In Illinois now, we have a provision where typically these spousal support payments do terminate when the paying spouse dies, but it can be secured now and by court order. It can be secured with a life insurance policy. That’s really an important provision because, historically, if some tragedy were to occur to the party […]
Alimony and Spousal Support
If you simply moved in with your new boyfriend rather than marry him, can your ex stop paying spousal or child support?
At least in the state of New Jersey, cohabitation would play a role in spousal support, but you’re going to have to show that their cohabitation involves a melding of you and your non-spouse live-in finances. That’s not necessarily a high hurdle to overcome. In many ways yes, the answer would be very similar to […]
What are the differences in tax treatment of spousal support versus child support?
The child support component of payments is not a taxable event. If someone receives a certain amount of money in child support, they do not declare that as income nor does the party who paid the child support claim it as a deduction for either federal or state tax purposes in Illinois. Maintenance, however – […]
If someone’s ex-wife marries a very wealthy man, can he stop making spousal or child support payments?
Typically, in any divorce situation upon remarriage, alimony or spousal support stops. However, child support has nothing to do with the financial status of the new spouse. It has all to do with the financial status, the employment or the monies available, or the income of the other spouse. No, child support does not stop, […]
If an ex moves in with a new romantic partner or remarries, can the payor ex-spouse stop paying maintenance?
If their ex remarries, then it’s almost universally true that the maintenance will terminate. There’s a mechanism where on occasion that doesn’t happen, but in the vast majority of cases, a remarriage will terminate the maintenance obligation. It’s a little bit trickier when the allegation or the assertion is that someone is living with someone. […]
What are the pros and cons of modifiable versus non-modifiable spousal support?
It depends often on the circumstances that the parties are in. The analysis depends on which side the lawyer represents. The advantages to a non-modifiable award are that no matter what happens to the other side, that maintenance is going to continue absent one of the statutory terminating factors. The maintenance would end, generally speaking, […]
If someone is struggling to pay spousal support, can the amount be reduced?
It depends on the determination that was originally made by the Court, and the form that the maintenance award was placed in the divorce decree. Generally, if the maintenance obligation is modifiable, then it is subject to modification, based on a substantial change in circumstances. That substantial change in circumstances, as you suggest, could be […]
If someone was not awarded spousal maintenance, can they go back and request it if their circumstances change?
Generally speaking, unless maintenance is reserved at the time of the divorce, once that divorce decree is honored, that bars the party from receiving maintenance. That’s a final determination. The fact that circumstances change or that someone finds themselves in a different situation in the future, that’s regrettably not something that’s subject to later modification. […]
Can an ex-spouse receive spousal support in addition to a share of the military member’s retirement plan?
There’s nothing prohibiting that. It depends on the income situation of the parties in addition to the retirement. In the Northern Virginia area, it’s not uncommon. Military members of rank, especially, retire and receive very well-paying jobs in the private sector, and long-term marriages generally lead to spousal support in that scenario. Even if they’re […]
What are the main factors that spousal maintenance is based on in Illinois?
The statute directs the court to take a look at a number of different items as it considers the amount of money that will be given to the spouse that’s going to receive maintenance by the paying spouse. In Illinois, we have a new provision that’s recently gone into effect. It changes the factors and […]
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