Grammy Award winner, Mary J. Blige, is the only artist with Grammy Awards in R&B, Rap, Gospel, and Pop. She was just ordered to pay her husband, Martin Isaacs, $30,000 month in temporary alimony. For someone who sang the famous: “No More Drama” song, her divorce is anything but.
Dirty Tricks
Mary and her husband Martin married back in 2003. The divorce cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The couple has no children together. Mary asked the judge to deny Martin’s ability to get spousal support.
I have written about their divorce before, when she accused Martin of having spent $420,000 of the parties’ marital funds. Martin was Mary’s manager. So, it could be that much of the money allegedly spent on himself or a girlfriend can be chalked it up as “travel charges.” However, Mary alleges the $420,000 in expenses were not business-related.
While the issue of waste remains unsettled, the issue of paying temporary alimony to Martin is not.
Alimony
Generally, Florida Statutes provide that in any proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the trial court can grant alimony to either party. There are many types of alimony in Florida a judge has discretion to award, including: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent.
Also pursuant to Florida law, temporary alimony can be awarded to either spouse if a spouse requests it during a dissolution of marriage action.
The standard for awarding temporary alimony is the same as when the trial court considers a request for permanent alimony, namely, the parties’ standard of living along with the need of the petitioning spouse and the ability of the other spouse to pay.
Sometimes the spouse asking for temporary alimony has significant assets to live on. In cases in which people have significant cash in the bank to support themselves while the suit is pending, courts should not always award temporary alimony, even if the other spouse is able to pay it.
However, if the spouse asking for a temporary alimony has a net worth four times that of the other spouse, especially if their annual income is more, it is unlikely that the spouse would be entitled to an award of temporary alimony. Temporary alimony might not be awarded if the temporary financial award exceeds or nearly exhausts the paying party’s income.
Drama
While Blige and Isaacs have no biological children together, the significant temporary alimony award was designed to accommodate the “style of living” Isaacs was accustomed to while he was married to Blige.
“My success as an entertainer has nothing to do with [Isaacs]. I was successful when I met him and have continued to enjoy success, although there have certainly been ups and downs,” Blige claimed, per E!.
The Grammy-winning singer also explained that she was in debt as she made no money from the European leg of her recent tour.
Worse still for the singer, Blige also has to pay her husband alimony retroactively – dating back to September – as well as account for his attorney fees for a total of $235,000.
The Yahoo article is here.