Alimony is also known as spousal support, which is a mandatory payment received by the dependent spouse from the supporting spouse when their marriage ends. When a couple splits up, it is common for them to move on from each other’s lives and get back to normal being as if they were no longer married.
Sometimes people may also engage in another relationship during this period. However, you should remember that cohabitation can automatically terminate your rights to receive alimony payments. Therefore, you should speak to a Wisconsin alimony lawyer to determine the steps to non-termination of the alimony payments.
When does alimony payment stop?
Alimony can be terminated in three instances: remarriage of dependant spouse, death, or cohabitation. If any of the spouses dies, the case will be clear and cut, i.e., alimony will simply stop. The payment will also get terminated if the person receiving alimony gets remarried.
In cohabitation, the proving process becomes complex. It might be hard to prove cohabitation, but there can be several signs of a person living with someone else. For example, if the person buys a car together, shares the utility bills, or other significant signs, there can be a clear sign that the person is cohabitating. Another cause can be if the person has their own residence and their new partner too has their own home, the person can still be accused of cohabitation. Suppose the supporting spouse finds out that their separated spouse is spending nights with another person, has personal property in their residence, or has a key to the other person’s property. In that case, the receiving spouse can face an adverse outcome in court.
However, different alimony has different ways of termination mentioned below.
- Rehabilitation alimony
Rehabilitation alimony ends when the spouse receiving alimony gets employed at their full potential. For example, the court approves sending alimony by the supporting spouse to the dependent spouse to complete their education, and when they get a job, the alimony terminates.
- Reimbursement alimony
In reimbursement alimony, the alimony is paid to the person who once paid to help the other spouse. For example, if a Doctor marries a nursing student who is still studying and supports both. If they get divorced after graduating from nursing school, the dependant spouse will pay the alimony to the spouse who helps the person in nurse schooling. Therefore, the supporting spouse will be entitled to receive alimony until the cost is reimbursed.
