Southern California Family Law Attorney Blog

When a couple decides to divorce, alimony has traditionally been paid by the husband as a way to recognize his wife’s efforts in staying home and raising the children while he worked and built his career. In most situations, the father is the breadwinner and the mother in the homemaker, and when a divorce happens, the law has traditionally been concerned about how the woman will survive without the financial help of her husband, as she may have sacrificed her own education and career for the promotion of his.

As the economy shifts and gender roles within marriage change, many attorneys have noticed a new trend within the specifics of alimony. Statistics show that almost half of working women currently make more than their husbands, and they are being forced to pay alimony after the marriage ends to support their former spouse.

The number of stay at home dads has almost doubled in the last decade, possibly making this issue more prevalent. Within the bounds of marriage, it is quickly becoming common to see the roles reversed, and divorce and alimony laws are being forced to keep up with the cultural changes within marriage.

Whether the person is a husband or wife, and if they gave up their career in order to support the other spouse and raise a family, the law entitles them to financial support once the marriage ends. Any person considering a divorce may benefit from consulting with an attorney to ensure that the alimony amount they receive or pay is fair and legal for their particular situation.

Source: Source: TIME, "The de-gendering of divorce: wives pay ex-husbands alimony too," Liza Mundy, May 16, 2013