Terminating an Alimony Order in Illinois

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

Alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in Illinois, is monetary support paid one spouse by the other, to maintain roughly the same standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, after divorce. The court will rule in favor of maintenance in Illinois, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), depending on, among other things: the length of the marriage, disparity in earnings of the two partners, whether there are children, and if so, who will be the primary caretaker, and whether one spouse “has given up career opportunities due to the marriage.”  Maintenance will not necessarily ensure that both partners can enjoy the same standard of living after the marriage, because living separately is, in most cases, significantly more expensive than living together.

Maintenance will be paid until the court decides it can be terminated. One major reason that an order for maintenance will terminate is if the party receiving the payments moves in with someone else. According to the AAML, the ex-spouse must be living with someone else on what is determined to be a “resident, continuing, conjugal basis.” This type of cohabitation, in regards to spousal maintenance, is currently a challenging aspect of family law, according to a recent report. The court must determine that the person receiving maintenance is in a “supportive relationship,” which can be tricky to legally prove.

Furthermore, in order to terminate the order, the person paying the maintenance must be able to legally prove that his or her ex-spouse is indeed living with someone else. In the technological era—when cell phones can oftentimes make deception easier—it can be “virtually impossible to effectively prove cohabitation, especially when the cohabiting individuals can manipulate the times they live with one another,” according to the report.

There are some telltale signs you can use to prove that your ex is living with someone else. If, for example, your ex’s garage is being used as a storage facility, or if home improvement projects start to get done by “a friend,” you may have a case.

To prove that your ex is living with another person and to seek termination of court-ordered spousal maintenance, the most important step is to seek legal counsel. Contact an experienced Aurora family law attorney today.