Imagine a traditional marriage where one spouse (probably the husband) goes to work and makes all the money to keep his family fed and sheltered and one spouse (probably the wife) stays home with the kids.

Now imagine the marriage ends in divorce. In that scenario, the home maker gets to abandon their spousal duties once the divorce ends. Because of alimony, the higher earner enjoys no such privilege.

I am not the first person to point out how unfair it is that the lower earner gets to abandon their spousal duties following the divorce and the higher earner does not. However, most of the people who make this argument present it as an argument that both spouses should be allowed to abandon their spousal duties following the divorce.

I have been thinking; maybe neither spouse should be allowed to abandon their spousal duties following the divorce. Maybe, if the lower earner wishes to receive spousal support, the lower earner should be expected to help their ex-spouse by being court mandated to take on the home maker role for their ex-spouse.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? If you say no, I am willing to hear the argument. If, however, you say yes, then how do you think that this should work? Let me know.