Inflation-beset divorcees seek raises in alimony

Armed with government inflation reports, many divorced women are marching back into court seeking cost-of-living increases in their monthly alimony payments. Marvin Mitchelson, the California lawyer who won fame in the Lee Marvin "palimony" case, said in an interview that family court judges tend to be sympathetic to such requests for modifying divorce settlements.

The consumer price index for 1979 put the annual inflation rate at 13.3 percent, and lawyers around the nation are getting requests from divorced women for more alimony because of that rampant rise. In many states, the index alone is considered legitimate evidence for an increase in payments, and many divorce decrees now include an escalator clause to allow for inflation.