(ThyBlackMan.com) Today’s economy may be adding new men to ranks of alimony-seekers. As traditionally male-dominated industries like finance and construction continue to struggle, more men are finding themselves with lower income or no income at all, forcing a newfound dependence on their wives or, in some cases, ex-wives. Black men are generally hard workers and hustlers to take care of their family. Men generally make more money than women in most job markets. Does this make a difference with alimony? Here are two scenarios where alimony is/was being requested.
So consider this, a couple marries and the wife makes more money than husband does. They divorce, should the husband collect alimony? Or what about the husband previously had a high paying 
corporate job he left to become a stay at home father. Followed by a divorce does the court grant him alimony?
Or what about the following scenario, according to the Daily Mail, Mary J Blige’s estranged husband, Martin “Kendu” Isaacs, is seeking $129,391 a month in spousal support. While he originally requested spousal support in September, having been exposed to an exuberant lifestyle during their 12-year marriage, he believes Mary J. Blige, 45, should help him maintain it. Isaacs claimed he’s been left without a source of income after Blige fired him as her manager, shortly after she filed for divorce in July.
Though Blige gave him $35,000 in August, $50,000 in September, as well as $25,000 for attorney fees, Isaacs claimed in the filings to have spent the cash to “secure new living accommodations,”. Isaacs wants Blige to cover the cost of an $8,000 private chef, a $3,200 personal trainer, as well as the $5,000 he gives to his parents per month. He also requested an additional $100,000 for legal costs. Though the couple signed a prenup two days before their December 2003 wedding, Isaacs believes the document is invalid as he did not have a lawyer present.
Gust Davis, the husband of Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur’s mother. The couple have been married for 12 years but Afeni wanted out. Sadly, the couple never had a prenup. And now, Davis is trying to take advantage. In North Carolina, where Shakur filed, judges are not required to divide property up 50/50. They evaluate each case to determine what’s fair. Davis is asking for the right to live on a 50 acre ranch in North Carolina, the keys to the houseboats and the Jaguar. But that’s not the worst of it.
In addition to the property, Davis also wants alimony. Davis reported that the Tupac Estate brings in $900k a year. But after expenses, Afeni receives $20,000 a month. As a part of the divorce settlement, Davis is asking for $10,000 a month, half of Afeni’s monthly check from the estate, for the rest of his life. Shakur was separated from Davis for more than a year and was living in a houseboat in Sausalito, California before she passed.
According to finance columnist Emma Johnson Forbes Magazine only 3 percent of the recipients of what is traditionally known as “alimony” are men. At the same time, 40 percent of households in the United States are headed by female breadwinners. While in the last 20 years men have made great strides in winning the right to share custody of their children, they have made little headway in the area of support. It seems that support continues to be decided along the lines of “gender roles”. So if a man is married to a rich or powerful woman, shouldn’t he be able to provide for himself even if that woman and her money are no longer available? Or is he entitled to her finances if a pre-nuptial agreement is not in place?
Black men, what are your thoughts on the matter? Do you ask for alimony from your ex-wife or move on and rebuild your finances on your own?
Staff Writer; Amber Ogden
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