Final answer:
The term used when a former spouse must financially support the other after a divorce or legal separation is Alimony. It's designed to help maintain the dependent spouse's standard of living post-divorce.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term used when one former spouse is required to provide financial support to the other spouse pursuant to a legal separation or divorce is Alimony.
Alimony refers to court-ordered payments, typically made by the higher-earning spouse to the lower-earning spouse following a divorce or legal separation. It's intended to provide financial support to the spouse who might have been dependent on the other's income during the marriage.
This support ensures that the dependent spouse can continue to maintain a similar standard of living.
Adding a practical example, an enlisted man in the military, who is also divorced, might be required to pay alimony in addition to receiving his pay and separation allowance.
Moreover, the military ensures that enlisted personnel are clothed and fed, which may have an indirect impact on the amount of alimony that the enlisted person might be required to pay.