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Financial And Emotional Implications Of Divorce Information
Women are often the financial victims of divorce due to the
lack of equal pay for equal work in many countries and the fact that many women
give up employment after marriage to rear children. They are often left with the
burden of looking after the children after the divorce while having to find work
in low-paid jobs. Child support collection is a major problem as many fathers do
not accept that they have an obligation towards their children.
Many national and local governments provide some kind of
welfare system for divorced mothers and their children. See single mother for
details.
Men are generally the financial victims of divorce due to court-ordered alimony
and child support which women often are not required to pay, and the fact that
many men are entirely denied custody of their own children. Some men are left
with the burden of never seeing their children, which is a major problem as many
mothers may relocate the children, not accepting that they have an obligation to
provide a stable and supportive family with both parents involved. Although
women are less likely to pay child-support, they are more likely to neglect
support payments when they are required. Unfortunately, the aspect of family
stability is one argument stated against same-sex marriage, since court orders
against men and child neglect by women are no longer defensible one-way legal
benefits. Recognition of the problems faced by fathers and other relatives is
given by self-help groups such as Families Need Fathers.
The fact that women often receive primary custody of their children means that
some men are unable to see their children as
frequently as they would like, and this is particularly difficult if one
ex-spouse or the other moves. Currently in the US, federal law makes non-payment
of child support an automatic felony, whereas a mother's refusal to let the
father see his children in accordance with court decisions is not an act
criminalized by the federal government.
In the USA, a spouse who resides in a community property state and lacks a
prenuptial agreement is at a disadvantage if he or she earns more than the other
spouse. In these states, the property is split 50/50 regardless of who earned
the money. Thus, the spouse who would be the least well off on their own
receives unearned money, property, and/or other assets upon the divorce
settlement. Theoretically, a spouse with zero assets would get 50 percent of the
other spouse's assets (possibly not counting pre-marriage assets and
inheritance), while two spouses equally wealthy would both keep their share.
This is true even if the poorer spouse has committed adultery or initiates the
divorce themselves. Judges have no power to rectify the situation, and must
divide the property evenly no matter how unfair the result may seem.
This can generally be avoided if both parties enter into a
prenuptial agreement before marriage, though courts sometimes overturn these
agreements. While men have traditionally had more assets than women and were
negatively affected by community property laws, nowadays more and more women are
the wealthier spouse, and are affected as well. Most states in the USA are not
community property states. However, some large and populous ones such as
California, along with a few smaller ones, are community property states.
In some jurisdictions, only a small minority of divorces involve families with
children. For example, in Scotland in 1997, there were 2461 divorces involving
children but 9761 of couples with no children under 16.
For more free legal information on Divorce Laws, please use the
links below:
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