If you are someone who receives alimony, you need to make sure that you don’t do something that could eliminate your right to it. One of those things could be moving in with a new partner. If you change your circumstances and plan to get married or become engaged, you’ll give your ex the perfect reason to head back to court and seek the termination of a spousal support order.
Other changes could also impact your right to alimony. For example, if you get a high-paying job that lets you support your needs, your ex could seek assistance from the court to be relieved of the duty to pay you alimony.
In some states, there is a presumption that if you move in with another person, you’ll need less support. That person doesn’t have to be a new spouse. It could be a friend or roommate. If you don’t need as much support, the court may allow your ex-spouse to reduce what they pay or eliminate it completely.
Remarriage is, in most situations, grounds to terminate spousal support. A commitment ceremony doesn’t count, so your ex will need to prove that you have legally remarried in order to seek this route for terminating your spousal support payments.
If you’re in a new relationship and concerned about losing your spousal support, you should continue on your own for as long as it’s comfortable to do so. If you intend to remarry, think it through carefully, because the likelihood is that your ex will no longer have an obligation to pay you spousal support once you do so.
