Maintenance

The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication.

That which maintains or supports; means of sustenance; supply of necessaries and conveniences.

An officious or unlawful intermeddling in a cause depending between others, by assisting either party with money or means to carry it on. See Champerty.

the unauthorized interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it (as by helping one party with money or otherwise to continue the action) so as to obstruct justice or promote unnecessary litigation or unsettle the peace of the community; "unlike champerty, criminal maintenance does not necessarily involve personal profit"

court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated