There are many troubling and emotional moments during the divorce process. As California residents know, separating from one’s spouse is much more than making a quick decision to end a marriage. On top of the emotional strife are also difficult issues such as property division and alimony which can send any already contentious pair into a spiral of adversarial proceedings.
A recent request made by one Los Angeles area man and former spouse goes above and beyond the usual troubling negotiations involved in separation. After 16 years of marriage, the man’s wife found out he had been sexually abusing her daughter. She promptly divorced the man and was subsequently ordered to make alimony payments to him because she made a higher income.
When the man was criminally charged with sexual abuse for the alleged and continuous assault on the woman’s daughter, a judge halted the payment obligation. At that time, the ex-wife and mother had paid him some $22,000 in alimony payments.
Since that time, the man plead guilty and served jail time. He now asks for the alimony payments to resume. The wife is resisting such request, alleging she should have no obligation to make payments to a man for the behavior and tragedy he inflicted on her family for years.
The man however argues that because his ex-spouse did in fact make more than him at the time of marriage, it is lawful that he collect alimony from her for some time. The state of California does delineate guidelines for issuing alimony payments to a lesser earning spouse. Whether the Los Angeles man is privy to these guidelines is a question yet to be answered.
Decisions and disputes involving alimony can be very complex and can often cause additional battles even after the divorce is completed. The ex-couple may have to enter the courtroom a few times to come to agreeable terms.
Source: US Today, “Ex-husband who raped stepdaughter wants more alimony,” Michael Winter, May 7, 2013.
