Columbia family attorney Dan Sullivan said changes are likely to come, but likely not quite as the SC Alimony Reform hopes.
“Maybe limit the time, but all of the other laws and statutes in the books work fine,” Sullivan said.
He said that when he argues on the alimony payer’s side, he generally tries to negotiate a certain amount of time for the alimony payment.
Oxner said his group suggest quitting at halfway through the marriage.
“At least it should end at age 65 or 66, or whatever the full retirement age,” Oxner said.
Alimony payments can always be changed, however, and the fact that the court can reconsider them is a good thing, Reeves said.
“What a lot of people want to say is enough,” says Marcia Zug, professor of family law at the University of South Carolina.
However, she said that without a change in the payer’s financial standing or some other change in circumstances, changes are not likely.
Making changes means going to court again, and that takes more money to hire a lawyer.
When Oxner took his case to the South Carolina appeals court, Oxner said he realized that change wasn’t likely until his ex-wife retired.
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