Alimony isn't to help an ex spouse get on their feet, it's to keep them in the lifestyle that they've come to expect while they were married. Example: A woman is married and never held a job, but her husband gave her a monthly allowance of $10000. She's accustomed to living on that amount every month, so when they get divorced she can sue him for alimony so her "quality of life" isn't diminshed because of the divorce.

Usually, when alimony is awarded, it is adjusted to the number of children involved. No matter how you dislike your ex, don't let your children suffer. Sadly, I have heard of quite a few men who declared themselves bankrupt or went on welfare so they would not have to pay their wives, but they had children. So, to get back at the wife, they jeopardised the children's futures and well-being. Now that is horrible.

Alimony has nothing to do with children. My present husband was married to his ex for 20 years. He stayed with her for the childrens sake, and waited till they were grown before he left her. When they got divorced he was ordered to pay $1,200 per month (INDEFINATELY) or until she re-marries. She is now working 2 jobs, and is fully able to take care of herself. We took it back to court to try and get a reduction, or elimination and it was DENIED! I find this very unfair to a man. Why should he have to continue to pay her for the rest of his life?! Something needs to be done about this alimony law. All I can say to you men out there...Be carefull, and sign a pre-nup before getting married to avoid the gold digging bit.ches out there.

Alimony is not about getting an ex-spouse on his or her feet. It is about maintaining the marital lifestyle. When you get married you start making joint decisions. The decision to have one spouse not work to raise children (or any other reason) is a marital decision. The law allows alimony because it would be unfair to punish one spouse for a joint marital decision.

If a woman puts her career/education on hold so that her husband can build or work on his, she is giving up the economic benefit that goes along with the carreer/education. That is the logic behind alimony & it makes sense. Like any other thing in life that has to do with an economic benefit or, in other words, MONEY, there are people who would take advantage of it and the sytem which regulates it. If a guy is dumb enough (not to say that women aren't, because alimony goes both ways in a lot of states) and gullible enough to make the bad decision of getting involved with the type of woman who WOULD take advantage of the alimony laws, he deserves to pay for his bad judgement in the form of alimony. Just because there are skeezball women out there who use alimony to "get back" at an ex husband or whatever the reason is, doesn't give us or anyone the right to "change the alimony laws" and punish those women who DO deserve it. Women who dedicated their lives to the betterment of a man who got all the benefits of her sacrificing so that he could have a better education, and so that he could build his career. Part of that goes to her because if it weren't for the sacrifices SHE made along the way, he wouldn't have what he has. If she stayed in school longer, etc, she could have put them deeper in debt, and the DEBT she incurred would be split 50/50 between the 2 of them, so why not his earnings?

oops

1) In the traditional view, a woman does not have to get a money earning job. She enters matrimony to take care of the house and the child. There are very few good jobs for women out there anyway. She could never have learned a profession, never have got diploms. She might go to a university to find a good husband, and she can stop studying after she has married. After the children are grown up, it is too late to learn a job, or finish her study, and even if she has a diplom, to start working. If she has to divorce, she has few chances to maintain a higher living standard: - she will rarely find a new husband to support her - she will not be able to learn a profession - even if she has learned a profession, she will in most cases not be able to start it Moreover, it is often considered that a matrimony should last forever. Because of this, and in societies where this modell is still the most common, women will be granted with the alimony a life long high income to maintain a great part of their old income. In modern societies, it is very different. However, a part of this could still apply. So it is not just like you were losing your job. Unlike jobs, matrimonies are still supposed to last forever or at least, quite a long time (at least until the children are grown up). Many women are working, so many men do not earn enough to support a family alone. WIthout many children, the woman could make a part time or even full time job. Women finish their studies and sometimes start to work before getting children. So you are right, not the same rules could apply. But the law is sometimes not so quick and is often written for the many. Whether you get a fair settlement will depends of many circumstances. 2) "Alimony, maintenance or spousal support is an obligation established by law in many countries that is based on the premise that both spouses have an absolute obligation to support each other during the marriage (or civil union) unless they are legally separated. In some instances, the obligation to support may continue after separation. Historically, alimony arose as a result of the indissoluble nature of marriage. Because divorce was rare, husband and wife remained married after their physical separation and the husband's obligation to support his wife continued. With the growing view that men and women should be treated equally, the law recognized that both husbands and wives owed each other a similar duty of support. Accordingly, courts now may order either the husband or wife to pay alimony. In practice it is more often the husband that is required to pay." "Once dissolution proceedings commence, either party may seek interim or pendente lite support during the course of the litigation. Where a divorce or dissolution of marriage (civil union) is granted, either party may ask for post-marital alimony. It is not an absolute right, but may be granted, the amount and terms varying with the circumstances. If one party is already receiving support at the time of the divorce, the previous order is not automatically continued (although this can be requested), as the arguments for support during and after the marriage can be different. Unless the parties agree on the terms of their divorce in a binding written instrument, the court will make a fair determination based on the legal argument and the testimony submitted by both parties. This can be modified at any future date based on a change of circumstances by either party on proper notice to the other party and application to the court. The courts are generally reluctant to modify an existing agreement unless the reasons are compelling. In some jurisdictions the court always has jurisdiction to grant maintenance should one of the former spouses become a public charge." "Alimony is not child support, which is another ongoing financial obligation often established in divorce. Child support is where one parent is required to contribute to the support of his or her children through the agency of the child's other parent or guardian." "Some of the possible factors that bear on the amount and duration of the support are: - Length of the marriage Generally alimony lasts for a term or period, that will be longer if the marriage lasted longer. A marriage of over 10 years is often a candidate for permanent alimony. - Time separated while still married In some U.S. states, separation is a triggering event, recognized as the end of the term of the marriage. Other U.S. states (such as New Jersey) do not recognize separation or legal separation. In a state not recognizing separation, a 2-year marriage followed by an 8-year separation will generally be treated like a 10-year marriage. - Age of the parties at the time of the divorce Generally more youthful spouses are considered to be more able to 'get on' with their lives, and therefore thought to require shorter periods of support. - Relative income of the parties In U.S. states that recognize a 'right' of the spouses to live 'according to the means they have become accustomed', alimony attempts to adjust the incomes of the spouses so that they are able to approximate, as best possible, their prior lifestyle. This tends to equalize strongly post-divorce income, heavily penalizing the higher-earning spouse. - Future financial prospects of the parties A spouse who is going to realize significant income in the future is likely to have to pay higher alimony than one who is not. - Health of the parties Poor health goes towards need, and potentially an inability to support for oneself. The courts do not want to leave one party indigent. - Fault in marital breakdown In U.S. states where fault is recognized, fault can significantly affect alimony, increasing, reducing or even nullifying it. Many U.S. states are 'no-fault' states, where one does not have to show fault to get divorced. No-fault divorce spares the spouses the acrimony of the 'fault' processes, and closes the eyes of the court to any and all improper spousal behavior. - A sex change is yet to affect previously granted alimony payments Recent cases in Ohio and Florida have resulted in rulings for payments to continue, saying that sex change isn't enough to violate an alimony agreement." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alimony

opps again