Although not automatic, alimony can often be part of divorce proceedings in Gulfport. This is especially true if you were the primary income earner in your marital home and your ex-spouse bypassed a career to oversee your family’s domestic responsibilities. Like many of those that we here at the Atchison Law Firm have worked with in the past, you may have no issue providing your ex-spouse wit financial support while they become acclimated to post-divorce life.
Where problems may arise is if your ex-spouse deliberately chooses to remain in a position where you remain obligated to pay alimony (such as entering into a new relationship yet choosing not to re-marry). In such a scenario, are there methods for which you can prove that alimony is no longer required?
Highlighting cohabitation
Your ex-spouse may think that by choosing to cohabitate with their new partner, they can keep you obligated to pay them alimony. However, state Supreme Court rulings shared by the State of Mississippi Judiciary show that if you prove to that court that this is happening, the presumption is that your ex-spouse has experienced a material change in circumstances, and the burden of proof then shifts to them to explain why they still need spousal support.
Seeing through a de-facto marriage
What if your ex-spouse is in a supportive relationship yet is not cohabitating with their new partner? Again, state courts have set a standard in defining a de-facto marriage for the purpose of ending an alimony obligation. The first to be met is proof that your ex-spouse is choosing not to re-marry simply to keep receiving alimony. The second is if they and their new partner have fashioned their relationship to provide the opinion that they had entered into a de-facto marriage.
More information on alimony regulations and requirements can be found throughout our site.
