BOSTON, June 18 MA-Alimony-Reform
BOSTON, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Within hours of an op-ed piece appearing
in the Boston Globe that condemns Massachusetts' out-of-date and lopsided
alimony laws ("The Chilling Effect of the State's Divorce Laws," June 13,
2008), Mass Alimony Reform received a phone call from a woman who had planned
to marry a divorced man in September, but after reading the article, decided
to cancel her wedding.
Link to Boston Globe op-ed:
http://tinyurl.com/4vut59
The op-ed mentions the story of Cathy Ortiz, who works as a secretary in
Fairhaven, MA. In 2007 she was ordered to write a weekly check to her
husband's ex-wife, because her husband is out of work, even though the ex-wife
works full-time and receives benefits. Under the state's current laws, she is
entitled to lifetime alimony even though she works full-time and received an
equitable share of marital assets in the divorce.
By Monday evening, three days after the op-ed appeared, Steve Hitner,
founder Mass Alimony Reform, and Deb Scanlan, founder of The 2nd Wives Club,
who support reforms in the state law, had received numerous emails from women
saying that they are canceling weddings rather than become subject to divorce
laws that could involve their paying alimony to their new husbands' ex-wives
once they married.
"We have been astonished by the reaction to the op-ed," said Hitner, whose
organization is backing a comprehensive bill, HR 1567, in the Massachusetts
legislature. "People are calling from all over the country who are suffering
under Massachusetts alimony laws because they got divorced here decades ago."
The op-ed has provoked radio and television media attention, on major
stations, including WBZ AM talk radio and WRKO AM.
The author of the op-ed, writer Elizabeth Benedict, has also received
queries from strangers concerning their marriage plans. In the op-ed,
Benedict describes herself as one of a growing number of people in
Massachusetts who refuse to marry because of the state's harsh divorce laws,
and particularly those that affect men with lifetime alimony obligations
"There is no other state in the country that has alimony laws that
remotely resemble those of Massachusetts," said attorney Tim Taylor, Lincoln,
MA, who drafted HR 1567 and modeled it on California's law, which is
considered the state that is most protective of women's interests. HR 1567
was introduced earlier this year but sent for "further study" by the Judiciary
Committee. "These laws desperately need to be updated," Taylor said.
Massachusetts alimony practices are not based on statutes passed by the
legislature, but on case law, the details of which are unknown to most
legislators. Alimony law is gender neutral, but 96 percent of alimony in
Massachusetts is paid by men to women.
Currently these are common practices:
-- Alimony is awarded after marriages as short as five years.
-- Couples who sign prenups that waive their right to alimony can and do
have their prenups overruled by judges.
-- Alimony is almost always awarded with no time limit. Current law does
not permit putting an end date on alimony.
-- Alimony payments do not automatically end or decline when a man
retires. A man may be ordered to pay his ex-wife alimony from the pension he
lives on and from which she has already received an equitable share at the
time of divorce.
-- Alimony is commonly awarded at 30 to 40 percent of total household
income, including second spouse.
-- Alimony without end is awarded to women with full-time jobs with
benefits and to women with advanced degrees, technical skills, and/or
licenses, such as nurses, realtors, and financial analysts.
About Massachusetts Alimony Reform:
Mission of Massachusetts Alimony Reform: "To promote peace and the
independence of the parties to divorce, we must amend the alimony laws to
clarify guidelines, protect the truly needy and eliminate lifelong marital
welfare" http://www.massalimonyreform.org/ .
Please contact Mass Alimony Reform 508 335-0069 for additional
information, including a copy of HR 1567, a set of horror stories by people
subject to the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court system, and to find out
how you can help change the law.
SOURCE Massachusetts Alimony Reform
