Editing Alimony (section)

==== Reform ====
In the United States, family laws and precedents as they relate to divorce, community property and alimony vary based on state law.  Also, with new family models, "working couples", "working wives", "[[stay-at-home dad]]s", etc., there are situations where some parties to a divorce question whether traditional economic allocations made in a divorce are fair and equitable to the facts of their individual case. Some groups have proposed various forms of legislation to reform alimony parameters (i.e. amounts and term).<ref name="McCoy" /><ref name="Alimony Agony" /><ref name="ABC News" /><ref name="The Huffington Post">{{cite news|last=Matlack|first=Tom|date=November 17, 2011|title=Divorce Reform in Massachusetts: David vs. Goliath|work=[[Huffington Post]]|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-matlack/divorce-reform-in-massach_b_357874.html}}</ref><ref name="New Art of Alimony" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Goodnough|first=Abby|date=November 10, 2009|title=Retirees Still Liable for Alimony, Massachusetts Court Rules|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10alimony.html?_r=1|access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref><ref name="On Point">{{cite news|last=Ashbrook|first=Tom|date=November 3, 2009|title=Til death do they pay?|work=On Point, [[NPR]]|url=http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/11/til-death-does-he-pay#comments}}</ref>  Alimony terms are among the most frequent issues causing litigation in [[family law]] cases.<ref name="McCoy" /><ref name="The Honorable Robert E. Gaston" /> Eighty percent of divorce cases involve a request for modification of alimony.<ref name="Barbara von Hauzen, Esp" /><ref>{{cite web|author=Christopher R. Musulin, Esquire|title=Should New Jersey Adopt a Formula Approach for Spousal Support?: Article on Alimony for New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting, May 2009|url=http://www.burlingtoncountydivorce.com/CM/Custom/Article%20on%20Alimony%20for%20NJ.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708104525/http://www.burlingtoncountydivorce.com/CM/Custom/Article%20on%20Alimony%20for%20NJ.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-08|publisher=The New Jersey Bar Association}}</ref>

Some states (e.g. Florida, Texas, Maine) are moving away from permanent alimony awards that are intended to maintain a spouse's standard of living enjoyed during the marriage and are moving towards durational or rehabilitative alimony.<ref name="theory">{{cite journal|last=Kornhauser|first=Marjorie E.|year=1996|title=Theory Versus Reality: The Partnership Model of Marriage in Family and Income Tax Law|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/temple69&div=50|journal=[[Temple Law Review]]|publisher=[[Temple University Beasley School of Law]]|volume=69|pages=1413|ssrn=1441473}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=von Hauzen, Esp.|first=Barbara|title=Should Permanent Alimony Be Eliminated?|url=http://www.massalimonyreform.org/PDFs/Should_Permanent_Alimony_Be_Eliminated.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727070621/http://www.massalimonyreform.org/PDFs/Should_Permanent_Alimony_Be_Eliminated.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-27|work=The Reformer|publisher=Massachusetts School of Law}}</ref> In other states, like Mississippi and Tennessee, alimony is usually awarded for life.<ref name="Alimony Agony" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Martin|first=Frank|date=August 2002|title=From Prohibition to Approval: The Limitations of the 'No Clean Break' Divorce Regime in the Republic of Ireland|journal=International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family|publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Journals]]|volume=16|issue=2|pages=223&ndash;259|doi=10.1093/lawfam/16.2.223}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Grossman|first=Joanna|date=May 19, 2005|title=Can an adulterer receive alimony?|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/05/05/grossman.adultery.alimony/index.html|access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref>

Some of the critical issues that proponents and opponents of alimony reform disagree upon are:
*  Whether alimony should be temporary or permanent<ref name="New Art of Alimony" />
*  Regardless of duration, should alimony payers have the unquestionable right to retire?<ref>{{cite news|last=Goodnough|first=Abby|date=November 10, 2009|title=Retirees Still Liable for Alimony, Mississippi, Massachusetts and Tennessee Court Rules|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10alimony.html?_r=1|access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref>
*  Does the lesser earning spouse deserve alimony to meet his or her basic needs ([[sustenance]]) or enough to sustain "the lifestyle accustomed to during the civil union or marriage"?<ref name="New Art of Alimony" />
*  Should the income and assets of a new spouse be used in determining how much alimony gets paid?<ref name="Alimony Agony" />
* How clear and prescriptive should state statutes be versus allowing a larger degree of Judicial Discretion?<ref name="Alimony Agony" /><ref>[https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/28/thunderhorsebr_sct.pdf]{{cite web |title=Pierce v. Pierce Brief for the Amicus Curiae |url=http://www.womensbar.org/images/amicus_piercevpierce.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103104255/http://www.womensbar.org/images/amicus_piercevpierce.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2021 |publisher=The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=van der Pool|first=Lisa|date=October 5, 2009|title=Dueling alimony bills raise hackles in legal circles|work=[[Boston Business Journal]]|url=http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2009/10/05/story7.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Alimony For Life – Push To Change Mass. Laws|url=http://wbztv.com/local/alimony.for.life.2.1304753.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114085818/http://wbztv.com/local/alimony.for.life.2.1304753.html|archive-date=2009-11-14|publisher=WBZ News Channel 38}}</ref>

In 2012, bills were introduced in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate. The Assembly passed a bill calling for a Blue Ribbon Commission to address Alimony Reform.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rooney|first=Matt|date=June 25, 2012|title=Legislation would establish Blue Ribbon Commission to review New Jersey's alimony laws and suggest changes (blog)|url=http://southjerseylawfirm.com/blog/update-alimony-reform-bill-passes-new-jersey-assembly/|access-date=March 28, 2014|website=southjerseylawfirm.com|publisher=DeMichele & DeMichele Attorneys at Law}}</ref> The Senate has a similar bill pending that has not yet been posted in the Judiciary Committee.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joelle Farrell|first=Inquirer Trenton Bureau|date=August 19, 2012|title=New Jersey struggles with the knotty issue of alimony reform|url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-19/news/33273321_1_alimony-law-judges-odd-jobs|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411150957/http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-19/news/33273321_1_alimony-law-judges-odd-jobs|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 11, 2013|access-date=28 March 2014|work=Philadelphia Daily News|publisher=Interstate General Media, LLC}}</ref> The NJ Matrimonial Bar Association has been vehemently fighting against Alimony Reform, led by Patrick Judge Jr. chairman of the Family Law section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.<ref>{{cite web|last=Patrick|first=Judge Jr|date=October 14, 2012|title=On divorce and alimony, NJ on wrong path for women|url=http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/10/on_divorce_and_alimony_nj_on_w.html|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=The Star-Ledger|publisher=New Jersey On-Line LLC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Patrick|first=Judge Jr.|date=June 2012|title=Strength in Numbers|url=http://www.highroadsolution.com/file_uploader/images/NJFamilyLawyerV33N1June2012.pdf|access-date=28 March 2014|work=highroadsolution.com|pages=27–70}}</ref> Attorney Judge stated that the New Jersey State Bar Association ("NJSBA") objected to the inclusion of individuals with a vested interest in reforming alimony on the Blue Ribbon Commission and that the NJSBA supported the "establishment of a commission [to study alimony reform] but only as long as the commission is constituted so that a fair and unbiased review of the current alimony laws takes place…[and] should not be predisposed to an outcome…."<ref>{{cite web|last=Patrick|first=Judge|title=Chair's Column Effectuating Change in the Legislature|url=http://www.highroadsolution.com/file_uploader/images/FamilyLawyerV33N2Oct2012.pdf|access-date=28 March 2014|pages=1–2}}</ref>

In 2023 Florida passed an alimony reform bill (SB 1416) which eliminated permanent alimony and established a process for allowing alimony payers to request modifications when they want to retire. The bill allowed judges to reduce or terminate alimony obligations based on a number of factors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill ending permanent alimony - CBS Miami |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-gov-desantis-signs-bill-ending-permanent-alimony/ |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The passage came after decades of contentious debate garnering three vetoes of similar bills.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Florida |first=Dara Kam, News Service of |title='This is a death sentence for me': Florida Republican women say they will switch parties after DeSantis approves alimony law |url=https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/this-is-a-death-sentence-for-me-florida-republican-women-say-they-will-switch-parties-after-desantis-approves-alimony-law-34563230 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Orlando Weekly |language=en}}</ref> Some groups that were previously major opponents of the reform approved of the 2023 policy, such as Florida Family Fairness and [[The Florida Bar]].<ref name=":1" />

California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia have all passed laws that allow for the modification or termination of alimony upon demonstration that the recipient is cohabitating with another person.<ref name="Florida State Senate">{{cite web|title=Florida State Senate: Interim Project Report 2005-146|url=http://www.flsenate.gov/data/Publications/2005/Senate/reports/interim_reports/pdf/2005-146ju.pdf|publisher=State of Florida Senate}}</ref> In April 2009, the Governor of New Jersey, [[Jon Corzine]], signed into law changes in the alimony statutes for his state which would bar alimony payments to parents who kill, abuse, or abandon their children.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hester|first=Tom|date=April 16, 2009|title=Eliminating alimony, inheritance rights for murderers, abusers|work=The New Jersey News Room|url=http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/eliminating-alimony-inheritance-rights-ofr-murderes-abusers|url-status=dead|access-date=December 19, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905210027/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/eliminating-alimony-inheritance-rights-ofr-murderes-abusers|archive-date=September 5, 2012}}</ref>