CONTRARY TO Elizabeth Benedict's opinions, the judges who decide cases in the Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts get it right a lot more often than they get it wrong. Benedict's outrage at the idea that an ex-husband or ex-wife may have to pay alimony for their lifetime ignores the fact that they took a vow to support their spouse till death do them part. If a fear of paying alimony has a chilling effect on one's desire to get married, then maybe that person isn't ready to take those vows in the first place.
But Benedict is right about one thing. Alimony law in Massachusetts is primarily case law (as it is in almost every other state). Although she notes this as if it's a bad thing, there are many times that leaving a decision to a judge's discretion is a recognition that the issue, and the facts, may be too complicated to legislate.
In Massachusetts the judges are not left to freely assign alimony as they please, a fact not recognized by Benedict. They are required by the Legislature to consider many factors including the length of the marriage, the age and health of the parties, the amount and sources of income of the parties, and so on. The facts of each case often require the broad brush of a court, rather than the fine pen of the Legislature.
We, and other Massachusetts divorce attorneys, believe that there is a balance to be struck somewhere between that broad brush and that fine pen. The Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association are currently working through a joint task force to reach agreement on alimony guidelines.
SCOTT R. STEVENSON
JUSTIN L. KELSEY
Hingham
The writers are family law attorneys.
