General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Stay-at-Home Mom Facing Divorce? Don't Expect Alimony - Forbes article [View all]Violet_Crumble
(35,956 posts)We don't have alimony here, and I find the concept a pretty outdated thing. When a married couple divorces, or more commonly, a defacto couple breaks up, there's a split of their assets and property. That includes any retirement savings (we call it superannuation here). We have child support, which I got for my daughter until she turned 18.
If the US system ends up with property and assets not being split, then there's something wrong with the system that needs fixing. I don't think living off the income of a former partner is the solution. I get why alimony existed back in the days when women were made to leave their jobs when they got married (my grandmother's era) or were pregnant (my mum's era), but nowadays? I've got friends who've just had a baby and they're sharing a year on, year off arrangement from work until the baby starts school. That way neither of them ends up with huge breaks in their careers. I was a single mum and never had any choice in the matter. I had to work, and I went back to work when my daughter was 8 months old, and while I sometimes hated work, I really missed it when I was off for that long.