When determining the length of alimony, the court will consider how long the marriage lasted. For example, a 30-year marriage is likely to result in alimony payments for several years. The length of alimony may be agreed upon pay the parties or it may be court ordered if the parties cannot agree. Alimony can end before the court mandated or agreed upon end date. Notably, there are 3 scenarios where alimony can end early and terminate before the court ordered/agreed to time period ends.