The divorce deterrent
LAST SUNDAY'S letter "Judges eye many factors," by family law attorneys Justin Kelsey and Scott Stevenson, suggests that a lifetime of alimony payments is reasonable, since it acts as a deterrent to avoiding a marriage mistake in the first place.
That's like a healthcare professional or an automotive engineer suggesting that a lifetime of paralysis is not so bad because it acts as a deterrent to driving too fast in the first place.
At least those professions are dedicated to reducing the implications of a common mistake, not to codifying it into case law to create a professional revenue stream.
JEFFREY BODENSTAB
Boston 