Ok well, I have absolutely no idea what the discussion of marriage, alimony or child support has to do with the question that was asked, but I'll answer for all of us lowlfe LBS in longterm marriages, with 2.5 children that decided that we were entitled to alimony.
First off, I believe that when someone walks away from their marriage the only decent thing to do is to NOT take alimony. For the rest of us who didn't break our vows or our partnership, there was most likely an agreement as to how the marriage was supposed to function. I realize that I am one of the lucky ones. I have a very good job, but does that mean it's ever going to be salary wise where it would have been if I had not stayed home with my children for 20 years? As anyone with children knows, child support covers the bare minimum. Why would I not accept what I helped build for 20 years and would continue to help build if ex hadn't made the choices he had. Why would I make my children pay for those choices? Could I afford the extras that my children had become accustom to if I hadn't taken alimony? No I couldn't, and why should my kids have to pay for the choices of a former hands on Dad that happened to go off the deep end?
Unless you have kids and a longterm marriage you weren't presented with the same rights under the law that I was entitled to, so what you would or wouldn't do is a moot point.
