Should Alimony Still Exist?

[Deleted]

I think it shouldn't exist for two people that both have a steady income enough to keep them on their feet, but if the one parent is struggling then that's when alimony should stay in affect.

But that allows that one parent to remain a lazy bum. In most cases people have shared custody of their children and alimony still remains in effect. The parent who is not struggling will still pay for his children 100% and the spouses household, effectively having expenses of two households on one income. That non-struggling parent will then potentially be thrown into hardship just because it's somehow not "fair" to the spouse.

[Rukentuts]

In other words, your engaging your typical "don't have a rational argument, so just keep sprouting nonsense" approach again.

Just fighting fire with fire, what can I say?

Having a lower income due to putting your career on hold is not "having a cake".

No, but receiving financial compensation to make it "fair" when it's a choice you made is.

[Reeve]

They chose to stay home, and now the want the financial benefits of the alternative.

The COUPLE chose to have them stay home. You act like it's not a sacrifice at all to stay home. The working spouse made the choice to be the one in the relationship with the control of the income, and the benefits of a stay-at-home spouse. If they stop supporting that spouse, THAT's having your cake and eating it too.

[DeeEss]

It does goes both ways.

...but men never complains about women paying alimony, they just pretend it doesn't happen.

It's only because no one ever hears about it. I'm sure it happens, but most of us are familiar with situations where the wife gets the house, cars, kids, child support, and alimony and are slightly baffled as to why . In one area I lived in, a particular judge was notorious for telling guys that they'd have to pay so much of what they made that they couldn't even afford to support themselves. For one particular case, he told the guy that the wife would get all three houses, all three kids, all the cars, and 50% of his businesses.

The thing that makes it sort of odd to me is that life insurance is designed to hold you over until you get back to a similar financial situation and it's said that it takes seven years in order for the other spouse to get back to that while alimony can last for the rest of their lives.

[Rukentuts]

It's only because no one ever hears about it.

Because it happens only 3% of the fucking time.

[Somebodyelse]

I'm all for child support...But alimony in 2012 is ABSOLUTELY NOT mandatory anymore...We're not in the 60's anymore...Women CAN find a job and live by herslef nowadays...

[Belize]

I feel like alimony is why "Gold-diggers" still exist. Like, lets say a women ( It's the most typical example so give me a break :P) will marry a rich guy, and then divorc just to get half his stuff. I hate how the system works sometimes...

[semaphore]

Just stop, seriously....

And this proves that the law doesn't treat men and women equally because? Yeah no, logical non sequitur.

Also, where is that even from? "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, men represented just over 2 percent of the 448,000 Americans who received alimony in 2000. Nine years later (the latest year for which statistics are available), that figure had quadrupled".
http://www.marieclaire.com/career-mo...paying-alimony

It's increasing, because the earning situation has changed towards equality.

[Somebodyelse]

No, it should not exist.

In addition, assets should not be split "down the middle". Assets should be split proportionally to who actually paid for them.

And what do you make of a family where the woman always stayed home to take care of the kids, having the husband pay for everything ?

This is why alimony existed in the first place...

[semaphore]

Because it happens only 3% of the fucking time.

10 years ago.

[Rukentuts]

And what do you make of a family where the woman always stayed home to take care of the kids, having the husband pay for everything ?

This is why alimony existed in the first place...

As has been repeated throughout the thread: This isn't the fucking 1960s anymore.

[Deadvolcanoes]

Yes, I do believe that alimony should exist, but I also believe it needs to be limited and reformed. I'd like to see a 5-10 year pay period set in place for starters. After that amount of time, there shouldn't be any excuse for either spouse to have not found some reliable source of income.

And speaking of responsibility, if you don't like alimony, sign a prenuptial agreement. That would be the responsible decision in my mind. You know something (alimony) can result from something (marriage), and if you don't like it you can do something (prenupt) about it.

[Rukentuts]

10 years ago.

So it happens 8% of the time. That makes it soooo much better.

[semaphore]

While it does happen, its not nearly as often for men, even accounting for the disparity of more women being stay at home moms, and more men being the breadwinners.

You also have to account for men earning more than women on average. Plus, keep in mind that people divorcing and receiving long term alimonys are the older generations which have more of a women stay at home situation.

The courts and legal system are biased for women on a lot of these things

Alimony is calculated based on a convoluted but cold hard mathematics. I believe it needs to be simplified and made more accessible, but it isn't biased.

---------- Post added 2012-12-28 at 03:30 PM ----------

So it happens 8% of the time. That makes it soooo much better.

In fact it does, because it shows that as the earning situation of divorcing couples have changed over the years, so has the alimony break down. It's a pretty fucking big change in a decade.

[Reeve]

So it happens 8% of the time. That makes it soooo much better.

Makes sense to me. It's far less common to have stay-at-home dads than stay-at-home moms. I'd expect the male number to be a lot less than the female number.

[semaphore]

I'm all for child support...But alimony in 2012 is ABSOLUTELY NOT mandatory anymore...

Alimony isn't mandatory. It always depends on the situation.

[Rukentuts]

In fact it does, because it shows that as the earning situation of divorcing couples have changed over the years, so has the alimony break down. It's a pretty fucking big change in a decade.

Indeed, at this rate of growth it will take only about seventy years for full equality.

[semaphore]

It's only because no one ever hears about it.

We hear about that in female celebrities paying atrocious amounts all the time, but only male celebrities get threads with people saying "that bitch!" on MMO-C.

http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity...ce-settlements

[Deleted]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, men represented just over 2 percent of the 448,000 Americans who received alimony in 2000. Nine years later (the latest year for which statistics are available), that figure had quadrupled".

8 percent, woopty fucking do!
Looks like gender equality to me....

/sarcasm

http://www.marieclaire.com/career-mo...paying-alimony

Lol at that source.

[semaphore]

Indeed, at this rate of growth it will take only about seventy years for full equality.

It quadrupled in 9 years. At this rate of growth there will be full equality in a decade.