Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 08/28/2011 - 07:46
My wife has decided to end our marriage after only three years. We have no children. During our short marriage, I spent nearly $100,000 of money I brought to the marriage to help her finish her degree, which she did this last spring. In other posts I read that the shorter the marriage, the less chance there is of one spouse getting alimony but now I'm wondering if my situation may be different because of the alimony reform that is taking place in Massachusetts. She now makes more than me, my hours have been slashed, and she will likely be living with or marrying another man who I believe she has been seeing. Is there any way for me to get alimony or at least get my money back from her? Thank you.
Reimbursement alimony for tuition in MA
One of the results of the recent alimony reform in MA is that we now have different forms of alimony that allow the divorce court to make equitable orders in the wake of a failed marriage. Now, the most commonly understood type of alimony, designed to allow a financially dependent spouse to continue living after the divorce in the manner he or she has been accustomed to, is called General Alimony. Although you may not be the perfect candidate for General Alimony, you should definitely talk to a MA divorce attorney about one of the other three types defined in the Alimony Reform Act:
(1) Rehabilitative Alimony is designed to last only for a short period and to allow one spouse to reestablish his financial footing through a new job or training.
(2) Reimbursement Alimony may be even more relevant to your situation. It often takes the form of a lump sum that is designed to reimburse one spouse for some financial commitment he made during the marriage. The classic example is money paid to help a spouse with tuition or student loan payments.
(3) Transitional Alimony, as the name implies, will be a short term or lump sum solution to help a spouse relocate or otherwise transition into his or her post-marriage life.
I hope that is helpful, and I encourage you talk to an attorney ASAP. Good luck
Tuition for Spouse
In addition to the comments from the editor regarding alimony, you may have a right to reimbursement for the $100,000 you spent on her college expenses. For case specific information you should contact an attorney.
Wyckoff Nissenbaum
www.SomervilleDivorceLaw.com