TAVARAS, Fla., Jan. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Tarie MacMillian was married for 13 years and pays $ 84,000 a year of permanent living to a former husband who has not worked since 1996 after her income fell 75% , a judge ordered MacMillian to pay her ex-husband 65% of her current income – forcing her to live on only 35% of her income!
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“I lost everything, my house, my car, I filed for bankruptcy and had a stroke last year, but I can’t retire because this maintenance sentence is lifelong,” said MacMillian.
Silvana Roncal also knows the financial devastation a divorce can bring. Foreclosure, bankruptcy, and heavy debt to the Internal Revenue Service are what she has seen from her 18-year marriage to a man who refused to work.
“I am a regular maintenance payer for a man who has an MBA, has no disabilities, and is perfectly fit for work. I can’t find a job in the financial services industry until I pay off the IRS debt, but I have to pay first.” Said Roncal.
Their stories are not unique, but rather embody the challenges faced by those who have to pay maintenance on a permanent basis. Because of this, the Florida Alimony Reform (FAR) calls on state lawmakers to make changes during the upcoming legislature.
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers recently found that 56% of divorce lawyers surveyed reported an increase in the number of women paying child support to their ex-husbands. This is no surprise as the traditional home mom role has changed, with more women becoming the top earners in their households.
While times have changed, the outdated maintenance laws haven’t changed.
“Continuous support forces divorced people to become bitter enemies until they die,” said Debbie Leff Israel, founder of the Second Wives Club, a subgroup of FAR. “Divorce laws have become so complex that any attempt to change a maintenance policy when circumstances change – as is so often the case in this economy – usually requires a solicitor to be consulted at a significant cost and with little likelihood will ever get a change. It becomes even less likely that previously ordered alimony payments will be dropped. “
The Grassroots Organization, based in Tavaras, Florida, intends to make the following changes to existing laws:
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Deletion of permanent maintenance from the applicable statutes;
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The need for dependents to have the right to retire at the state retirement age or the standard retirement age for high-risk occupations;
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A defined amount according to a formula that is fair and gives the average income for both spouses;
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The income of the second spouse may not be used to calculate the increase in maintenance
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The right to change a current judgment;
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Make the law retroactive so that those who pay child support can adjust payments to the new law;
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The maintenance payment for medium and long-term marriages should be set as the default duration at 50 percent of the marriage duration;
Two bills will be tabled during the upcoming Florida legislature, one by Representative Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne) and the other by Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), aimed at reforming the state’s obsolete maintenance laws.
Founded in 2010, the Florida Alimony Reform was created to change the state’s outdated alimony laws. FAR, based in Tavaras, Florida, represents more than 2,500 families across Florida.
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