Are you currently receiving spousal maintenance and considering the possibility of remarriage? If so, you may be wondering if you will lose spousal maintenance if you get remarried. In short, you may lose your spousal maintenance payments if you get remarried, but the way in which this will happen will depend on your case. In some circumstances, a spousal maintenance order stipulates that payments will cease on the date of the receiving spouse’s remarriage. In other circumstances, the party who pays spousal maintenance may go to court to request a modification and may ask the court to terminate spousal maintenance payments due to your remarriage. Our Michigan divorce lawyers can say more about how this works and what you should expect.
Alimony or Spousal Maintenance Can Be Terminated on the Date of Your Remarriage
Under Michigan law, a spousal maintenance award — also known as alimony — can terminate on the date of your remarriage. As the law explains: “An award of alimony may be terminated by the court as of the date the party receiving alimony remarries unless a contrary agreement is specifically stated in the judgment of divorce. Termination of an award under this subsection shall not affect alimony payments which have accrued prior to that termination.”
To be clear, as of the date of your remarriage, the court can terminate spousal maintenance payments. As the statute clarifies, any payments made up to that date will not be impacted.
Modifying Spousal Maintenance Due to a Change in Financial Circumstances
Your spousal maintenance or alimony award may specify that your payments will terminate on the date of your remarriage. Or, in some cases, your spousal maintenance award might not include this specific language, but the law allows your ex-spouse (the party making alimony payments) to go to court to seek a modification on the basis that your financial circumstances have changed due to your remarriage, thereby necessitating a modification of the alimony order. To be clear, unless your alimony award is non-modifiable, your ex can seek a modification due to a change in circumstances. Yet the statute also suggests that remarriage might not impact your alimony award.
Agreement That Remarriage Will Not Change Alimony
In some cases, your divorce decree will say that your alimony award is non-modifiable or that payments specifically will not terminate in the event of remarriage. If you have this kind of language in your divorce order, then you will not lose your spousal maintenance as a result of remarriage. Before you make any assumptions, you should have a divorce attorney review your case.
Contact a Michigan Divorce Lawyer
If you are currently receiving spousal maintenance and you are considering remarriage, it is important to know that you could lose your support payments if you do get remarried. As we have discussed above, the specific details of your case will determine whether you will immediately lose your spousal maintenance or whether you should expect your spouse to seek a modification of the existing maintenance order. Our Michigan divorce attorneys can provide you with more information, and we can answer any questions you have about spousal maintenance, remarriage, and modifications. Contact the Law Offices of Michael A. Robbins for more information.