The bill will end lifetime alimony and will no longer punish payers who remarry.
Massachusetts StatehouseBOSTON – Legislators Wednesday will unveil legislation before the joint committee on the judiciary that would limit alimony.
The bill was written by a task force including members of many legal organizations such as the Massachusetts Bar Association, advocates and legislators. The chief justice of the Probate Court served as a consultant to ensure changes would not conflict with existing child custody or divorce laws, said Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham.
Candaras served as chairwoman of the task force with state Rep. John V. Fernandes, D-Milford. The group worked for 14 months to hammer out the changes in the law, which has not been amended since the early 1980s.
“It is an outmoded law. It needed to be modernized so it would be fair and consistent and provide guidance to the judiciary while at the same time maintaining an appropriate amount of discretion to the judiciary,” Candaras said.
The new law calls for limits to the time alimony must be paid and includes a formula which sets the duration between 50 to 80 percent of the length of the marriage. It also calls for payments to end at the legal age of retirement and addresses the issue of ex-spouses who are living with new partners without remarrying.
Gale CandarasNone of the changes proposed would abolish alimony or affect child support, Candaras said. “It does not address the child custody law.”
The current law makes it difficult for the judge to award alimony for a term shorter than life and gives no guidelines on how much to award. It gives little discretion to judges who want to award so-called transitional alimony that will give the other spouse time to get an education or job training so they can support themselves, she said.
“There should be a time in your life when you are finally free of your obligations to another person,” Candaras said.
Under the proposal, judges may deviate from the formula for a number of circumstances such as one spouse continuing to pay health insurance for the other or if one spouse has become unable to work because of the abuse from the other.
The bill is keeping with the national trend of doing away with lifelong alimony, said Taylor Flynn, a professor of family law at Western New England College School of Law.
“I think it will be helpful for (judges) because they are allowed to deviate,” she said. “They appreciate guidance as long as they are allowed to use their judgment if necessary.”
Flynn said she believes it may push judges to award larger lump sum payments at the time of the divorce so there are few on-going payments that can extend animosity between the couple.
“I think there is strong consensus there needs to be alimony reform,” said Ellen M. Randle, a family practice lawyer for 25 years who works at the Springfield firm of Buckley, Richardson and Gelinas. “Some will say the legislation proposed goes too far in certain respects ... overall people seem to be very supportive.”
Randle said Candaras did consult her occasionally about the bill so she is familiar with the law. “I think that it is never going to be perfect for every situation, but it is a very good effort to address and redress a lot of problems that have existed under the current alimony law,” she said.
She called the cut-off at the legal retirement age “huge.” Even is the person who is paying the alimony chooses not to retire, the payments are finished. There is a provision that will allow the recipient to argue they are a special case and request the judge continue it.
The bill currently has 132 sponsors. Because it has been carefully crafted to avoid contradicting other laws, Candaras is hoping it will survive committee with little changes.
It is unknown when the Legislature will take a final vote on the bill.