Health
Speak Out: Long-Term Alimony
How long should a man have to support a woman after a divorce? Many state courts are again awarding long-term payment to ex-wives, reversing a trend of the last two decades.
And while family law practitioners are singing the courts' praises, divorced men's support groups are up in arms.
What's your opinion?
Divorce courts in recent years have favored short-term payments, maintaining that such schedules encourage women to get back into the workforce.
But divorce lawyers say such short-term financial support often forced women onto welfare rolls instead of into good-paying jobs. They say women who sacrificed their careers to stay home and take care of the family are entitled to long-term alimony.
But men's groups have railed against such findings saying this new trend is "another arrow in the quiver of women's advocacy groups directed at fathers."
Is this reversal by the courts a setback for women's independence? Or are long-term alimony payments the correct method -- and the compensation women deserve for their work in the home?
Speak Out on the ThirdAge Opinion Page.
And while family law practitioners are singing the courts' praises, divorced men's support groups are up in arms.
What's your opinion?
Divorce courts in recent years have favored short-term payments, maintaining that such schedules encourage women to get back into the workforce.
But divorce lawyers say such short-term financial support often forced women onto welfare rolls instead of into good-paying jobs. They say women who sacrificed their careers to stay home and take care of the family are entitled to long-term alimony.
But men's groups have railed against such findings saying this new trend is "another arrow in the quiver of women's advocacy groups directed at fathers."
Is this reversal by the courts a setback for women's independence? Or are long-term alimony payments the correct method -- and the compensation women deserve for their work in the home?
Speak Out on the ThirdAge Opinion Page.
