HACKENSACK — Ari Schochet has been sent to Bergen County Jail for missing alimony payments at least eight times in two years since the end of his 17-year marriage.

Bloomberg News reported that Schochet and other ex-spouses believe New Jersey's law allowing lifetime alimony is unfair.

Schochet called his $100,000-a-year in alimony and child support "a circle of hell."

But a bill sponsored by Assemblymen Sean Kean (R-Monmouth, Ocean) and Charles Mainor (D-Hudson) would abolish permanent alimony. The bill would base alimony on the length of marriage and income and allow ex-spouses to stop paying once they retire.

The Displaced Homemakers Network of New Jersey has spoken out against the bill. In an opinion column in the Trenton Times, Cathi Rendfrey, legislative liaison for the group, wrote:

"What the Legislature is doing by even considering a change in the alimony statutes is saying: 'It is OK to build a life with someone, throw it away, negotiate a settlement and then, down the road, shirk the responsibility of that settlement by changing the guidelines and rules and laws via alimony reform.'"

In December, an alimony case reached the state Supreme Court, which released Hunterdown County resident John Waldorf from eight weeks of jail for missing alimony payments. But Chief Justice Stuart Rabner ordered Waldorf to pay at least $1,000 a week in alimony and to get a job, or he would again face jail time.

Related Coverage:

• N.J. Jail Is Home for Husband as Lifetime of Alimony Fought | Bloomberg News

• Opinion: Permanent alimony awards in N.J. should not be modified, renegotiated

• State Supreme Court order lays out conditions for alimony payer's release

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