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Are divorce laws sexist to men?

| Jun 28, 2013 | Fathers' Rights

One of the more difficult times in life occurs during a divorce. The dissolution of marriage is rarely an amicable process and can take months if not years for many Montgomery residents to solve. Between alimony, child support and property division, there is lots of room for one spouse to be on the short end of the stick in a divorce. Many fathers have found themselves with very limited visitation of their children along with high alimony payments. This has some people asking whether divorce laws are sexist against men.

Many fathers argue that the laws are unfairly sexist. Traditionally, mothers would typically get custody of the kids while the dad would have to pay her child support and alimony. But with more females in the working world, many are capable of sustaining themselves. The purpose of alimony is to correct any unfair economic disadvantages to one spouse. This typically involves the higher earning spouse paying monthly checks to the lesser earning spouse until they can become self-sufficient.

But in some cases, permanent alimony may be awarded depending on the circumstances of the marriage. Alimony can potentially last “till death do us apart” for some Montgomery residents. One Tennessee dad had to pay his ex-wife $1,000 a month in alimony but later got laid off from his job, making him financially unable to keep up with payments. The man ended up spending 15 weekends in jail and only got to see his daughter six days out of the month. After having his fathers’ rights abused further, the man had no say in any of his daughter’s decisions.

Many Montgomery fathers are in similar circumstances as the man in this case. Any dad that feels like they are on the losing end of a divorce may want to consult with an attorney to consider their options. Divorce is seldom an easy process and requires a lot of time and effort.

Source: Huffington Post, “Child Support: Man Says He Was An ‘ATM Machine’ After Divorce,” June 20, 2013

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