Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Problem:“Our alimony law was so antiquated that there were issues on both sides, for payors and payees,’’ said Denise Squillante, former president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, who represented the organization on the legislative task force. “This a very fair bill that addresses all those issues.’’ 
  
 The measure adds some consistency to alimony judgments by curbing lifetime alimony payments and providing caps on the number of years a spouse can receive alimony. The legislation also allows judges more flexibility to make determinations based on a family’s specific circumstances. 
  
 “It isn’t just a one-shot cookie cutter for every case, and that is very important,’’ Squillante said. 
  
 But not everyone is happy about the bill. 
  
 Gerald Nissenbaum, a Boston-based divorce lawyer who is the former president of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, called the bill “mean-spirited and Draconian,’’ because the limits it puts on alimony are “too strict.’’ 
  
 Nissenbaum said he fears the bill will be detrimental to recipients of alimony whose sacrifices in a marriage are not reflected by the law. 
  
 Additionally, he said, the bill’s wording allows lawyers too much room for interpretation when the new law is applied to already-decided cases. 
  
 “Whether you like the bill or not, it should be done in a way where the language is clear, the terms are clear, and designed in a way to avoid a lot of litigation.’’ 
  
 Previous alimony reform bills failed to garner a pass from state legislators. Then, in 2009, the state appointed a broad cross-section of family law attorneys and advocates - who often had strongly differing viewpoints - to work on a legislative task force and debate the shortcomings of Massachusetts’s alimony system. 
  
 They quickly came to a surprising conclusion: Everyone in the room seemed dissatisfied with the current law and eager to forge a new one. 
  
 “We discussed all the points, and we came up with a result that all of us could get behind,’’ said Kelly Leighton, a divorce attorney who works out of Salem and was a member of the task force. “It was a remarkable outcome, when you think about how different we all were when we walked into the room.’’ ||||| Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com 
  
 BOSTON—Alimony isn't forever in Massachusetts anymore. 
  
 The state abolished most lifetime spousal support Monday, joining several states where alimony payments have come under scrutiny as payers argue they are struggling in the rocky economy. 
  
 Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick signed a measure that generally ends alimony when the payer reaches retirement age or when the recipient begins living with a romantic partner. 
  
 The law also establishes a formula for alimony, based on the length of the marriage. For example, alimony would generally last no more than 10½ years ... |||||
Solution:
Massachusetts put a stop to most lifetime alimony payments yesterday, in what some are telling the Boston Globe are "the most dramatic change to family law in decades." The measure, which ends most support either when the alimony recipient moves in with another romantic partner or when the payor hits retirement age, takes effect in March 2012, the Wall Street Journal reports. Until now, it was common for judges in the state to award permanent alimony, but more payors nationwide have been attempting to modify their arrangements due to the weak economy. Under the new law, alimony will be established using a new formula based on marriage length; for a 15-year union, payments would typically last up to 10½ years. But for long-term marriages, judges can still award indefinite alimony; they can also order “reimbursement alimony” after shorter-term marriages where one spouse covered an expense for the other, like education. Permanent spousal support has become increasingly rare in the US, and this law reflects “the fact that both parties, more often than not, are working outside the home and there are more opportunities for people, women in particular,” says one state senator who sponsored the bill.