After divorce, a man must financially support not only his children, but also his ex-wife.
This depends very, very heavily on state. At least by statute, the rule is gender-invariant, and focuses on the income of both parties and any disparity between the two (there’s a belief that family law judges seem biased toward women in heterosexual unions, and toward caregivers in homosexual ones, but I’m unaware of trustworthy studies on this). Most states have fairly strict statutory limitations on alimony, generally limiting the duration of payments and the minimum length of a union. Some states, including New York and California, however, leave more discretion to the judge.
A judge may decide to ignore the prenup, and there is no way to defend against it.
Prenups are civil contracts, and like all civil contracts can be voided in certain circumstances, but there are defenses. The most relevant way to void a prenup is to show that it was signed without knowledge (in which case, you can defend yourself by showing that you demonstrated reasonable information) or that the prenup was unconscionable (in which case, you can defend yourself by showing that the prenup was not highly lopsided. Jurisdiction matters on this one, though: “unconscionable” varies highly from state to state.)
The money paid to his ex-wife may easily exceed 50% of his income. For example, if the man’s income increases, the judge will increase the payment to the ex, but if the income decreases, the payment remains the same.
Again, depends on state. Many states limit combined alimony to a certain percentage of income, and while most states will set alimony based on the expectation of higher income potential, most don’t allow post-divorce recalculation of alimony without a “significant change of circumstances”, which as a term of art doesn’t cover the alimony-payer getting a raise. The few states that do allow it, require that the change in income be somehow related to sacrifices by the alimony-receiver during the marriage—helping pay for college classes is the prototypical example.
Different states have different rules for divorce, which can be abused by filing for divorce in a different state where the rules are more on your side.
Different states have different rules, but the filing processes are not as simple as just looking in a legal atlas. States only have jurisdiction over a divorce when one of the parties is currently domiciled in that state. In most cases, this requires that the plaintiff live in that state for a minimum of a six months (usually a year). If you live in Texas, and your husband or wife tries to establish residency in California and New York, this is pretty obvious.
As a young woman, if you marry someone and divorce him, you have unlocked the Early Retirement Extreme achievement, and as long as the man lives and has a decent income, you don’t have to work anymore. You should avoid getting married again, unless you want to level up to a man with better income. But living with a boyfriend and having children with him is okay.
In New York and California (as well as a large number of other states), alimony generally terminates on evidence of cohabitation, excepting extenuating circumstances. So this /probably/ only works if you’re willing to give up the live-in boyfriend.
Alimony is not in perpetuity everywhere, either (although it is in Massachusetts). I’m very happy to report that in Virginia, it only lasts for half the length of the marriage.
This depends very, very heavily on state. At least by statute, the rule is gender-invariant, and focuses on the income of both parties and any disparity between the two (there’s a belief that family law judges seem biased toward women in heterosexual unions, and toward caregivers in homosexual ones, but I’m unaware of trustworthy studies on this). Most states have fairly strict statutory limitations on alimony, generally limiting the duration of payments and the minimum length of a union. Some states, including New York and California, however, leave more discretion to the judge.
Prenups are civil contracts, and like all civil contracts can be voided in certain circumstances, but there are defenses. The most relevant way to void a prenup is to show that it was signed without knowledge (in which case, you can defend yourself by showing that you demonstrated reasonable information) or that the prenup was unconscionable (in which case, you can defend yourself by showing that the prenup was not highly lopsided. Jurisdiction matters on this one, though: “unconscionable” varies highly from state to state.)
Again, depends on state. Many states limit combined alimony to a certain percentage of income, and while most states will set alimony based on the expectation of higher income potential, most don’t allow post-divorce recalculation of alimony without a “significant change of circumstances”, which as a term of art doesn’t cover the alimony-payer getting a raise. The few states that do allow it, require that the change in income be somehow related to sacrifices by the alimony-receiver during the marriage—helping pay for college classes is the prototypical example.
Different states have different rules, but the filing processes are not as simple as just looking in a legal atlas. States only have jurisdiction over a divorce when one of the parties is currently domiciled in that state. In most cases, this requires that the plaintiff live in that state for a minimum of a six months (usually a year). If you live in Texas, and your husband or wife tries to establish residency in California and New York, this is pretty obvious.
In New York and California (as well as a large number of other states), alimony generally terminates on evidence of cohabitation, excepting extenuating circumstances. So this /probably/ only works if you’re willing to give up the live-in boyfriend.
Alimony is not in perpetuity everywhere, either (although it is in Massachusetts). I’m very happy to report that in Virginia, it only lasts for half the length of the marriage.