"Mass
Alimony Reform" will address the Joint Committee of the Judiciary in
Massachusetts and challenge the current laws on the books that allow for
lifetime alimony. It is interesting to note that the majority of the residents
that are scheduled to address the committee regarding alimony reform are women.
They are the second wives of husbands who once divorced.
These women feel that they are forced to "share the expense of providing
living and other expenses for their present husband's first wives who are
unwilling to support themselves".
This is unbelievable. Did these women know when they married their husbands
that their husband had to make alimony payments? Now they are upset that they
have to "share"their husband's income with the first wife? Give me a break, did
these women ever stop to think that maybe the first wife was awarded lifetime
alimony for a reason?
Lifetime alimony is usually awarded in most states when a marriage is
over 20 years in length and the spouse receiving the alimony was either a stay
at home parent during the marriage or made a significantly lower income than
their spouse. Does staying at home raising children and giving up your career
not count for financial compensation after a divorce? The women who gave up
careers to raise families while their husbands advanced in their careers are at
a great disadvantage after divorce. That is why we have alimony.
When you date and marry a divorced man you should know what you are getting
into. It irks me when the "new" wife gets upset that her husband has to support
the first family he created. You cannot expect to marry a man who has financial
obligations to his ex-wife and children and not feel the financial repercussions
on your own family. If a man who has been ordered by the court to pay alimony to
his ex-wife cannot afford to due so, he has no business getting married again
and starting a new family.