The Impact of Remarriage on Alimony Obligations in Virginia

Spousal support is money one ex-spouse pays to the other after a divorce. The goal is to help the person receiving the payments maintain a similar lifestyle to what they had during the marriage. But when life changes like getting remarried come into play, it can change the paying party’s legal obligations.

Wondering if remarriage will affect your spousal support order? We’re here to answer your questions. Call Olmstead & Olmstead at 703-361-1555 to schedule a consultation.

How Remarriage Impacts Alimony Obligations

In Virginia, when the person receiving alimony gets remarried, the payments are typically automatically terminated. This is because their new marriage changes their financial needs, making the support less necessary. However, not all alimony agreements end automatically, which is why it’s so important to go over your divorce agreement in detail. The details of the original court order or settlement matter a lot.

Legal Exceptions to Alimony Changes

The automatic termination rule only applies to periodic or monthly payments. If your court order includes a lump sum payment, that payment is still required, even if the payee remarries before receiving it.

Additionally, the court may decide not to automatically terminate alimony if the receiving party has unusual circumstances warranting continued payments. For example, if the payee has severe health issues requiring expensive medical care that warrant them being unable to work, even remarriage may not be enough to cover those costs. However, there are no cut-and-dry rules in this area, so it’s important to talk to an attorney.

What About Cohabitation?

While most people who receive spousal support are more than happy to cut the final tie between them and their ex-spouse, others do not want to lose that financial lifeline, even if that means being dishonest about it. In this situation, the party who receives alimony sometimes chooses not to remarry in an effort to keep their spousal support payments coming. Instead, they live with their new partner as if they were married without ever tying the knot.

However, the courts have caught up to this trick, especially in this day and age where cohabitation is quite common. If a person receiving spousal support lives with a partner for at least one year, the party paying spousal support may petition the court to stop payments.

Again, this is an area that is fairly nuanced. Even if the payee is living with a new partner, the court may not order the termination of payments if it would be unconscionable to do so.

Proving Cohabitation or Remarriage

Proving that your ex-spouse has remarried is easy enough—marriage licenses are filed with the court, and that can help you request an end to alimony payments. However, you may still wish to discuss this with an attorney before moving forward, as they can help you prepare for any unexpected issues.

Proving cohabitation can be a little bit harder, particularly if the person receiving spousal support knows that they will lose their monthly payments if they’re caught. In this situation, they may go the extra mile to cover their tracks and avoid being caught.

It’s particularly important to work with an attorney in this situation. Trying to prove cohabitation on your own can quickly blur the lines between protecting your own best interests and harassment. Your lawyer can take steps to prove cohabitation, such as showing that the new partner’s name is on utility bills, subpoenaing residency documents showing that the new partner receives mail at the house, or even hiring a private investigator to demonstrate that the new partner consistently returns to the home they share with the payee.

Once you have enough evidence to support your claims of cohabitation, you can then petition the court to terminate spousal support payments.

Have Questions About Spousal Support? Our Team Can Help

Whether you pay or receive spousal support, we understand that this topic can be confusing. We can help by answering your questions, providing professional guidance, and helping you understand how remarriage or cohabitation may affect your current court order. Let’s talk about your needs and how best to move forward. Set up a consultation with Olmstead & Olmstead by filling out our online contact form or calling us at 703-361-1555.