Father fights for alimony modification in California

Divorces are often riddled with a high voltage of emotional drama. One of the major pressing issues in divorce cases is the issue of spousal support or alimony. Under alimony laws, California family courts try to employ the rule of equity where neither party should be adversely affected or at a financial loss due to the end of the marital bond.

Many divorcees often advocate against the spousal support policy in California. There have been cases where one of the estranged spouses had to shell out around thousands of dollars in lieu of spousal support or alimony under the state laws.

Under the existing laws, in order to make a case for a spousal support modification, one needs to prove that the financial situations of the individuals have changed considerably or that the spouse receiving spousal support has remarried. In some cases however, even if the ex-spouse starts working and is earning enough to sustain the person, the courts may find that spousal support payments need to continue.

Advocates against spousal support have been gathering signatures and support from the public domain in order to go to the state legislative in order to do away with the existing spousal support law. Many have even stated that spousal support was biased towards the women as it was made at a time when most women were homemakers.

With the advent of the women's liberation movement and many of the women working even after marriage, the need for spousal support at all has been questioned by the group, which consists of many divorced men frustrated with their own spousal support payments.

Source: CBS Los Angeles, "Divorced dad fights to do away with spousal support in California," May 13, 2015