Alimony Reform Requests Increasing from Seniors
Many seniors who were divorced decades ago are still required to make high alimony payments. Sometimes, that means they can't afford to retire or that they can't afford to pay for a good nursing home if they have a physical or mental illness.
Many states are reexamining their alimony laws. Last fall, Massachusetts passed a new law that creates different types of alimony with varying durations. It depends on the length of marriage and the finances of each spouse.
The law allows those paying alimony to modify their terms later and calls for ending payments if the recipient has a live-in mate, or in most cases, when the payer reaches retirement age.
A similar bill in Florida is moving through committees, and in New Jersey, a bill has been introduced to study alimony laws.
In Connecticut, Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina, advocates of change are organizing online. The percentage of women in the workforce has grown to 59 percent since 1979, and their average wage is $35,000.
In some states, alimony can last for 50 years or more.
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