A sub-heading in a recent media article on family law is entitled “Pride Yields to Math.”
Those words seem well placed when it comes to the focus of their subject matter, which is spousal support.
Particularly support in cases where ex-wives are the payers.
That judicial outcome following divorce is far from the rarity it used to be, with evidence indicating that instances of former husbands receiving alimony are steadily increasing across the country.
Many of our Florida and other readers might already know that. Although men are still comparative laggards when it comes to petitioning courts for spousal support, they are far less loathe to do so than in times past. A national lawyers’ group that recently surveyed its members states that about 47 percent of them report an increase in cases where males are the recipients of ordered payments.
Which goes back to that pride-and-math thing referenced above. Many family law commentators have noted over decades that men far more often than women will simply not approach a court with an alimony request, fearful of being perceived as weak or a failure.
One family law attorney notes that such fear seems to be going out the window, though, in an increasing number of cases, once male clients come to terms with the true economic picture confronting them.
That practitioner notes that a male client often tends to change his views on receiving spousal support “when he realizes that without it he’s going to be living in a basement apartment.”
Of course, alimony is based on fairness and encompasses a number of factors. Instances where males are receiving support typically have fact patterns similar to those warranting the receipt of support for ex-wives.
Centrally, that often means that a former husband put a career on hold or otherwise sharply curtailed it to stay home and raise the kids while his wife pursued a career and became the family’s primary wage earner.
An experienced Florida family law attorney can answer questions and provide diligent representation in manners concerning spousal support, for both payers and recipients.
Source: Financial Post, “More men getting alimony from their ex-wives,” Geoff Williams, Jan. 4, 2014