As more women obtain advanced degrees and seek fulfillment through professional advancement and success, a growing number of men are choosing to sacrifice their own professional ambitions and stay at home to raise children. This change in traditional gender roles has many implications, particularly when such a couple decides to divorce.
A recent survey of 1,600 family law attorneys, revealed that nearly 50 percent reported seeing an increase last year in the number of women who are paying spousal support to an ex-husband. The survey was conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and its results are encouraging for the many husbands and fathers who support a wife’s career ambitions or choose to stay home to raise children.
Given the purpose of alimony or spousal support, it makes complete sense that a husband or father who earns less than an ex-spouse should be entitled to seek alimony. There are, however, still those within society who tend to side with a woman regardless of her or her ex-husband’s economic standing and circumstances. While the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the topic in the 1979 case Orr vs. Orr., citing gender should play no role when determining alimony, biases still remain.
Dallas-area husbands and fathers who are going through a divorce and plan to seek spousal support would be wise to contact an attorney who has a track record of supporting fathers’ rights issues. An attorney can help ensure a client’s best interests are represented and protected during the divorce process as well as provide for a favorable financial outcome with regard to alimony.
Source: Financial Post, “More men getting alimony from their ex-wives,” Geoff Williams, Jan. 4, 2014