A judge's discretion on a case usually decides alimony payments, but at least one New Jersey activist would like to see this changed by introducing a bill that would set up a committee to examine the changes in alimony law. This bill would push to eliminate permanent or lifetime alimony and restrict the discretion that judges have in awarding alimony payments. The committee would also bring any changes to the forefront and keep alimony law up-to-date for those couples going through a divorce.

In this activist's case, the judge ruled in favor of his ex and granted her alimony of $3,000 a month indefinitely, even though his wife was a successful practicing psychologist. The judge came to this conclusion by reviewing the couples last three years of tax returns. During the majority of that three year time frame, his wife was in school studying for her doctorate. Just looking at that three year snap shot instead of the entire picture, favored his spouse and thus the ruling of alimony was awarded.

Changes in alimony law could be an up-hill battle. In general, judges use several factors in determining alimony, including how long the couple was married, the family's financial picture, and whether both spouses were employed. And while judges use the same basic framework for awarding alimony, the bottom line is that it's up to the judge's discretion.

Alimony law does sometimes allow for modifications after a ruling, but, it's up to the people involved to take the first step in advocating for those changes. For example, if a spouse loses a job, or retires, could warrant a reason to have alimony changed. However, the entire situation could be quite tricky, and an experienced family law attorney can help sort through this complicated issue.

According to a professor of family law at Rutgers Law School, there aren't any specific studies on how many divorces in New Jersey include alimony. But, national figures from the 1970s through the 1980s showed less than 17 percent of all divorces included some type of alimony.

Source: New Jersey Real-Time News, "N.J. activists work to introduce bill eliminating lifetime alimony payments," Jan. 12, 2012