obligation to support his former wife."
- (The Universal House of Justice: Considerations Affecting Custody of Children and Provision of Financial Support in Cases Not Adjudicated in Civil Law, a summary, January 5, 1983, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1336)
Wife support required during Year of Patience but support afterward not prohibited (will require legislation in the future); after divorce, the Assembly should encourage husband to honor his responsibilities in paying any required support money; to take into account financial situation of both parties[edit]
"The House of Justice wrote to another National Spiritual Assembly on 5 April 1970 as follows:
'The only provision in Bahá'í law regarding the support of the wife is that which makes the husband responsible for her support during the year of waiting. This does not mean, however, that further support is prohibited; all such matters will require legislation in the future. At the present time it is the responsibility of the Assembly to arrange an amicable and just financial settlement between the couple, and any such arrangement must, obviously, take into consideration the financial situation of both parties and their relative responsibilities.'
"While it is obvious that the Assembly should encourage the husband to honour his Bahá'í responsibilities in paying the required support money, matters of support may be covered by the civil courts when a civil divorce is applied for and, in such a case, the wife would, of course, be able to invoke whatever civil remedy is available. In any case, at the present time National Spiritual Assemblies should not normally apply sanctions in cases of failure to comply with support requirements."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, February 6, 1978, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1337)
