“Common-law partners” (yeduim batzibur) are couples who maintain a marital-type relationship, sharing family life and running a joint household like a married couple, but without marrying each other.
From a halachic perspective, Judaism does not recognize the relationship of common-law partners, so halachic law does not apply to them. As a result, while halachic law requires a husband who married his wife according to the Law of Moses and Israel to provide for her maintenance, that is, to support her and finance her needs, for as long as they are married until the divorce is granted, and above all during the period of separation before the get, it imposes no such duty on a man living in a common-law relationship, including when the couple separates.
This halachic void can leave a woman who was financially dependent on her common-law partner suddenly without any means of support at separation, facing financial hardship on top of the emotional distress that usually accompanies a couple’s breakup.
The void can be filled through the provisions of civil law, by virtue of an agreement or of a ruling awarding rehabilitative alimony, as explained below.
Common-law partner alimony by virtue of an agreement
First, if the common-law partners made any agreement in which the man undertook to pay the woman alimony upon separation, that agreement of course governs. If the husband refuses to comply with its provisions and breaches it unlawfully, the agreement can be enforced against him by filing an alimony claim.
A common-law partners’ alimony agreement can be made in writing, orally, or by implication, though it is clearly much easier to prove its existence when it is made in writing.
A written agreement can be prepared under various titles, such as a financial agreement, a partnership agreement, a cohabitation agreement, and so on. Whatever the agreement is called, it should state that the man has undertaken to pay the woman alimony upon their separation, so that it can be enforced against him.
Where the agreement was not made in writing, but orally or by implication (through the parties’ conduct), its existence must be proven. The Supreme Court has held that the right to common-law partner alimony in such a case rests on contract law and on the principles of honesty and good faith.
Rehabilitative alimony for a common-law partner
If no agreement was made in which the man undertook to pay the woman alimony upon separation, but the woman was significantly, if not completely, financially dependent on the man during their relationship, the man can still be required to pay her “rehabilitative alimony” by virtue of the case law.
What is rehabilitative alimony?
Rehabilitative alimony is a payment meant to help a woman who was financially dependent on her partner get back on her feet after the separation, covering her living expenses until she can return to work and support herself independently. In other words, it is not a payment for an unlimited period, but for a fixed one, typically lasting between one year and several years, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The grounds for ordering rehabilitative alimony also rest on contract law and on the principles of honesty and good faith, which obligate each partner to act honestly and fairly toward the other, including at separation (RA 8256/99 Ploni v. Plonit). It follows that the duty to pay rehabilitative alimony does not fall on the man alone; it can fall on the woman as well.
How do you obtain rehabilitative alimony?
The ideal situation, of course, is when the man respects the law and pays the woman rehabilitative alimony on his own initiative. If the man unlawfully refuses to pay, the woman can file a claim against him for rehabilitative alimony in the Family Court.
To win the claim, the woman must prove that she and the man were indeed common-law partners, under the two tests set by the case law: maintaining a family life and running a joint household.
In addition, she must prove that she was financially dependent on him throughout their relationship until the separation. As noted, proving that the parties were common-law partners is not enough to entitle the woman to alimony; she must show she genuinely needs the payment, because she was completely or significantly dependent on the man for her livelihood as the couple’s sole or main breadwinner. Naturally, the longer the relationship lasted, the more inclined the court will be to award the woman alimony, as opposed to a relationship that was relatively short.
How is the amount of rehabilitative alimony determined?
For a wife who married her husband according to the Law of Moses and Israel, halachic alimony follows the rule that “she rises with him and does not go down.” In other words, the amount of wife’s alimony must match the standard of living the woman enjoyed during the marriage, and not less.
For a common-law partner, by contrast, the court sets the amount of rehabilitative alimony according to the specific circumstances of each case and according to certain criteria, chief among them the degree of the woman’s financial dependence on the man. The greater the dependence she proves, the higher the rehabilitative alimony awarded to her.
The remaining criteria concern the length of the couple’s relationship (the longer it was, the higher the award); the pattern of the relationship between the parties; whether the parties have children together; the woman’s earning capacity; the man’s financial situation; the size of the gap between his financial situation and hers; how long it will take the woman to find new work, which is naturally influenced by her age, education, and health; whether the parties have new partners; and more.
As for the manner of payment, the court can order the rehabilitative alimony paid to the woman in monthly payments of a set amount for a fixed period, for example one to two years, or paid in a single, one-time payment.
* Updated for 2026
