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ST Forum Jun 8, 2011 ALIMONY AND ATTRACTIVENESS Don't weigh beauty on scales of justice I WAS appalled to learn that courts can take into account a woman's prospects of remarriage when deciding on alimony ('Divorce and the attractive woman'; last Friday). As the title of the article suggests, the case in question centred on, among other things, the woman's attractiveness. That a woman's prospects of remarrying and/or her attractiveness, however defined, should be a factor in deciding the amount of alimony awarded by the courts sorely offends the dignity of any woman who may have taken the already extremely painful decision to divorce. I hope that I am right in saying that the decision to divorce is not one that is usually taken lightly. Which woman would be happy to be paid more at the expense of being judged unattractive? Yet again, being judged attractive by a court is neither a prediction nor guarantee of remarriage. In fact, remarriage is often not an easy or straightforward matter. If and when it happens, alimony will cease anyway. Furthermore, what if a woman does not want to remarry, for example, for religious, emotional or psychological reasons? I know many women who have been so emotionally devastated by divorce that the last thing they want to do is marry again. Last but not least, if she has been ditched by her husband for a younger, indeed more attractive woman, can you imagine the pain of being judged by a court and found either less attractive and awarded more alimony or more attractive and awarded less alimony? I trust that judges do look at the broader picture and weigh all the factors in each case. However, I believe laws that can be applied objectively are simpler and easier to administer. Carol Wong (Ms)