The length of the marriage, the discrepancy in income, and the discretionary income all enter into the calculation of alimony. The calculation for alimony does not take gender into account. A man may receive alimony. Yes, that is the case in Michigan. If your marriage has lasted at least 25 to 30 years, you may discuss alimony. In a lengthy marriage as opposed to a brief one, the court is more inclined to consider alimony.
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If a marriage lasts under 20 years, the court might not be willing to provide alimony. It is possible for the husband to receive alimony if the woman earns more money than he does. A certain standard of living for both couples is maintained by doing this. The viability of alimony may be compromised if the marriage earned a high income but also racked up a significant amount of debt. There is no doubt that gender is unrelated to alimony. Michigan allows men to get alimony.
Years ago, this was not so. Alimony was one sided. There wasn’t even divorce then when it all started. What they had was just separation.
Let’s Talk About Divorce
Definition of the term is necessary before exploring the complete history of divorce.
The Latin term “divortium,” which implies separation, is where the word “divorce” originates. The words “divort” and “divortere,” which mean to turn to different paths, are also comparable to it. Divertere can also imply to turn away from, split from, or leave one’s husband. In the latter half of the 14th century, the word first appeared in French lexicon, and between 1350 and 400, it first appeared in Middle English.
Divorce is only accepted in today’s modern culture if it is lawful and sanctioned by the law. During the time of King Hammurabi of Babylon in 1760 B.C., the earliest known codified divorce legislation may be found. The law on divorce is among the 282 laws that the King is said to have inscribed on stone tablets.
A man may divorce his wife during that time by only saying, “You are not my wife,” and then paying a fine and returning the wife’s dowry. However, if the woman sought a divorce, she had to file a complaint in order to do so.
Around the world, support for divorce had started to grow, and more nations started to push for its approval and legalization. France introduced divorce in 1762, but made it illegal in 1816. Germany legalized divorce in 1875. Ireland legalized divorce in 1997. Italy legalized divorce in 1974. Spain legalized divorce in 1981.
The history of divorce in the US began in the state of Maryland. South Carolina and Maryland made divorce lawful in 1701 and 1949 to 1950, respectively, while California allowed “no-fault” divorce in 1970. Although divorce has been documented in Pennsylvania as early as 1682, divorce records have been kept since 1804 at the Prothonotary’s Office in the county where the divorce was granted.
In the past, the requesting party was always required to establish fault under divorce rules up to the late 1960s in order for the divorce to be granted. That meant that a person could not just decide to end their marriage with their spouse because they were dissatisfied. Instead, they had to provide evidence their husband had broken the law. Bigamy (in some states), adultery, abandonment, excessive cruelty or abuse, and an inability to perform in the bedroom were among the grounds for granting a divorce.
Because neither spouse committed any heinous wrongdoing, hundreds upon thousands of couples were forced to remain in unhappy marriages as a result of these at-fault laws. Growing apart was not an option, period.
However, when California’s Family Law Act was made official in 1969 by then-governor Ronald Reagan, things started to stir and shift. Couples divorcing in California could now do so without pointing fingers at one another and instead use the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Irreconcilable differences soon became the standard for divorce in the United States after other states immediately copied their example.
The no-fault divorce transformed divorce in the United States. Many states established courts to handle divorce and other family law issues specifically as a result of the rise in divorces. Efficiency improvements helped courts give priority to urgent cases and expedite the processing of divorce cases. The groundwork was laid for the next significant advancement in the divorce process.
Alimony, Once Upon A Time…
Alimony had been part of men’s laws even before the constitution of the United States.
The Code of Hammurabi is where the history of alimony in the US begins. This prehistoric Babylonian legislation established guidelines for marriage and divorce. It was decided that in the event of a divorce, the husband would have to return the dowry, grant his ex-wife custody of the children, and offer her a monthly allowance for herself and the children.
In cases when there are no children, the husband must still give the wife her “bride price” equivalent and return the dowry. A bride price was the sum of money or other assets given to a woman’s parents in exchange for their consent for her to get married.
Divorce and alimony concepts changed over time. Couples could not divorce during the era of the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England. Instead, they might be formally legally separated. Husbands who were legally separated from their wives had to pay alimony to their spouses even though the couple was still lawfully married. British colonists took their idea of alimony to America with them.
Following the Revolutionary War, the United States developed its own divorce laws using British law as a model. For a substantial portion of US history, divorce was fault-based. A person had to be at fault for the marriage to dissolve, and there had to be evidence of it.
Divorce law and women’s rights underwent a lot of development in the latter half of the 20th century. Women started getting jobs just like men and are now contributing to the household income. California first legalized “no-fault” divorce in 1970, facilitating the legal separation of incompatible partners.
A Supreme Court ruled last March 5, 1979, awarding alimony amounting to $1,600 a month to Henry Durand Irwin for life from his wife of 26 years, former Elizabeth Philips.
Mr. Irwin’s former wife is the granddaughter of Frank Phillips, who founded the Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917. Frank Philips built the company into a $350 million oil empire until his death in 1950.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated every state statute forbidding the payment of alimony to males, Mr. Irwin became the first man in the state of New York to get a significant alimony award.
Alimony, The Present Day…
States started to ignore gender when deciding how much alimony to pay divorced people. Former husbands are now being awarded alimony payments.
In today’s marriages, women are becoming the primary provider. And more of them are finding themselves responsible for paying spousal support and even child support upon divorce. The playing field has been leveled for both genders as a result of this evolution.
As a condition of divorce, a person may be given alimony or spousal support if the judge deems it acceptable. Sometimes people make the false assumption the spouse who makes less money automatically receives alimony, but in Michigan, this is not the case. Spousal support must now be calculated on a case-by-case basis, according to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which has done away with the use of a formula used by lower courts.
The purpose of spousal support is to provide a spouse making less money than their partner with financial security. When deciding alimony, judges take into account a variety of variables, including the conduct of the parties while they were still married, their respective employment histories, and more.
One spouse must be in need of money and the other must be able to pay it in order for alimony to be awarded. The judge will also consider the standard of living that was established for both partners during the marriage, its length, both partners’ potential earnings after the divorce, and the length of time the dependent partner will need to finish school or obtain a job-related qualification in order to maintain their standard of living.
The estates and possessions of both partners will also be taken into consideration when determining each spouse’s need and financial capacity.
Men and women now have equal rights to spousal support following a divorce under the 1979 Supreme Court ruling, but only while they are working toward self-sufficiency. Few men ask for alimony; instead, if the woman is much wealthier, most choose a one-time payment from her.
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