Should Alimony Be Banned?

dungone · 2013-09-02T21:17:01+00:00

Alimony doesn't make sense at all, period. And it never did. It is a lie that divorce laws had ever been in a men's favor. When alimony was established, divorce wasn't legal! And for a long time after that, no-fault divorce wasn't legal. Women have lead the way with filing for divorce, not men. How can someone argue that alimony was necessary to keep men from abandoning women while at the same time an entire industry grew up around women abandoning men?

There's also the issue of hypergamy. How can someone argue that a woman makes a "sacrifice" when she marries a man who has a much higher earnings potential than she ever had?

clocked_it · 2013-09-02T21:18:12+00:00

As someone who is currently going through divorce and will most likely be paying huge ass alimony payments, I do think it should exist, but not for as long as it does and how much it is. It should also depend on how the marriage ended and if children are involved.

I was married for ten years, therefore I have to split up all my assets, my retirement plan, and pay her for five years. That seems very unfair considering I worked for everything we had in those ten years. Should she still get alimony, yes she should. But she shouldn't get my fucking retirement or assets. She also shouldn't get alimony for five fucking years, one or two years is enough for her to get on her feet and get her own job, Christ.

BrSy · 2013-09-03T06:16:59+00:00

Practically nobody gets alimony in the nordic countries and we're doing fine. So yeah... alimony is complete and utter bullshit. Stop living in the victorian era.

PerniciousOne · 2013-09-03T03:06:50+00:00

Remember as a man if you choose to get married all your support and obligations remain until your death. (Vaginamony)

Laws have been changed to remove all accountability and responsibility from women.

You must keep her in the lifestyle that she is "accustomed" to. Regardless of any of the lifestyle choices that you may be "accustomed" to such as a homemade dinner, or "regular" sex. None of these aspects of your married responsibilities are still required. Why is your financial obligations still required.

korkyshadow · 2013-09-03T04:28:47+00:00

Alimony shouldn't be automatic, but I do think it should exist. It should just be used sparingly. I'll give an example scenario where I think it would be appropriate.

A couple gets married right out of college. One partner gets a good upper-middle class job, and they decide early on that one partner will earn the income and the other will tend to the home and children. After 30 years of marriage, the income-earning partner decides that he/she is no longer happy and wants a divorce. The income-earning spouse still has the (potentially) highest-paying 10-15 years of his/her life ahead of him/her. The other partner has never even held a real job.

I think that alimony is appropriate in this case because they made a deal together that crippled the non-working spouse's earning potential. The purpose of the alimony would be to somewhat make up for the earning potential that was lost as a result of that deal.

Don't misunderstand me... I think that the current application of alimony is pretty terrible. I don't think that alimony should be used when the other spouse hasn't lost any earning potential. I don't think it should be used so that a non-working spouse can continue to not work. I don't think it should be used so that a spouse who "married-up" to a wealthy person can continue to live an extravagant lifestyle. But I do think that there are cases where it's appropriate as I described above. I know that my example is a rarity, but these things do occasionally happen which is why I think that alimony should remain an option.

2013-09-03T08:59:27+00:00

2 years is more than enough time to completely change your life. eg the typical 'stay at home' mom, who hasnt done any real (as in on paper) work, can take classes, learn a trade, transfer to a 4-year college, get experience for job she can live off, etc... in a 2 year period. 4 years max IMO

HolySchmoly · 2013-09-03T09:22:57+00:00

I try this one.

blueoak9 · 2013-09-03T16:05:37+00:00

Requesting it should be prosecuted as prostitution and the lawyers inolved should be prosecuted as pimps.

4man · 2013-09-04T02:05:52+00:00

Yes, alimony should not exist at all. When a relationship ends it should end completely. Divide the assets based upon who acquired them and then both adults are on their own. Both partners are responsible for ensuring they are employable. No former partner owes the other a "standard of living"; that is set aside when they separate.

Polyfluorite · 2013-09-03T05:03:38+00:00

its just another way women can get over on men

gremlina · 2013-09-03T06:22:47+00:00

If there are no kids, there should be no alimony. (And I say this as a woman who doesn't want kids, so clearly, I would be removing myself from eligibility for alimony.)

If there are kids, it should depend on what she was willing to give up in order to have and raise them. If a woman screwed with her own earnings potential, then she should be compensated.

On the other hand, I also think women who want kids are insane. There are no logical reasons to want kids, only hormonal ones. But I guess someone has to have them and they shouldn't be penalized in old age because of hormones.

Title	Should Alimony Be Banned?
Author	sowhatisit
Upvotes	12
Comments	37
Date	September 2, 2013 8:01 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1llhe4/should_alimony_be_banned/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/should-alimony-be-banned.1164867 https://theredarchive.com/post/1164867

Comments