Massachusetts Alimony Reform

Peace, Independence, and Self-Sufficiency
for the Parties to Divorce

Divorce reform becomes hot issue in Creem/Rudnick Senate contest

September 1, 2010

In an oped appearing in this week’s TAB, Creem defends her role in alimony reform, saying the current system doesn’t work and deflecting critics who feel she has a conflict of interest.

“I believe we need to reform alimony,” Creem said in an interview. “It doesn’t affect my practice at all — I have no financial benefit. Period.” ...

Steve Hitner, co-founder of Mass Alimony Reform, believes Creem “will agree” with changes made to current alimony laws and is confident that revisions his group has been pushing for will be made by next year.

“She said she will back whatever the task force will come up with,” said Hitner, who sits on the Judiciary Committee’s alimony task force.

Since Creem appointed it, Hitner said the task force has made significant progress this year, and he is sure the 12-year incumbent will accept the group’s recommended changes to the antiquated laws.

LOWELL SUN EDITORIAL
Alimony shouldn't be a life sentence

August 6, 2010

"The casino bill may be receiving most of the attention, but it isn't the only legislation that was left hanging when the legislative session ended last Saturday. A much-needed measure that would have updated Massachusetts' archaic alimony laws was also put on Beacon Hill's back burner.

For years, residents have clamored for alimony reform, but Massachusetts lawmakers have repeatedly succeeded in ducking the issue. Unfortunately, they were successful again this year. ...

...The state's antiquated alimony laws lock many former spouses into a lifetime of virtual indentured servitude. And they discourage many people from marrying again because the second spouse's income can be used to argue for increased alimony payments. ...

...A bill proposed by state Rep. Steven Walsh, D-Lynn, would have modernized the state's outmoded alimony laws, but was sent to an Alimony Task Force -- along with two similar pieces of legislation. That committee failed to issue a report or recommend specific legislation by the close of the legislative session.

Massachusetts must enact legislation that represents the reality of today's world and that includes reforming its antiquated alimony laws." ...More

GLOBE EDITORIAL
Alimony system needs reform, but Legislature drags its feet

July 25, 2010

"THE ANTIQUATED alimony system in Massachusetts reflects a bygone time when people tended to marry young, women stayed home with few prospects for work, and life expectancies were shorter. Family dynamics have since changed, but alimony has not. For many, it has become a lifetime entitlement, and tales of abuse are rampant, as the Globe reported last Sunday. Second spouses’ income is effectively garnished. People receive alimony checks for far longer than their marriages lasted, and have an incentive not to remarry or work. Cases drag on for years, racking up hefty legal fees."

"The need for reform is evident, but advocates complain that the Legislature, its ranks loaded with lawyers, has been sluggish in making changes. Whatever the reason for delay, lawmakers must bring the system in line with the modern world..."

"...Endless litigation over alimony may be lucrative for divorce lawyers, but it’s a source of anxiety for many divorced spouses — especially those making payments whose terms no longer make any sense. If relationships can be severed and changed, contractual payments ought to be, too." More...

Alimony Reform Bill (H1785) Delayed Until the Next Legislative Session

July 24, 2010: Massachusetts Election 2010

Alimony Task Force chairs promise to work on a bill through the Summer and Fall to have a bill ready early in the next session. (Details on next year’s bill)

With the legislative session running out of time, and the House under Speaker’ DeLeo’s legislative lockdown – no bills are moving. In a letter to his legislative colleagues, Representative John Fernandes reveals that the task force, set up over 10 months ago to make a recommendation on meaningful alimony reform, has failed come up with a recommendation in time to act this year: More...

Reform the reformer

By Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist
July 19, 2010

With Cynthia Stone Creem in charge of fixing alimony in Massachusetts, is it any surprise that it remains a mess?

Creem, a six-term senator from Newton, works in the State House when she isn’t pursuing her real career, which happens to be practicing divorce law. And she has never really thought there is all that much wrong with the state’s wildly arbitrary divorce laws. Most of the bar thinks things are fine just the way they are. A fine piece by Bella English in the Globe yesterday refuted the idea that the system works. It highlighted the growing movement — which lawmakers would like to ignore — to reform the system, showing it through the eyes of several men and women who believe they have been forced to pay unfairly, and make strong cases to that effect. More...

Years and marriages later, they still pay

By Bella English, Globe Staff | July 18, 2010

"Steve Niro got married in 1981 at age 23 and divorced less than five years later. At the time of the divorce, he and his wife were in their late 20s, and both were working. Niro remarried nearly 15 years ago, but he’s still paying his alimony.

"Two years ago, Niro’s youngest son graduated from college, ending child support payments and leaving his former wife with alimony of $65 a week. “The next thing I know, I get summonsed to court for alimony adjustment,’’ he says. A probate court judge increased the alimony to $700 a week even though the couple had divorced nearly a quarter of a century ago — five times longer than they were married." More...

SJC rules postnups have legal weight

Sets guidelines for judges to review, OK deals
By Jonathan Saltzman and John R. Ellement
Globe Staff / July 17, 2010

"For the first time, the state’s highest court unanimously ruled yesterday that postnuptial agreements signed before a divorce can be enforced by judges, a decision that legal specialists say could make such contracts more common."

"Addressing a matter that has long sown doubt among Massachusetts family law specialists, the Supreme Judicial Court said postnuptial agreements that divide financial assets must be scrutinized to make sure they were not negotiated fraudulently or coerced by a spouse with threats of divorce. But if the agreements meet stringent standards, they should be enforced." More...

Alimony Reform bill (H1785) waiting on casino bill battle

June 29, 2010: Massachusett Election 2010

The Massachusetts alimony reform bill (H1785) is for now stuck in committee while key legislators are busy with the casino bill battle.

A compromise alimony reform bill is being worked on in the Alimony Reform Task force.

The task force has met several times now, and worked out much of the compromise. The task force is hoping to be able to recommend a compromise bill at their next meeting.

But there is now difficulty in scheduling their next meeting because several of the legislators are busy trying to overcome opposition to the casino bill. It’s likely that a new meeting will be scheduled in the next few weeks. More...

Featured News Coverage:
HDNET World Report
Divorce 2010: The Rise of "Manimony"
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 (Preview)

A Massachusetts woman, who pays $100,000 per year in alimony to her ex-husband was handcuffed and leg shackled in the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court and sent to jail. Why? When her real estate job fell on hard times due to the recession, she ran out of money to pay alimony. This was despite taking care of her two children at home. Her male friend, who she was dating, paid $30,000 to get her out of jail.

"Divorce proceedings have a new twist: record numbers of ex-wives are writing the alimony checks instead of receiving them. World Report looks at the new downside for women who out-succeed their ex-husbands."

Alimony Reform Proposed in Massachusetts

FindLaw KnowledgeBase, April 21, 2010, By David M. Gabriel & Associates

"Massachusetts’s lawmakers could soon change the state's standard lifetime alimony awards with awards that expire at the payer's retirement age and offer more room for modification. The changes could also end Massachusetts' unusual rules that require a second wife to pay alimony to the first in cases of income loss by the husband." More...

Featured News Coverage: WCVB TV 5 Alimony Acrimony

"Love may come, and love may go, but divorce is forever. And in Massachusetts, so is alimony. Is that right?" Watch: "Alimony for Life"

Mass Alimony Reform Bill Filed, 72 Legislative Co-Sponsors

Four Alimony Reform bills were filed in the current legislative session. Our bill, HT 1785, which was one of the four, had an outstanding 72 legislative co-sponsors.

“The goal that any party needing alimony shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Such reasonable period of time shall be one-half of the length of the marriage. … Such reasonable period of time, or duration of alimony, shall not exceed twelve years except only ...”

Take Action: Email your state representative and senator to support this bill. Tell your story in an honest, direct, and respectful manner.

Download Mass Alimony Reform Bill 2009 with co-sponsor list

Massachusetts Alimony Reform --
Proposing 21st Century Solutions to 1950's Era Alimony Laws

The local and national press overwhelmingly recognizes the need to reform oppressive and archaic alimony laws that permanently harm hard-working men and women for a life-time. The current laws discourage marriage, discourages a paying ex-spouse from working to capacity, and discourages a receiving ex-spouse from ever being self sufficient.

Divorce reform becomes hot issue in Creem/Rudnick Senate contest	GLOBE EDITORIAL Alimony system needs reform, but Legislature drags its feet	LOWELL SUN EDITORIAL Alimony shouldn't be a life sentence
Years and marriages later, they still pay	Provider must prove his finances changed	Mother of disabled son must pay ex-husband
SJC rules postnups have legal weight	Till Death Do Us Pay.	Reform the reformer
Young Women's Pay Exceeds Male Peers' Cities Where Women Outearn Male Counterparts	As Women Earn More, Alimony Laws Lag Behind	Alimony Agony
The New Art of Alimony	Will You Sign a Prenup?	Editorial: Lifetime alimony payments are archaic
The Chilling Effect of States Divorce Laws	Should Permanent Alimony Be Eliminated?	Alimony Reform Bill (H1785) Delayed Until the Next Legislative Session
In Downturn's Wake, Women Hold Half of U.S. Jobs	Couples adapt as women become bigger breadwinners	It may be time to get rid of alimony
Top Court in Massachusetts Rejects Argument for New Curbs on Alimony	As recession hits manual labor, men suffer more	FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW SPOUSAL SUPPORT DISORDER: AN OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN CURRENT ALIMONY LAW
McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE Equality: More men getting spousal support	Massachusetts proposes changes to alimony laws	Divorce Arianna-Style (c. 2009) vs. Massachusetts Alimony (c. 1850)
Retirees Still Liable for Alimony, Massachusetts Court Rules	THE BOSTON HERALD Alimony reform: pending legislation suggest that changes may be ahead	Bar association wades into divorce law spat
Role Reversal: Ex-Wives Angry Over Paying Alimony	Massachusetts Election 2010 Cynthia Creem Faces Ethics Questions over Alimony Reform	Update sought for alimony criteria in Massachusetts
Wife No. 2 Paying for Wife No. 1? Join the Club	FindLaw KnowledgeBase Alimony Reform Proposed in Massachusetts	Hill: Lost faith in Rep. Peisch
Sex, Love & Money: High-Priced MA Divorce Lawyer Tells All	Never-Ending Alimony in Massachusetts	THE BOSTON HERALD Girl/Boy friend's Income and Assets Subject to Alimony For First Wife
Divorce Reform In Massachusetts: David vs. Goliath	Alimony Reform	Bill could shorten alimony time
The 40-year Itch	Now, Dad Feels as Stressed as Mom