Gender equality has arrived in divorce courts and a growing number of soon-to-be ex-wives are facing child support and child support, even if they have primary custody.
WASHINGTON – Gender equality has come to divorce court, with an increasing number of soon-to-be ex-wives dependent on child support and, even if they have primary custody, child support.
And men have no problem with that.
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says that over the past three years, 45 percent of their attorneys have seen an increase in women responsible for maintenance and 54 percent in ex-wives paying child support.
Unlike previous generations, there are many more two-income households and it is not uncommon for the wife to have the higher income. The AAML says that despite this, women find it difficult to accept that the financial obligation in the event of a divorce could fall on them.
“I think a lot of women get divorced with a very traditional, decades-old mindset. If you go back 20 years, it was always the man who paid the support, ”Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich, President of the AAML, told WTOP.
She advises any woman who might be considered the main breadwinner in a marriage to collect and organize as much financial documents as possible immediately at the start of the divorce proceedings, and she says it would be a mistake to reject the idea of having the spouse who is after Settlement of the case is obliged to pay.
She says it’s important for women to understand that divorce courts have become a gender-neutral place where numbers and bottom line influence decisions about child support and child support.
Is there ever a “macho effect” where the pride of the future ex-husband prevents the acceptance of child support?
“In my practice I can tell you that I saw exactly the opposite. I can see that the men are absolutely delighted that they may be entitled to maintenance, ”said Marzano-Lesnevich.
“I don’t know how much of that is a retaliation on their part or a ‘Wow, I’m really going to piss you off’. But I’ve heard women who honestly can’t afford to be so generous say to me, “I don’t want anything from him. Just get me out of the marriage. ‘”
When it comes to child maintenance, women are increasingly judged responsible even if the ex-husband only has partial custody of the children.
According to the American Psychological Association, 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States get divorced, and the divorce rate in subsequent marriages is even higher.
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