Remember, alimony is different from child support. If a couple breaks up and one person gets custody of the child, it makes logical sense for the non-custodial parent to be forced to pay child support to the custodial parent.

Alimony is money you pay to your ex-husband/wife. This can happen, even if you never had any children.

I believe that alimony should be abolished.

Here are my reasons.

Reason #1: If the expectation to continue to be home maker ceases after a divorce, then so should the expectation to be a bread winner.

Imagine a lesbian couple (let’s call these women Judy and Erica) get divorced. During the marriage, Judy was the bread winner, while Erica did most of the cooking and cleaning.

After the divorce, it is likely that Erica would NOT be compelled by court order to continue cooking for and cleaning up after Judy. Therefore, it would not be logical for Judy to continue supporting Erica financially.

Reason #2: Being paid by your ex-spouse after the divorce is like being paid by your employer after losing your job.

After losing your job, your former employer is not required to keep paying you. Therefore, after a divorce, you should not be required to keep paying your spouse. You may be thinking that severance pay is a real thing. Let’s keep three points in mind.

Point #1:

Severance pay is not required. https://www.google.com/search?q=Severance+pay+is+not+required.&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS959US960&oq=Severance+pay+is+not+required.&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yDQgCEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgDEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigXSAQczMDVqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Point #2:

Alimony has no time limit in some states. Depending on where you live, you can be required to pay alimony for the rest of your life ( https://www.cga.ct.gov/2014/rpt/2014-R-0036.htm#:~:text=Connecticut%20law%20does%20not%20set,indefinite%20or%20lifetime%20alimony%20order. ). In the state of Florida, there is a law that says alimony can last no longer than half the length of the marriage ( https://www.tampafamilylaw.com/divorce-family-law/alimony-spousal-support/florida-alimony-bill/#:~:text=Mid%2DTerm%20Marriage&text=Just%20like%20a%20short%2Dterm,paying%20ex%2Dspouse's%20gross%20income. ). Even at companies where severance pay exists, it is never the case (that I know of) that severance pay can last a lifetime or even that it is required to last half the amount of time you spent working at the company.

Point #3:

Comparing alimony to severance payment works, only if the person who initiated the divorce is the one paying the alimony. If the person who initiated the divorce is the one receiving alimony, that is analogous to your employer being required to pay you even after you have quit your job.

Reason #3: You could get a job and receive governmental support in the meantime.

Alimony was created in a time when women had very limited job options, and so alimony was just about the only way for a divorced woman to make ends meet. That is not the world in which we live today. Today, women account for almost half of the work force ( https://www.bls.gov/blog/2017/12-stats-about-working-women.htm#:~:text=Women%20are%20Integral%20to%20Today's,three%2Dquarters%20of%20the%20workforce. ).

If you are unable to work, then you can and probably should receive disability benefits. If, however, you are capable of working, then just do that. You can receive welfare benefits in the meantime. Universal Basic Income also sounds like a pretty good idea ( https://youtu.be/kl39KHS07Xc?si=EIhJYmknnX6_I0FO ).

Imagine that your spouse asks you for a divorce. You get down on your hands and knees and beg your spouse not to divorce you. You make every promise you possibly can to change and improve the marriage, but your pleas fall on deaf ears.

In this situation, if your spouse has to receive government benefits in order to make ends meet, you will have to support your ex-spouse through your tax dollars. However, every tax paying citizen will have as much financial responsibility to your ex-spouse as you do. This makes logical sense, as every tax paying citizen had as much say in the decision to end the marriage as you did.

Reason #4: For as long as alimony exists, you could be rewarded for destroying your marriage.

If the lower earner cheated and that was the reason for the divorce, it would not be right to force the higher earner to pay alimony to the person who destroyed the marriage through infidelity.

Gold digging has always been a thing. There have always been people who value others exclusively for their money. Alimony takes gold digging to a whole new level. Not only is the higher earner valued exclusively for his or her ability to provide financially, the higher earner is more useful to the lower earner after the divorce than he/she ever was while the couple was together.

Reason #5: If you were abused physically and feel you are owed reparations, those reparations do not need to take place in the form of alimony.

The argument in favour of alimony that may be on your mind is physical abuse. If you abused your spouse physically, then you should be forced to pay reparations.

Obviously, being forced to pay reparations to someone you have abused makes logical sense. This does not need to take place in the form of alimony. I am pretty sure there are laws that allow you to sue someone for assault.

Reason #6: If you wish to receive money from your spouse following the divorce (and especially if you want it to be mandatory) you should ask for a contract that says so.

If you decide to take time off of work so as to make sacrifices for the marriage, you know that being divorced and no longer having monetary support from your spouse is a real possibility. You ought to get a contract signed stating that your spouse will have to support you after the divorce, if that is what you want to happen.