Hey, Dad. The question of the day is: Can you receive alimony and/or child support before you actually have a judgment of divorce or paternity? This came up today in a question. The answer is yes, absolutely—you can obtain child support and/or interim alimony. We refer to this as pendente lite support. This means you can get an order from the judge requiring your ex, especially if she’s earning more than you, to pay alimony or child support.

In this particular case, Dad had taken about two years off to focus on being the stay-at-home parent while Mom was off, you know, slaying dragons and climbing the corporate ladder. Now he’s thinking, “Well, I want to get some support; I’m going to set my pride aside.” And I’m like, “Dude, what do you mean set your pride aside? You’ve earned that right by taking care of the family while she was out advancing her career.”

It’s the same argument that women have been using for, oh, I...