The May 27, 2013 edition of Time Magazine has a very interesting article entitled, “The End of Alimony”. The article doesn’t talk about the end of all alimony but rather the end of permanent alimony. It points to a recent Massachusetts law that eliminates permanent alimony and instead pays alimony for a period of time based on the length of the marriage. This law has triggered a nationwide discussion on alimony reform, including New Jerseybill A3909 that might affect Case Information Statement preparation.
The Time article presented both sides of the argument. In favor of alimony they pointed out that some spouses–and in our society this mostly means “wives”–give up their careers to stay home and care for the kids. After a divorce it’s not easy for these people to simply jump back in the workforce. Years of not working means they don’t have the skills, and despite laws prohibiting age discrimination it’s still a lot harder to start a career in your 40s or 50s than in your 20s.
The rebuttal is that alimony might be necessary but not permanent alimony. Give these people a few years to retrain but then expect the exes to get out and become independent. Even if they can’t get the same jobs they had before, they can still become self-sufficient. They also talk about how much of a burden permanent alimony is on the second wife, who ends up using her income to pay her new husband’s commitment to his first wife.
Our description a huge oversimplification of the issue but we have limited space. I suggest you go read the article yourself. It’s really quite fascinating.
So what is Easysoft’s position? Pardon me while I chuckle politely and say, “No comment.” We are software developers and this is a discussion for lawyers, politicians and angry exes. We are not going to wade into the contentious issue.
However we are watching the issue with interest. If A3909 passes, will it change the Case Information Statement? We don’t know but we are prepared to modify our NJ family law software to meet the changes. This is true of all of our divorce planning software titles. We make sure to stay on top of the changes in each state so you know you are working with the latest rules and regulations regarding property division, alimony and child support.
This sort of attention to detail is a key element in our philosophy towards law practice management software. Laws change and software has to change with it. If you are not already an Easysoft customer, try our products risk-free for 30 days to discover how committed we are serving the needs of the modern legal practice.
