Alimony And Cohabitation: How Living With A New Partner Can Affect Support

Divorce is an uphill battle to get through. You can experience strong feelings as an outcome of your marriage’s divorce. During each phase of the proceedings, you could feel sensations including pain, frustration, worry, and anxiety. Although having such strong feelings is quite normal, you should hire a Newburyport family law attorney because you cannot let them overly influence the choices you make regarding your divorce.

Divorce involves more than simply ending your marriage; it also involves building a new future. Both the former and the latter need the same amount of time and effort. In order to be able to move on from your ex, you have to protect your financial well-being.

Alimony and cohabitation: How living with a new partner can affect support

If you quit your job or put your profession on hold to help your spouse, you will be at a disadvantage financially when the marriage ends. If you live in a community property state, you and your spouse will split evenly all assets accumulated after the marriage. 

This is more complicated than it seems at first glance. Your spouse may have funds in banks and assets you are unaware of if they were the primary supplier and successful in their field. You need to assume that you are not aware of all of your spouse’s assets if they have accumulated a lot of cash while you have been married.

What happens when you get someone else?

You will meet another person and fall in love with them while you live your life. A new relationship will not impact your divorce settlement if you move in with another person.

The purpose of alimony after divorce is to help you maintain a material lifestyle similar to that which you had when you were married. If alimony gets granted, it will last for quite some time unless you get married again. Things are less apparent if you decide to live with someone rather than be married.

You should know that if you move in with a new person, your alimony may be canceled and reduced. When you make this decision, you should be informed of the following:

  • If your cohabitation substantially decreases the need for support, the judge will allow a reduction or cancellation of the alimony.
  • Regardless of your ongoing need for funds, the judge can discontinue alimony payments. Your cohabitation will not affect your alimony if the separation settlement specifies that it will continue until you get married again.