Though changing the laws that govern how family court judges determine spousal support is not as hot a topic in Oregon as it is in other states, the issue has certainly made news elsewhere. Massachusetts passed an alimony reform law last fall that created narrower guidelines for judges based on the length of the marriage and each spouse's financial position. Other state legislatures, including those in Florida and New Jersey, are considering similar amendments to their spousal support laws.

The trend is being supported by activists who see most of the country's spousal support systems as outdated and slanted toward women. Reform supporters especially oppose awards of lifetime alimony, which they say unfairly burdens the payer and does not give the recipient the incentive to support him- or herself.

The case of one man who pays alimony to his former wife is the sort of example pro-reform activists point to, though the story may be more complicated than it appears on the surface. The man, 72, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is in the late stages of the illness. He is bedridden and requires full-time care from aides and his wife.

When he separated from his wife in 1992, the court ordered him to pay $25,200 per year in spousal maintenance. The court likely considered the man's relative wealth as physician and the length of their 36-year marriage in arriving at that decision. But after the man's Alzheimer's symptoms began to worsen in 2002, he and his current wife sought to eliminate the alimony.

The court denied the requests, noting that the man could still afford the payments. The man's current wife acknowledges that is true, but says that without the alimony, she could afford better care for her ailing husband. She is also frustrated that the alimony continues despite the fact that the former wife works as a college professor.

Those opposed to the reform laws say that restricting or eliminating the option of lifetime support could put some women at risk of poverty. Many women find themselves divorced in their 50s or older with few job skills, critics say. There is also the possibility that spouses would stay in abusive relationships longer to "earn" more in spousal maintenance later, one attorney said.

Source: USA TODAY, "Should alimony laws be changed?" Yamiche Alcindor, Jan. 18, 2012