As long as there has been marriage, there has been divorce. Divorce cases have dated as far back as the 1600’s. Originally, they were simple matters. Men, generally, received custody of the estate, assets, and children. Women would receive nothing. However, divorce reform came around in the 1970’s to fix this inequality. They introduced alimony payments and custody favoring women. With the changes to divorce law, came more complexity in deciding cases. Cases, such as Dan v. Karen, have to take into consideration lost opportunities, appropriate payment, and any future issues that might arise. In Dan v Karen, Karen gave up her job to take care of their children, moved away from her family so Dan could get a job, and provided for Dan when he did …show more content…
A common way to split the assets is to sell the estate and divide the profit between the two parties. That is what Dan and Karen did. However, there was more to consider. Karen was no longer working. She decided to care for the children instead. A necessary task since Karen and Dan had moved away from any family members. In the case of Riehl v Riehl, the court stated “To be awarded spousal support the court must find the spouse to be “disadvantaged”… a “disadvantaged” spouse is one who has “forgone opportunities or lost advantages as a consequence of the marriage and who has contributed during the marriage to the supporting spouse’s increased earning capacity.”…Here the trial court finds Deborah to be disadvantaged by the divorce because she “devoted her time and effort throughout the marriage of the parties to maintain a martial residence and providing child care”. Karen was no longer able to support herself and made career sacrifices to help her family and allow her husband advance in his own career. To help her, the courts allotted Karen three years of spousal support. The awarding of spousal support was fair, but the length of time left much to be desired. Karen was awarded spousal support for three years. This gave here little time to find a home, find a job, or peruse an education to allow for better opportunities. In the same court case, Riehl v. Riehl, Justice Maring explains the idea of …show more content…
They require a lot of consideration from the court and many factors, from the treatment of spouses to the potential future one could have had outside of the marriage, affect the outcome. As such, there are many change laws and views on policies. In modern divorce cases, a big issue is spousal support. Spousal support was original thought of as “compensation to a dependent wife for her divorcing husband’s breach of marital vows and responsibilities” (244). However, modern divorce cases have caused for a rethink of this aged idea. No fault-divorces and changes in typical gender roles caused a shift in typical spousal support. To correct this, spousal support was proposed to be seen as a compensation for the dependent spouse’s noneconomic support. Basically, the dependent spouse has provided just as much for the family as the primary care taker. If the court see that the dependent spouse’s contributions have helped the non-dependent spouse’s ability to advance in their career, then they should be compensated for this effort. The dependent spouses are no longer entirely dependent on the primary caretaker. If a couple divorces, one spouse is not significantly disadvantaged for sacrificing their career to help the family. In the case of Dan v. Karen, Karen is not harmed for her efforts. It possible that Dan would never have obtained his road worker job, and thus be as financially well off as he is if Karen did not quit her job and raise the kids.
Numerous states enacted divorce legislation in the 1780s and 90s. Generally, divorce laws were more liberal in the West than they were throughout the rest of the nation.
The expenses for divorce have increased over the past several decades since divorce became a prominent thing in society. The cost of the divorce industry is approximately $50 billion a year, which comes from the pockets of divorcing couples and the taxpayers who support the state agencies involved (McElroy, 2014). According to a study done by the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, marriages have been proved to promote economic growth, while divorce slows it down. When couples are divorced, it means there will be more households which means more housing, power and resources are required (Haury, 2012). However, with the way that the law is currently, it saves time and money than it would if it were any different. With a longer waiting period like Cathy Meyer suggests, it would cost even more
The marriage between the two parties involved (Richard S. Dougall and Myrna R. Dougall) was dissolved in 2008 with the dissolution decree ordering Richard to pay Myrna $750 per month in spousal maintenance. Each of the two parties was also awarded one half interest in two parcels of property. Richard was ordered by the court to obtain appraisals and pay a fair share of the equity (as designated by the court’s property division assessment) to Myrna. In 2011, the court entered two judgments against Richard for failing to comply with obligations set down in the court order. A $5,000 judgment represented Myrna’s interest in one of the properties. The second judgment for $4,745 represented spousal maintenance arrearages. The court also reduced Richard’s spousal maintenance obligation to $500 per month effective August 2011.
Once Societies rules on divorce changed divorce rates began to climb. A No-fault divorce rule came into effect in the 1950’s. This meant unlike before, they no longer needed to prove who was at fault in the marriage. By 1970, almost all states had laws allowing these no fault divorces. There is no doubt that this was a factor
When a couple who have kids, divorce each other in most cases the woman receives custody, leaving the man to pay child support. Women expect men to pay it, yet do not appreciate it fully. Even after they sever the relationship the man pays support, when he will hardly ever see his children. The woman in the relationship only sees the next purchase, not the effort to make the money that her ex-husband provides her.
The husband and wife would support one another and would overcome obstacles, whether it was financial or emotional conflicts. Real culture began to surface later on when divorce was deemed legal, when divorce slowly became the norm. “As social historian Barbara Dafoe Whitehead has observed of this period, ‘divorce was not only an individual right but also a psychological resource. The dissolution of marriage offered the chance to make oneself over from the inside out, to refurbish and express the inner self, and to acquire certain valuable psychological assets and competencies, such as initiative, assertiveness, and a stronger and better self-image (Wilcox 2009).” This became common thinking in society during the 1960’s and 1970’s when the meaning of divorce blossomed into a new perspective.
Under Texas state law, divorcing couples’ marital property is divided based on what is considered just and right by the court. As such, each spouse may not be entitled to, or receive, an equal share. Rather, the court will take into consideration a number of factors in order to decide who should be awarded what. These factors may include how long the couple was married, the contribution that each spouse made to the household over the course of their marriage and the future earning potential of each spouse.
Throughout history, the views on a couple getting a divorce has changed dramatically. In the earlier years, getting a divorce was considered to be a taboo and looked down upon. The article, “The Divorce Colony” written by April White, shares the story of Margaret Laura De Stuers, who in the 1800’s had to travel to another state to get a divorce from her husband. During that time, only men of power and wealth were allowed to be granted a divorce and women didn’t have much say. Maggie had some valid reasons to why she wanted a divorce such as her husband was cruel, abusive and committed adultery during their marriage.
But this has not always been so. The system existing before the adoption of the Family Law (Scotland) Act which was to be found in the now repealed section 5 of the Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976 was characterised and criticized for its lack of clear guidance and objectives regarding the making of settlements and the great judiciary discretion it led to . Courts could take into account all the circumstances they wished and the English legal framework established by the aforementioned Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 was more developed that the position prevailing in Scotland at that time . “A key aim of the 1985 Act was therefore to create a much clearer framework to inform decisions about the financial consequences of divorce” . This as undeniably
Divorce is a rising social issue in the United States of America, but it is not a new concept. Divorce has been a social issue since at least 1867 when for every 35.9 marriages, one couple were to get a divorce (Huth, 1947). Although divorce is not a new concept, it has become more social acceptance which is raising the divorce rate over the years. Another controversial topic in divorce is when the two people divorcing have a child or children together. Approximately 150,000-200,000 children in the United States of America are affected by divorce yearly (Huth, 1947).
No fault divorce has allowed women and men (and more recently, same sex couples) the option to end their marriage simply because they no longer want to be married. However, this presents new legal questions which need to be answered. The courts must determine alimony, or spousal support. After a marriage, one spouse might need to support the other based on length of the marriage, difference in incomes or lost earning potential. However, determining a fair way to allocate alimony is an important issues to ensure both partners come out of the marriage on equal footing. Establishing new guidelines for alimony is critical to ensuring that there is equality at the end of a marriage.
A new drive is on the limit to do away with the current divorce laws in many states which allow for "no fault" divorce. This new offered law introduced in several states during the past few months is designed to make divorce harder by forcing divorcing parents, with petty children, to sue and prove fault before a divorce can be granted. Some legislators, alert of public relations, disguise this attempt by calling it "divorce reform". In reality what this is attempting to do is force people to stay married. Their reason is based on the belief that divorce causes problems in children and therefore if adults are not allowed to divorce or, if divorce is made very difficult to accomplish, people will stay married and children will be the receivers
The Origin of Divorce: In 1857, the Matrimonial Cause Act was setup to allow people to obtain a divorce, prior to the enactment men were the only ones who could divorce. However, men could not obtain a divorce without the approval of Parliament and it was a very costly act. This act was also only open to rich people. Under a new law, women could divorce on the grounds of adultery but they had to prove it as well as rape, incest, and cruelty.
It's based upon things like length of the marriage, the standard of living to the parties, the ability of the spouse to pay alimony, and the contribution each spouse made to the marriage.
In order to ensure I explored all avenues of research techniques to ensure I gathered information efficiently and effectively, I began by making a list of all approaches I could examine. My first step through following this approach was to delve into the examples of good work that are displayed on My Place. After this, I re-read my lecture notes and the lecture slides posted on My Place in order to note the useful web-links to access and to obtain further research ideas. My next step was to commence my research in the law library, where I aimed to make myself more knowledgeable about the Scottish legislation that governs the