Alimony, also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance, is often hotly contested in divorce proceedings. The higher wage earner — it doesn’t matter who — may have to pay their ex-spouse for a set time-frame or maybe even permanently. That might seem unreasonable to one or both parties.
Situations in life change. What happens if one of the parties needs to change the alimony amount? Is there anything that can be done to amend or terminate alimony payments?
There are ways to either amend, raise or lower or terminate alimony payments altogether. What you can do and how you should do depends on the state you’re living in and your particular situation. However, it would help if you understood that alimony rights and responsibilities are serious legal matters. Therefore, you should discuss your questions with a well-qualified divorce attorney to protect your rights.
How Do Courts Determine Alimony?
Alimony is designed to allow the parties to maintain their lifestyle during the marriage. Essentially, courts do not want one spouse to walk away and leave the other destitute. If the parties make the same or similar amounts of money, then the court might not award alimony in the first place.
Calculating alimony is never easy and is not an exact science. Setting spousal maintenance requires a court to weigh several factors. Not every divorce proceeding will have all of the factors listed below. Additionally, the judge can decide how much weight to give each factor when determining whether one party should receive alimony and, if so, how much. The factors a court may consider include:
The court will also look at other relevant factors even if not included on this list. For example, a potential inheritance or receiving child support could influence the amount of spousal maintenance awarded.
The parties can negotiate whether alimony will be part of any settlement agreement. They are also free to agree on an amount and the interval in which the alimony should be paid.
Some states might allow a property settlement instead of spousal support. A property settlement is a lump-sum payment or payments over a short duration of time. Once the property settlement sum is paid, no additional spousal support is required. Suppose you are eligible to receive a property settlement or alimony. In that case, you should discuss the income tax implications with a tax professional. Your income tax liability might change depending on your payment type.
The judge will have to determine the appropriate alimony award for the particular situation. A judge might award alimony to one party for years if the marriage is relatively short. However, a judge could order permanent spousal support if the marriage was a prolonged duration. The spousal support laws of the state where you live will specify when permanent alimony is appropriate. For example, some states’ laws might presume an alimony award if the parties were married for 20 years or longer.
Generally, alimony ends when one party passes away, or the payee remarries. However, there are other circumstances, as we will discuss below, that would allow a judge to amend or terminate a spousal support order.
It is vital to understand that each case presents a unique set of facts that distinguish one divorce case from another. Having that understanding helps maintain the proper perspective and manage your expectations. You cannot judge your case by simply looking at another situation and thinking your case will turn out like that one. You might be unaware of specific factors that weighed more heavily in another case that are not as relevant in your situation.
How Do You Change Your Spousal Support Order?
The necessity may arise when you might need to amend or terminate the alimony payment. Therefore, both the payor of the spousal support and the payee should be familiar with the process you need to follow to change an alimony order.
The parties might be able to work the issue out without going to court. Ex-spouses who remain cordial with each other might be able to amend the spousal maintenance order jointly. If not, the person who wants to change the order has to file a pleading in court.
Your state’s procedural and statutory rules will describe the procedure you must follow when filing a pleading to amend or terminate alimony. Generally, the moving party has to allege that a substantial change in the material circumstances of the party’s living situation warrants a change to the alimony award. Only a substantial change in circumstances will justify lowering, raising, extending, or terminating a spousal maintenance order.
What Are the Grounds to Change Support Order?
Understanding that each case stands on its own, there are some common reasons why a judge would change a spousal support order. Some of these reasons include:
One of the most contentious situations occurs when the spouse who receives alimony moves in with a romantic partner. They begin living together as a family without getting married. Since remarriage automatically terminates alimony payments, this type of living arrangement seems like a way to circumvent that rule.
Judges must scrutinize a situation such as this. On the one hand, this living arrangement might only be temporary. If so, then terminating alimony might not be appropriate. On the other, one could reasonably assume that the co-habitants share living expenses. An alimony check would be a windfall for the payee. The judge must undertake a fact-intensive inquiry to decide the question.
State laws vary on this issue. You should check the law of your state to determine how a living arrangement like this will affect your spousal support award or obligation.
What If My Ex Lied On Their Financial Disclosure?
The financial disclosures are an essential part of the process to determine alimony. Each party should complete their financial disclosure form truthfully. Spouses may try to hide money and assets from each other, especially if the divorce is contentious.
Irrespective of someone’s motive to lie on their financial disclosure form, it violates the law. Knowingly filing a false financial disclosure may be a crime in your state. Doing so is contempt of court at a minimum. Therefore, you must be honest when completing this form, even if it pains you.
There are things you could do to find out if your spouse is lying on their financial disclosure. You could hire a private investigator to figure out what your spouse is doing for work or how they are paying their bills. Your state might allow you to depose your spouse and subpoena their bank records and records from all other financial institutions they disclose on their financial form. You may also have a chance to subpoena their payroll records and other financial documents to see if they truthfully disclose their financial situation.
In cases that involve a lot of money or complicated transactions, hiring a forensic accountant might be advantageous to you. A forensic accountant would have the skills to trace your spouse’s money. They could also testify for you in court to contradict your ex’s financial declaration.
Consulting a highly skilled and trained attorney to discuss your rights is the best course of action rather than trying to litigate questions of alimony. It’s a very complex area of law, and an attorney with a wealth of experience could help protect your assets.
