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Divorce is more complex than signing a legal document. This legal process leads to other sets of agreements, child support, legal responsibilities, and other support obligations, all within family law.
One of the primary responsibilities is alimony or spousal support, commonly known in Illinois as maintenance. Even though each state has its legal actions regarding alimony, Illinois’ maintenance laws are very clear.
According to Legal Match, a few factors can help determine the amount of alimony for each case in California. Some of them are the spouse’s age, length of the marriage, present and future earning ability of both parties and presence of domestic violence.
Maintenance orders contain specific terms of when the support ends, when it can be modified, and if it can be modified at all.
Divorce Net published an article that mentions details on how to modify alimony. A significant change of circumstances needs to be shown to obtain a new alimony order. Some evidence that can help you modify it is:
Proof of decreased income or loss of a job
If the spouse stopped working due to an illness
If the supported spouse has experienced an increase in income.
There are two ways of terminating spousal support: 1) if one of the parties dies or 2) if the supported spouse marries again. Although those are two common ways to stop spousal support, there is a third one: Cohabitation.
The alimony/spousal support can be legally terminated if the supported spouse starts cohabiting with a person on a “resident, continuing conjugal basis,” meaning in a marriage-like relationship.
How can you prove that the supported spouse is in a de facto relationship but does not live together? This scenario complicates the case more, but it’s not impossible. The law doesn’t define the length of cohabitation. When judges are involved in a cohabitation case, they use six factors to assess the relationship:
Judges take into consideration these factors to determine whether to terminate the alimony due to cohabitation.
The burden of proof relies on the one who pays spousal support. This could change depending on the case. Remember that each individual case presents different circumstances.
Since each state has its alimony laws, you can’t determine your case based on California law, for example. This is one of the main reasons why hiring a professional in your state is crucial to your case.
The information provided in this article should be used for informational purposes only. Seek legal advice from a professional with knowledge of your area’s laws to help you with your case.
