More men are getting spousal support

Wichita Eagle

It's not rare anymore. In fact, in the last 30 years, like it or not, more and more women who end their marriages are stuck paying support to their ex-spouses — also known as "manimony." "When I started practicing 30 years ago, I didn't see it at all. Zero. And now I see it in about 10 percent of my cases — female clients having to pay their ex-husbands support," said Lynne Gold-Bikin, 65, family law chair at WolfBlock LLP based in Morristown, Penn. "Part of the reason is the simple fact that over that period of time, more women are making more money," she said. "You wanted to be equal, well, now you are. Women who pay spousal support are those who quite simply make more money than their husbands do." And, like most things in divorce court, it's all about the math.

"In every state there is a simple calculation, some sort of guideline. It can be a difficult and painful thing in the end and it may seem unfair, but if the woman has a career and the guy stays at home with the kids, it's pretty clear how it's going to go in the end," Gold-Bikin said. Call it lopsided thinking, call it old fashioned beliefs, but some feel that it is just plain unfair for a woman to have to support her ex-husband after the marriage breaks up.

Source: http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/all/story/983574.html