Alimony for ex-wife

[Happy1973]

HI

I have ben paying my ex-wife alimony for the last 5 years. Shortly after we seperated she stopped working. She has not worked since. She and her boyfriend bought a house 5 years ago and she is now pregnant with his child. Do I still need to pay her support? We have a seperation agreement but never went to court.

[Exquizique]

HI

I have ben paying my ex-wife alimony for the last 5 years. Shortly after we seperated she stopped working. She has not worked since. She and her boyfriend bought a house 5 years ago and she is now pregnant with his child. Do I still need to pay her support? We have a seperation agreement but never went to court.

What does your separation agreement say about the alimony/spousal support?

[Happy1973]

All it says is that is lowers after she starts living with someone for more than 6 months...

[Exquizique]

All it says is that is lowers after she starts living with someone for more than 6 months...

That is very vague -- did you two enlist the services of lawyers when you drafted up the separation agreement? Was the agreement ever filed with court?

Can you post the exact wording of the clause(s) concerning alimony/spousal support?

[winterwolf7]

How long was the original marriage to her?

If you've paid median amount of spousal support for 5 years for a short-midlength marriage and she is re-partnered and "taken care of" you may have fulfilled the compensatory obligations and her non-compensatory need would be moderately low.

Odds are the support should be reviewed, reduced or stopped, depending on the situation.

[Happy1973]

We were married 14 yrs....

[winterwolf7]

If she worked throughout the marriage I'm at a loss why it was considered necessary to pay her spousal support to begin with, unless it was a small, token amount or she was not capable of making enough to live on.

If it was a 14 year marriage and she is capable of working, and especially is repartnered, you should expect to pay at least 7 years of spousal support. Because she is remarried and the support appears non-compensatory since she worked throughout the marriage, it could be argued to be reduced for the remaining 2 years. If this is something you want to pursue, you could approach your former spousal to mediate the issue in the context of family law. You'll want to secure a firm end-date or end-condition for what happens after 7 years, and a plan to take until then.

For example, agree to not seek a reduction now, but it will terminate after 7 years. Or seek a reduction now but extend the term a little more.

[rhondagirl]

It should be reviewed. Sharing expenses with a partner is a definite change in scenario from when your original SS was calculated. I think it would be worth the legal fees to pursue.