Family Court judges have needed a formula to avoid unfair settlements, because the amounts and payment schedules are usually decided by them. Judges are on their own in deciding how to prioritize the various factors and how to translate them into dollar amounts—resulting in wildly inconsistent alimony awards.

The unpredictability of alimony rules imposes unnecessary costs.  Negotiating a settlement agreement is much harder when spouses have no idea what they’ll end up with if they take their chances in court.  Litigation drags on and the bills pile up when lawyers and experts have to prove what their clients deserve.  The only people who really benefit from this are the lawyers!

In 2011 New York State passed legislation adopting a formula for setting alimony awards, making them fairer and predictable.  Now it will be a lot harder for judges to make outlandishly large or small alimony awards. Legislatures need to go further and require judges to start with alimony formulas.  Changing alimony from a gamble to something predictable would make the divorce process a lot fairer.

The rest of the country needs to pass the same law.

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