I see the argument for both sides, but I land with East. The lawyer in me wants legal documents to have meaning, but the human in me realizes that a lot of people seem to not get around to doing the paperwork until long after the marriage is over. Sometimes clients don't come in to talk about filing for divorce until they've been separate a number of years, and are maintaining separate residences and finances. Maybe "it depends on the circumstances" would be a nice law school answer, but if we need to pick a bright-line rule (and we really should), this arm-chair judge says alimony should be based on the years they are actually together, not the years they are legally yoked.
Shelia L Williams - 5 years ago
I agree with the East side; however, it seems to me the reason(s) it took two years to finalize the divorce should weigh in there somewhere. I know some divorces go on for years, but if the wife intentionally delayed to have a better argument for alimony, she shouldn't get it. I guess you can tell I don't practice in domestic law. ;-)
Great article about marital and separate property.
I see the argument for both sides, but I land with East. The lawyer in me wants legal documents to have meaning, but the human in me realizes that a lot of people seem to not get around to doing the paperwork until long after the marriage is over. Sometimes clients don't come in to talk about filing for divorce until they've been separate a number of years, and are maintaining separate residences and finances. Maybe "it depends on the circumstances" would be a nice law school answer, but if we need to pick a bright-line rule (and we really should), this arm-chair judge says alimony should be based on the years they are actually together, not the years they are legally yoked.
I agree with the East side; however, it seems to me the reason(s) it took two years to finalize the divorce should weigh in there somewhere. I know some divorces go on for years, but if the wife intentionally delayed to have a better argument for alimony, she shouldn't get it. I guess you can tell I don't practice in domestic law. ;-)
Great article about marital and separate property.