Illinois residents may have heard the heated debate this country is currently having surrounding issues of alimony. While alimony is a long standing factor involved in the divorce conversation, some family law experts and citizens argue it is an old and much outdated law that needs to be revamped or done away with altogether.
Specifically, alimony is more and more often seen as no longer necessary in its previous form as the gender gap continues to narrow. While traditional alimony might grant long term payments to a receiving spouse, new concepts divide property equally and stop there or cut off alimony payments when there is evidence the receiving spouse is living with another.
In spite of these arguments, there continue to be champions of alimony, where it is well applied. The statistics often speak for themselves. For example, a 2012 Social Security Bulletin indicated that divorce women have the highest poverty rate among other women in the U.S. Further, in the face of alimony opponents who argue alimony actual dissuades spouses from working, more than 60 percent of divorce women work.
The state of Illinois has participated in the changes to alimony doing away with the term altogether. The term was changed to maintenance some time ago. In spite of the fact that there is a new title, the traditional definition has remained relatively the same.
While alimony or maintenance in concept is changing across the country, this does not mean that maintenance is not a relevant option for separating families. It is important to consider all options when obtaining a divorce in order to ensure a fair and equitable result in the end.
Source: The Daily Record, “Alimony still serves and important purpose,” Jan. 16, 2014