X  LENGTH OF THE MARRIAGE: The number of months from the date of legal marriage to the date of service of a complaint or petition for divorce or separate support duly filed in a court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or another court with jurisdiction to terminate the marriage. The court shall have discretion to increase the duration of marriage where there is evidence that the parties' economic marital partnership began during their cohabitation period prior to the marriage.

 X  RECIPIENT: The recipient is the spouse with the lower income.

 X  PAYOR: The payor is the spouse with the higher income.

 X  GROSS INCOME: For purposes of these guidelines, income shall be defined as set forth in the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (i.e. gross income from whatever source regardless of whether that income is recognized by the Internal Revenue Code or reported to the Internal Revenue Service or state Department of Revenue or other taxing authority).

 X  For purposes of setting an alimony order, the court shall exclude from its income calculation capital gain income and dividend and interest income which derives from assets equitably divided between the parties under Section 34.

 X  For purposes of setting an alimony order, the court shall exclude from its income calculation gross income which the court has already considered for setting a child support order whether pursuant to the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines or otherwise; provided that nothing in this section shall limit the court's discretion to cast a presumptive child support order under the Child Support Guidelines in terms of unallocated or undifferentiated alimony and child support.

 X  General Term Alimony is the periodic payment of support to a recipient spouse who is economically dependent. These guidelines do not apply to Rehabilitative Alimony, Reimbursement Alimony, or Transitional Alimony.

 X  Except for Reimbursement Alimony or circumstances warranting deviation for other forms of alimony, the amount of alimony should generally not exceed the recipient's need or 30% to 35% of the difference between the parties gross incomes.

 X  General Term Alimony shall terminate upon the remarriage of the recipient, or the death of either spouse, or upon the payor attaining the full retirement age when he or she is eligible for the old-age social security retirement benefit. In addition, except upon a court finding that deviation beyond these time limits are required in the interests of justice, where the Duration of Marriage is twenty years or less, General Term Alimony shall terminate no later than a date certain in accordance with the durational limits set forth below.