Editing Alimony (section)

==History==

The [[Code of Hammurabi]] (1754 BC) declares that a man must provide sustenance to a woman who has borne him children so that she can raise them:

: 137. If a man wish to separate from a woman who has borne him children, or from his wife who has borne him children: then he shall give that wife her [[dowry]], and a part of the [[usufruct]] of field, garden, and property, so that she can rear her children. When she has brought up her children, a portion of all that is given to the children, equal as that of one son, shall be given to her. She may then marry the man of her heart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm |title=Hammurabi's Code of Laws |last=King |first=L. W. |publisher=Exploring Ancient World Cultures, University of Evansville |access-date=4 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509192326/http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm |archive-date=9 May 2008 }}</ref>

The above law only applies to women who had children with her husband. This fits more closely with the definition of [[child support]] in some jurisdictions.

Alimony is also discussed in the [[Code of Justinian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/justinian%27s%20law.htm|title=Justinian's Law as it Applied to Women and Families|last=Thompson|first=James C.|date=July 2010|publisher=Women in the Ancient World|access-date=21 July 2013|archive-date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822082031/http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/justinian%27s%20law.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The modern concept of alimony is derived from English [[ecclesiastical courts]] that awarded alimony in cases of separation and divorce. ''Alimony pendente lite''  was given until the divorce decree, based on the husband's duty to support the wife during a marriage that still continued.  ''Post-divorce'' or ''permanent alimony'' was also based on the notion that the marriage continued, as ecclesiastical courts could only award a ''divorce a mensa et thoro'', similar to a legal separation today. As divorce did not end the marriage, the husband's duty to support his wife remained intact.<ref name=Nolan703>{{cite book | last1 = Nolan | first1 = Laurence C. | last2 = Wardle | first2 = Lynn D. | title = Fundamental principles of family law | publisher=Wm. S. Hein Publishing | location = Buffalo, New York|pages= 703–04 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjgL3ha8OSQC&pg=PA703|year= 2005|isbn = 9780837738321}}</ref>

Liberalization of divorce laws occurred in the 19th century, but divorce was only possible in cases of marital misconduct. As a result, the requirement to pay alimony became linked to the concept of fault in the divorce.<ref name="AAML">{{cite journal |last1=Kisthardt |first1=Mary Kay |title=Re-thinking Alimony: The AAML’s Considerations for Calculating Alimony, Spousal Support or Maintenance |journal=AAML Journal |date=2008 |volume=21 |page=61}}</ref> Alimony to wives was paid because it was assumed that the marriage, and the wife's right to support, would have continued but for the misbehavior of the husband. Ending alimony on divorce would have permitted a guilty husband to profit from his own misconduct. In contrast, if the wife committed the misconduct, she was considered to have forfeited any claim to ongoing support. However, during this period, parties could rarely afford alimony, and so it was rarely awarded by courts.<ref name=Nolan703/> As husbands' incomes increased, and with it the possibility of paying alimony, the awarding of alimony increased, generally because a wife could show a need for ongoing financial support, and the husband had the ability to pay.<ref name=Nolan703/><ref name="McCoy">{{cite journal|last=McCoy |first=Jennifer L. | title = Spousal Support Disorder: an overview of problems in current alimony law |journal= [[Florida State University Law Review]] |volume=33 | issue = 2 |page=5 | publisher =[[Florida State University College of Law]] |date=Winter 2005 | url = https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol33/iss2/5/ }} [https://ir.law.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1202&context=lr Pdf.]</ref> No-fault divorce led to changes in alimony. Whereas spousal support was considered a right under the fault-based system, it became conditional under the no-fault approach.<ref name="McCoy"/> According to the [[American Bar Association]], marital fault is a "factor" in awarding alimony in 25 states and the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Staff writer | title = Chart 1: Alimony/Spousal Support Factors | journal = Family Law Quarterly | volume = 45 | issue = 4 | pages = 492&ndash;493 | publisher = [[American Bar Association]] | date = Winter 2012 | url = http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/family_law_quarterly/vol45/4win12_chart1_alimony.authcheckdam.pdf }} [https://www.americanbar.org/groups/family_law/publications/family_law_quarterly_home/family_law_quarterly_archive/4504_winter2012.html Link to journal.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201045739/https://www.americanbar.org/groups/family_law/publications/family_law_quarterly_home/family_law_quarterly_archive/4504_winter2012.html |date=2017-12-01 }}</ref> Permanent alimony has begun to fall out of favor because it encourages the alimony recipient to not remarry so that they will continue to receive money from their ex-spouse.<ref name="McCoy"/> However, many states still have permanent alimony awards.<ref name="The Honorable Robert E. Gaston">{{cite journal | last = Gaston | first = The Honorable Robert E. | title = Alimony: You Are The Weakest Link! Part1 | journal = [[William S. Boyd School of Law#Nevada Law Journal|Nevada Law Journal]] | publisher = [[William S. Boyd School of Law]] | url = https://nvcourts.gov/Settlement_Program/Biographies/Gaston,_Robert_E_/ | date = October 2002 | access-date = 2017-11-28 | archive-date = 2020-11-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201117014918/https://nvcourts.gov/Settlement_Program/Biographies/Gaston,_Robert_E_/ | url-status = dead }} at 8, 9</ref><ref name="massalimonyreform.org">{{cite web | last1 = Sciarrino | first1 = Alfred J. | last2 = Duke | first2 = Susan K. | title = Alimony: Peonage or Involuntary Servitude? |url=http://www.massalimonyreform.org/PDFs/alimony-servitude-peonage.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107054234/http://www.massalimonyreform.org/PDFs/alimony-servitude-peonage.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Alimony Agony"/>

In the 1970s, the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled against gender bias in alimony awards and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of alimony recipients who are male rose from 2.4% in 2001 to 3.6% in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Men Receiving Alimony Want A Little Respect |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120700651883978623|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | first=Anita | last=Raghavan | date=1 April 2008}}</ref> In states like Massachusetts and Louisiana, the salaries of new spouses may be used in determining the alimony paid to the previous partners.<ref name="Alimony Agony">{{cite news|title=Alimony Agony|work=[[Boston Globe]]|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/13/alimony_agony/ | first=Adrian | last=Walker | date=13 November 2009}}</ref><ref name="ABC News">{{cite news| last = Gomstyn | first = Alice|title=Wife No. 2 Paying for Wife No. 1? Join the Club|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/2nd-wives-club-angry-tapped-alimony/story?id=9010118|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | date = November 6, 2007}}</ref> Most recently, in several high-profile divorces, women such as [[Britney Spears]], [[Victoria Principal]], and [[Jessica Simpson]] have paid multimillion-dollar settlements in lieu of alimony to ex-husbands.<ref name=":0">{{cite news| last = Fisher | first = Luchina |title='Gal-imony': Celeb Women Who Pay in the Divorce|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/CelebrityCafe/story?id=7356641&page=1|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | date = April 17, 2009}}</ref><ref name="abcnews.go.com">{{cite news| last = Gomstyn | first = Alice |title=Role Reversal: Ex-Wives Angry Over Paying Alimony|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/role-reversal-wives-angry-paying-alimony/story?id=8662940|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]| date =September 30, 2009}}</ref> According to divorce lawyers, aggressive pursuit of spousal support by men is becoming more common, as the stigma associated with asking for alimony fades.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="abcnews.go.com"/>