New Family Laws

Almost all family law is made at the state level, for laws to change new laws have to be passed by a majority of the state legislature, both houses, and, signed by the governor. That is not an easy process, in most years we do not see major changes. Unlike many issues in politics, family law does not have a clear party split, on most issues we see Republicans and Democrats on both sides, votes tend to be split between the parties, as opposed to along party lines.

First up, spousal support, formerly known as alimony. The old law had virtually no guidance as to who received support, how long it would last, and, how much would be paid. The new law gives us some more guidance. For marriages less than 5 years long the legal presumption is no support, in order to get support for a short term marriage someone would need to show special circumstances.

For marriages between 5 and 20 years the legal presumption is temporary support, if there is a need for support, i.e. need by one parent, and, ability to pay by the other.

For marriages over 20 years the legal presumption is permanent support, again, if there is a need, and ability to pay.

Just because someone is married for a long time does not mean they get spousal support. They have the option to ask for it, if they can show a need, and, that the other spouse can pay support. This usually comes up when there is a big gap in incomes, and, one parent has made sacrifices for the other, ie stayed home to raise kids so the other parent could pursue a high income career.

There are still alot of grey areas in spousal support law, but, at least we have a little more predictability now in who receives support, and, for how long.