Should Lifetime Alimony Be Banned?

"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.