Can You End Alimony If Your Spouse's New Partner Is Wealthy?
When you are divorced and your former spouse gets married to a rich person, you may believe you are automatically free from paying alimony. However, you should never stop paying until you have gone to court. The following are some questions you may have about alimony and remarriage:
Does the State Make a Difference?
The state you live in will be a factor in whether or not you have to continue making your alimony payments. Some states allow alimony to end when your former spouse remarries, despite how much money his or her new spouse has. Other states require you to continue paying until the court orders the alimony to end.
Does Court Have a Say?
While you do have to go to court to officially end the alimony order, you and your former spouse are free to determine the future of the payments. If your former spouse marries a rich person, he or she may be fine with no longer receiving the payments. If you can come to an agreement on your own and present it to the court, the judge will typically rule in your favor as long as you both agree.
However, if you and your spouse cannot discuss your alimony arrangement, you will need to go to court and request the alimony to end. You will file a claim to modify your alimony payments. Part of the modification will require you to explain why you should no longer pay. If the court agrees that your former spouse no longer needs your support to meet his or her financial circumstances, your motion will be granted.
What If Your Former Spouse Never Marries?
If your former spouse is not married to his or her new wealthy partner, you may still have a case for ending your alimony payments. This is a slippery slope, however, and will depend on the evidence. If they are living together and both contributing financially to the finances as a couple, you could argue your former spouse has had a significant change in financial circumstances and that you should be free from making alimony payments.
If you pay alimony to your former spouse who is now with a wealthy person and you wish to end your alimony payments, you need to speak to your attorney right away. If you have children, a suspension in alimony payments does not mean you no longer have to pay child support. This is an entirely different motion and you must continue those payments. Talk with an alimony lawyer about your spouse's new partner.