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Alimony: Historically, males have shunned maintenance requests

On Behalf of | Jul 11, 2013 | Divorce

A family law writer and contributor of articles that occasionally emphasize a pro-dads perspective cites a statistic that might possibly shock some people and leave others close to completely disinterested.

That statistic is this: Ninety seven percent of all alimony payers following divorce are men.

Put another way: In only three percent of all divorces do men receive spousal maintenance awards.

Alimony is a subject that is increasingly in the news these days, with a number of states, including Florida, serving as battle grounds of hot debate centered on whether laws should be materially revised, especially concerning so-called permanent alimony.

Discussions frequently center around the issue of changed circumstances for many women when compared with bygone decades, though, and not on the subject of divorced fathers receiving payments from their ex-spouses.

Why do so few men receive alimony?

As columnist Joseph Cordell says, the answer is that men seldom — close to never — ask for it.

The reasons for that are several and variable, but Cordell says that the main reason is often quite simple: Men often think that alimony is a “woman’s thing” and that requesting it would be unmanly and belittling.

As Cordell points out, though, gender is not something that courts consider when they contemplate alimony. Men have the same rights to collect alimony payments as do women, provided they can argue an equitable reason to receive spousal maintenance.

Cordell doesn’t expect the number of male alimony recipients to go up much in future years, although he does note the Pew research data indicating that nearly 40 percent of married women now command a higher salary than do their husbands.

Florida residents with questions or concerns regarding alimony can receive prompt assistance and diligent representation from an experienced Miami divorce attorney.

Source: Huffington Post, “Why don’t more men ask for alimony?” Josseph E. Cordell, June 26, 2013

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