• 01
  • February
    2012

When two people get divorced, there is often an income difference between the two individuals, meaning one ex-spouse may be disadvantaged. The one who makes less income may be in the financial situation for no fault of their own. Many times one person in the marriage takes a slower professional route or puts off work or education to care for the family.

When someone puts off work or education it is often hard for them to reenter the workforce because their education and experience is quickly outdated. This is why alimony remains so important. Now alimony reforms are looking to simplify the way alimony is calculated.

This reform is sweeping from state to state and reforms in some states would allow for alimony to be terminated at a certain age. Although each state is different, many times if someone neglects to pay alimony, they are in contempt of court, a serious violation.

Even though reforms are changing the laws in many states, alimony that is currently in place should still be paid until new agreements are in place. Many states might make laws that only change the procedure for calculating alimony going forward and those agreements that are already in place will not be changed.

If you are owed alimony, it would be wise to keep track of expenses that you are owed, and alimony that has been paid to you. This will help if you need to seek action in court to try to recover payments. Speaking to a divorce attorney might be helpful in learning about different options for getting owed alimony payments.

Source: Forbes, "Alimony Reforms Continue to Create More Uncertainty for Divorcing Women," Jeff Landers, Jan. 18, 2012