The marriage buyout : the troubled trajectory of U.S. alimony law / Cynthia Lee Starnes.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Who cares about alimony? -- Alimony's heritage : the helpless, the blameless, and the clean-break losers -- Alimony and mother myths -- The contemporary state of alimony -- Alimony in context : a comparative perspective -- Reasons matter : alimony, intuition, and the remarriage-termination rule -- The search for a contemporary rationale -- A marital partnership model: alimony as buyout -- Beyond alimony : lovers, parents, and partners -- Conclusion.

Print version record.

From divorce court to popular culture, alimony is a dirty word. Unpopular and rarely ordered, the awards are frequently inconsistent and unpredictable. The institution itself is often viewed as an historical relic that harkens back to a gendered past in which women lacked the economic independence to free themselves from economic support by their spouses. In short, critics of alimony claim it has no place in contemporary visions of marriage as a partnership of equals. But as Cynthia Lee Starnes argues in The Marriage Buyout, alimony is often the only practical tool for ensuring that divorce.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide