The agreement established a record since his former partner must pay him 220 thousand dollars as well as a monthly pension of 530.
Domestic work is probably one of the least valued in the world. People go to work every day to earn some money and their efforts are well recognized. However, those who stay at home also work hard, but little is said about all the effort and fatigue involved in doing housework.
Those who are housewives often do not receive payment for their work, since cleaning and cooking at home is not considered a real job. And in a large part of the cases, chores become an obligation for only one person despite the fact that more people live in the same home. This is the reality experienced by millions of women around the world.
One of them is Ivana Moral , a Spanish woman who dedicated 25 years of her life to the home and never received a penny for her work. But luckily, she managed to get unprecedented compensation after her divorce.
According to iNews, a court in Spain ordered a man to pay his ex-wife $220,000 in compensation for almost 3 decades of unpaid domestic work. Judge Laura Ruiz Alaminos calculated this unusual figure based on the monthly minimum wage.
Ivana married in 1995 with a man who has remained anonymous. In 2020 , the woman filed for divorce and after a long legal battle; finally the case is closed. During those 25 years of marriage, Moral took full charge of the home and although during that time she never lacked for anything, when she divorced her, she and her daughters were left with nothing.
“Clearly, this was a case of abuse to be completely financially excluded (by my ex-husband) with nothing after my marriage ended, so my daughters and I were left with nothing after all these years of putting all my time , energy and love in the family,” said Ivana.
For his part, the ex-husband dedicated himself solely to working and making his fortune. While they were married, the man managed to build a successful gym business that in turn allowed him to buy several luxury cars and motorcycles. In addition, he acquired a 70-hectare olive oil plantation valued at 4 million euros . In other words, his heritage continued to grow. Unfortunately, Ivana could not enjoy this because she did not own any object or land.
“I was supporting my husband in his work and in the family as a mother and father. I was never allowed access to his financial affairs; everything was in his name,” she said.
It is worth mentioning that when they got married, the man asked Moral to sign a property separation agreement. Thus, practically everything belonged to him and Ivana had no possessions. When the divorce proceedings began, her ex-partner only offered him half of her house.
That is why this case is so important. Alaminos not only ordered that Moral be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his years of service. He also made sure that the woman and her 20- and 16-year-old daughters do not have future difficulties, since the man will also have to cover a monthly pension of $530 , $ 425 , and $ 637 for each one respectively.
Marta Fuentes , Moral’s lawyer, said that the sentence represented the work of many women who live “in the shadows”; being a fundamental support for her husbands while they develop professionally. She mentioned that, as in many other cases, the man increases his wealth and becomes successful while the woman takes care of the work that nobody sees. And when the time comes to part, women who have devoted themselves completely to the home suddenly have to leave empty-handed.
Luckily for Ivana, she got an unprecedented deal that could set new standards in cases similar to hers. The woman herself said that she wanted to inspire women to fight and demand fair payment for household chores when there is a separation of property agreement and divorce comes.