When you are awarded spousal support, you might have noted that it comes with certain restrictions and sometimes time limits. For example, rehabilitative spousal support might end when you have achieved the goals as stated, such as graduation from college or getting a job with a certain salary. Another provision connected to spousal support is remarriage. You are certain to lose spousal support when you remarry, regardless of your new spouse's financial situation. Read on to find out how the courts view a relatively new concept in relationships, cohabitation.
Just Living Together
While living together without the benefit of marriage is nothing new, the court system has stayed mostly-mum on any laws connected to it. The children of a relationship are protected using child support no matter what the marital status of the relationship between the parents might be, and a parting couple may be able to use "palimony" to get support for a cohabitation-type relationship, but what happens to spousal support agreements?
Not Just Roommates
The reason to cohabit instead of wed are many, but some divorced parties are not very eager to get themselves embroiled in another legal twinning. If this sounds like you, then you are far from alone. Cohabitation has become very popular with rising ranks of twice-shy or never-wed people refusing to take the vows.
Just Roommates
If you can say in all honesty that you and your live-in are in a non-romantic roommate situation, then it should not affect your spousal support. Getting someone to pay rent for that extra bedroom may be a must to help you make ends meet and might only affect spousal support agreements that have income restrictions.
When Support is Still Needed
The purpose of spousal support is not to punish the other party; no-fault divorce has seen to that, but it is instead to lend a degree of fairness to the needing spouse's financial situation. To say that a spouse that is cohabiting no longer needs the money is jumping to conclusions. The partner may not even be employed or they not make enough to enrich the receiving spouse.
Since spousal support is a financial need issue it would need to be shown that the spouse is receiving enough of a financial gain from the live-in relationship to prompt a suspension or end to the support payments. If your spousal support is being challenged by your ex, speak to a family law attorney at once to protect your rights.
Share17 May 2018
The laws governing child custody and guardianship can be confusing. As a family attorney, I have helped many clients gain legal guardianship over a foster child or a relative's child. Getting legal guardianship of a child you are caring for is important because you need to be able to make decisions about that child's education, health care and other matters. This blog will help you navigate the world of legal guardianship and show you how to take steps to get guardianship over a child whether the child's parents are cooperative or not. Legal guardianship does matter even if a child is not going to be adopted. I hope to help people find the way to get this done.
