Support Pennsylvania Alimony Reform

Alimony Reform

Let’s face it, alimony of any kind is unfair, and among a vast many reasons why it’s unfair, the one big issue that stands out – “it does not create closure to a bad situation”. Divorce in many cases, is to create a much needed “ending point” and to a payer being ordered otherwise, keeps an unhealthy reminder open and that they have no closure.

The underlying form of thinking is none other then mental anguish – in other words a mental form of punishment. It is in this area that “payers” people having to pay alimony feel so angry towards being punished much like having committed a crime. Anyone who shares a difference of opinion may pass their feelings off based on facts that someone needs to be supported much like paying ones taxes, to help ease their own pain towards selling the idea of how and why people should feel towards paying alimony. Also - let’s be clear that alimony reform is not talking about Child Support. People currently receiving support for any minors is a completely different subject.

Alimony – unlike child support is awarded to a spouse (no kids involved) – who at the time of a divorce may need temporary assistance (if not working) to live on until they are able to support their own self needs. This is however is compromised, worse case such as; long term homemaker having not worked outside of the marital home. The big issue within cases such as these is that while yes one needs the support, the courts and family laws do not provide one common law to follow. That’s why no real information can be found on the web that can attribute to one type of end result that’s fair and just. Because cases are treated on an individual basis state to state, county to county and why decisions towards one such award can be so wide spread and outlandish to another. An example of this would be having the same type of mirage filed in two different county courts systems (in one given state) the ending will have two very different results towards the subject of alimony. The real sadness behind this is that a divorce is bad enough having to go through, let alone have no established laws to follow and a chance that a case can relying on ones emotions as to what’s granted such as the possibility of “life time alimony” which is still being considered and granted today. This becomes an unfair balance towards meeting the real needs for one party to pay the other, based on considerations, such as; one’s heath, the amount of education they have, there current income level, the age, and my personal favorite “keeping with their past standards of living”. If you’re divorced, and the other is not working, how can the one person keep up both life styles? Obviously they can’t so why have this listed as part of a consideration. The same goes for ones health issues, why and how is it ones responsibility to pay for the others poor health condition how is this burden become fair and just. They do not – the factors listed are truly used to gage the amount of entrapment, the court system can use - which among a long list of things they never seem to include or create any type of closure to one’s past, nor allowing one to be able to move forward towards reclaim their own life or what’s left of it.

This unhealthy approach, has contributed towards a great many people to travel down an unstable path, possibly leading them towards harming either themselves or other love ones. Society has passed the buck when it comes to trying to understand this thinking or behavior, instead of dealing with the fact that people being placed in a no–win scenario employ’s possible bad behavior. The repercussions add to a long list of people doing just that, harming others that we see each and every day in the news media. Forcing people to stay in unhealthy relationship for all types of bad reason only creates more chaos on a strained system or by lack of one. The real shame is that we live in a technologically advance age, that cerates new advances in research daily, whether in the medical field, or product safety such as safer automobiles – it becomes hard to understand why no advancement has been made with Law makers not being able to simplify or modify an old age mindset to current times. For them to view and follow laws of the past after society has evolved so far into the future is shameful, especially if they have themselves defended case laws using such old thinking - such as pushing one with “lifetime alimony”.

The reason for demanding change is the smile fact that people (women) are no longer considered the property of a man as they once were in the past decade. I can’t image today’s women still like being viewed as ones property? If that mindset has indeed changed, then why hasn’t the laws of one person having to taken care of another person for the rest of ones life, not evolved as well? Shouldn’t society demand for a self serving plan that helps people for a short while but then releases the responsibility, make any real sense towards creating closure with regards to a given divorce. If one disagrees, then ask your self, why is it alright for alimony support to be withdrawn - if the person receiving the support choices to move on and remarry someone else? How is that the only determining factor, that one person has the power to create an ending point (releasing the other) once they decided to remarry, but yet the payer can not do the same if by chance they want to remarry? If people are not property (unless jailed) should one be punished in such a way?

Marriages that end, most likely ended for good reasons – with respect towards our current day and age “to hold one accountable to support the other with no ending point” is morally unfair. To think of it any other way – is placing your head into the sand.
Place yourself within a second marriage of some 20yrs. only to have your entire family dragging back to a point of no return because you’re ex-wife from over 25 years ago seeks alimony support because she happens to have hit hard times because of aging health issues? In this case should a second marriage be expected to financially support an old ex to a point they bankrupt themselves? Of cores not – but yet we find and hear about case such as these going on today.

Alimony reform is a new-age of thinking, by allowing direction towards forming a healthy ending point in a divorce. Today the US has a growing number of alimony sufferers, whose possible only fault was finding them selves in a poor marriage and then further punished with the burden that allows them never to regain their lives at some point. This applies now to some women as well as men..... and is no longer a gender roll. The number of people this affects is staggering and being realized that not only do spouses who pay "lifetime" alimony suffer, but their families as well, such as; the children in second spouse marriage, being deprived towards their own possible financial needs. There is a trickle-down effect that affects whole society and economy necessitating that’s not being realized by many state legislators.

New emphasis is now being placed on educating the public to those responsible for making new laws to help better suit family laws for something more fair and just. One that allows for an ending point with regards to continuing financial marriage that survives and lives long after the dissolution of marriage had been terminated.

Not allowing an ending point within a given divorce - has some real concern for all of us and such an issue is unfair treatment.