Preventing poverty among divorced women is a primary consideration of family law. A number of provisions in all states across the U.S. are designed specifically to prevent economic hardship and poverty among women both during and after divorce proceedings. The two primary tools utilized to prevent poverty among divorced women (and their children) are child support and maintenance (formerly known as alimony). Additionally, there are community-based resources in the form of grants and other types of financial assistance programs aimed at protecting the financial well-being of divorced women.
Instructions
1. File a motion for temporary orders. The starting point for protecting the financial welfare of women during and after divorce is the filing of a motion for temporary orders. The law in all states provides for the issuance of court orders granting a woman temporary child support and maintenance during the divorce case itself. These temporary orders lay the foundation lay the foundation for final child support and maintenance at the conclusion of the divorce case. Moreover, temporary orders better ensure that a woman will not see her financial situation degrade during the divorce case itself.
2. Obtain an appropriate amount of child support as part of the final divorce decree. If the wife is to have primary custody of minor children born during the marriage, she bears a significant financial responsibility. To prevent poverty, a child support order must be in place. Each state maintains child support guidelines, statutory schemes that establish the amount of child support that is to be paid.
3. Establish effective mechanisms for enforcement of child support orders. A court issuing a final child support order is all well and good. However, if a mother does not obtain money ordered to be paid by the father for support of the children, she easily finds herself in financial dire straits in little time. An important element of preventing poverty among divorced women is aggressive enforcement of child support orders. These efforts include everything from deducted child support directly through a father's paychecks and holding a man in contempt of court (with significant sanctions) for failure to pay child support in a timely manner. Contempt sanctions include everything from suspension of a driver's license to jail time (on work release so as not to interfere with the father's ability to earn a living).
4. Issue a maintenance order to benefit a woman after a divorce. Maintenance--previously known as alimony--is designed to provide a woman with the money necessary for the lifestyle she enjoyed during the marriage. As is the case with child support, the laws in each state establish guidelines through which maintenance is computed. Generally speaking, these guidelines take into consideration both the length of the marriage and the amount of income earned by the parties to a divorce. A maintenance order provides a supplemental monthly payment to the wife for a set period of time. The ultimate objective of maintenance is to prevent financial hardship for a divorced woman and to allow her the ability to establish a solid financial foundation for the future.
5. Access community grants and other aid programs designed to prevent poverty among divorced women. For example, states (as well as many local communities) across the country maintain different types of programs to assist a newly divorced woman with her rent or mortgage, food (particularly for their children) and education or job training. State and county social service agencies maintain information about these types of financial resources.
Tags: child support, divorced women, poverty among, poverty among divorced, temporary orders, after divorce, among divorced
