If you’re in a position where you have to support your spouse financially, there are a lot of different implications built-in. There is the legality of handling the finances, and then there are the social conditions and cultural conditions which also play a role in deciding how money gets moved around.

If you look at supporting your spouse financially from the perspectives of divorce settlements, equality, gender economics, and standard of living versus spending habits, you begin to see where the societal norms and expectations fall into place. Without these sort of frameworks, people would live in chaos as they were trying to find out how to budget their finances.

From Divorce Settlements

If two people get divorced, money is one of the most natural things to start arguing about. But, if you talk to an attorney about divorce settlements, you will begin to understand a little bit more how the legal framework is set up and what it means to you. Depending on which person makes more money and which person is worth more, there will then be an equation that tries to give all parties what they are entitled to, and then there’s also the matter of splitting the difference when it comes to child support.

As a Matter of Equality

When it comes to supporting your spouse financially, there is a missing sense of equality. Throughout human history, there has been a financial tilt toward the person who is in a more powerful position. Two partners in life are not equal, especially when it comes to money. There is always someone who is going to be earning more, so it only makes sense that that person ultimately pays more to their spouse, but also gets to keep more of it him or herself.

Gender Economics

Men and women make different amounts of money. It’s unfortunate but true. So, depending on which role you play in your family, there is going to have to be a legal and social contract that he make that deals with this gender inequality. For some people, it’s a more casual arrangement, whereas others want to make sure that it is an official point of reason within their relationship.

Standard of Living Vs. Spending Habits

There is a difference between a spouse maintaining their standard of living and a spouse maintaining their spending habits. Standard of living is all about the basics. Food, clothing, and shelter. But spending habits can be all over the place. Sometimes there is some tension between a person and their partner because one of them is confused about the difference between the two. You can cut someone’s spending habits out and not affect their standard of living. But it will feel like a tremendous restriction from the party which is used to that additional level of spending convenience.