Alimony Reform on Wikipedia
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Should Permanent Alimony Be Eliminated? "The long-term financial implications of unconditional and indefinite, life-time alimony awards, as judgments of the Probate and Family Court, often create an unending and unfair economic burden on the obligor. Uniformly, the judiciary, counsel, and clients are affected by alimony factors that are subject to wide interpretation, applied inconsistently from judge to judge and even from case to case, and fail to address societal realities. The current statutes and case law require judges to enter “decisions based on speculative projections of each person's future expenses and income.” "Awards that provide spousal alimony for indefinite periods of time are common and presume and foster the inability of each party to take fiscal responsibility for his or her future needs in perpetuity. Additionally, they place limits on each party’s post-divorce economic and social recovery. For example, the possibility of an obligee’s co-habitation or engagement in alternative living arrangements where financial support from another individual is available is not reflected in the award calculation, thereby creating an unjust burden to the obligor." "...it is fair to say that the permanency of today’s alimony award results in incarceration with no chance of parole." |
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"Why Alimony Reform Is Urgently Needed" Emily Rooney, the host of WGBH's Greater Boston TV show, referred to Massachusetts' alimony laws as draconian in an interview with Elizabeth Benedict, author of The Chilling Effect of States Divorce Laws. Why draconian? The problem is that the penalties for the higher-earning spouse are severe, such as:
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SPOUSAL SUPPORT DISORDER: AN OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN CURRENT ALIMONY LAW by Jennifer McCoy "As demonstrated in the previous section of this Comment, significant problems exist with spousal support law as it exists today. There is no legal basis for requiring someone to continue supporting his or her former spouse, especially one with no childcare responsibilities or health problems that prohibit employment. Everybody resents making support payments, the system is often taken advantage of, and the mere existence of spousal support contributes to society’s negative image of women as helpless and dependent on men. So why do legislatures and courts continue to maintain the system? Perhaps more importantly, should legislatures and courts continue to maintain the system? " ... "Instead of basing this new system of spousal support on the compensation or rehabilitation theories, the court should base support on a temporary basic needs model. The temporary basic needs model would focus on supporting the immediate, physical needs of the recipient spouse, such as shelter, food, clothing, and medical care. Under this rationale, the less economically advantaged spouse will not become destitute following divorce, and the wealthier spouse will not be required to assume total responsibility for someone else’s future. In determining the monetary value of support awards, courts should still use traditional statutory guidelines and judicial discretion, but the primary determinant of the award’s value should be the supporting spouses’ own needs, salary, and ability to make payments without sacrificing their own standards of living and without compromising their future abilities to assume responsibility for new spouses and children. Most importantly, support payments under this new system would only be temporary. Awards should last no longer than one or two years. This period constitutes a sufficiently reasonable period of time for the recipient spouse to adjust to his or her newly single status, but not long enough for him or her to become accustomed to such payments. Payments should end immediately if the recipient remarries, cohabitates, or attains steady employment prior to the cut-off date. Although no system of spousal support will ever be perfect, a good system will balance the needs of the supported spouse against the burden on the supporting spouse and will ensure that the negative effects of divorce are imposed equally on both partners to the marriage.171 Spousal support should be a temporary measure. It should not be a way of life the recipient can rely on forever and not a responsibility for which the paying spouse remains indefinitely obligated." |
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Alimony: Peonage or Involuntary Servitude? Abstract: "...Most spouses contemplating divorce must be prepared for economic suicide. The income that marginally maintained one middle-class household will most surely not be able to maintain two. ...For such a determination may result in one spouse actually supporting the other for a period of time, and even for a lifetime, and sometimes resulting in the supporting spouse’s inability to sustain such support and be held in contempt, or coupled with child support result in the inability to provide properly for the child or children when in his or her care. No wonder, for many, an award of maintenance, and especially of lifetime maintenance, may smack of peonage or involuntary servitude." |
Problems With Division Of Marital Property and Alimony in the USA This 116-page legal analysis provides an in depth discussion of the history of alimony, the legal basis and problems of alimony, and the constitutional issues, all extensively referenced with footnotes. In addition, the paper includes a state-by-state analysis of alimony law. The author provides detailed analysis of the constitutional and practical problems with the current state laws and offers recommendations to correct such problems. |
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