If your income was included when the judge set or modified your husband's alimony payment, please call your state senator and state representative and tell them on Monday (4/18/16)! Bill S-1170 is up for a vote in the Senate on Tuesday of this week. Some don't believe this really happens--help change their minds. S-1170 bars the judge from considering the income of a subsequent spouse when setting alimony.
Despite all our efforts to educate the public and the legislators, people still have a hard time believing that second wives can end up paying the alimony of the first. You can understand why; the reaction is often one of disbelief. After all, it's a bit like cows eating cows. That's how we got mad cow disease. Second wives shouldn't pay alimony to someone they were never married to. It's obscene. But it happens.
Just a few months ago, in December of 2015, the husband of one of our members went to court, seeking a reduction in alimony, having found a new job that paid less than his previous employment. The court said he was not underemployed. In other words, he hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, he had worked hard to find employment after losing a job. He wasn't intentionally replacing an old job that paid more with one that paid less. And still, the judge ruled that “the court has discretion to consider a party’s
new spouse’s income and contribution to expenses in determining the party’s alimony obligation.” That means that the second wife's income was taken into consideration when determining how much he could pay. Yes, second wives contribute to the alimony of the first in such cases! And no, the law does not protect them from this. In fact, case law shows that courts have refused to exclude the second spouse's income.
It is true that often times second wives end up paying alimony unofficially. Maybe your husband's business drops off, or his alimony is so high he can't make the payment on his own, even when he is receiving his normal income. With alimony payments that make up 1/3 to 1/2 of a payor's income, this is not surprising. You don't want him or her to go to jail (in some cases, the spouse paying alimony is female), so your income goes to the ex-spouse as well. This is bad enough. But it is really outrageous that a court would order a new spouse to contribute to the alimony of the ex-spouse. It is why some of our members will not marry their partners--they want to protect their hard-earned income.
It is outrageous that some legislators haven't take the testimony of citizens seriously! Thank you to the senators and representatives who do.
There is nothing controversial about this bill. It is pretty black and white. You shouldn't pay alimony to someone to whom you were never married. Call your senator and your representative and tell them so, especially if you are in that situation yourself!
Together, we can get this through.
