Anthony Rodriguez: Modernize alimony and provide bridge to independence
When a marriage ends, each person involved deserves respect and closure.
Judges in Florida are effectively handing down life sentences in divorce cases, with both men and women walking away from court burdened with alimony payments for the rest of their lives.
Florida’s alimony laws grew from when men served as a typical family’s main wage earners while women stayed at home. Those days are over. Both women and men work hard to support their families, with more women serving as the family’s primary economic provider.
This has happened as more women have become the primary wage earner in American households. The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor Women in 2017 noted how the percent of households with children under 18 in which mothers are equal, primary, or sole earners grew to 40.4% in 2017 from 15.6% in 1970.