Spousal support is given after divorce to maintain the dependent spouse’s standard of living. Changes in factors like settlement, cost of living, or cohabitation can affect support. Changes require court approval, and evidence of significant financial changes is needed for independent motions.
Spousal support is generally provided after a divorce in order to enable the dependent spouse to maintain the standard of living they enjoyed before the divorce. The legal rationale behind such support is that the dependent spouse likely sacrificed some of his or her earning capacity to perform domestic duties. A number of factors go into the calculation of spousal support, and significant changes in those factors can result in a change in spousal support. Some common causes for a change in spousal support are an independent settlement by the ex-spouses, an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or a decrease or termination of spousal support when the dependent ex-spouse moves in with a significant other.
Some post-divorce relationships are more civil than others, and sometimes ex-spouses are cordial enough to come to an independent agreement to change spousal support. While it’s a good sign that ex-spouses are able to work together on such an agreement, it’s important that the parties submit the full agreement to the court, as such changes typically require court approval. Otherwise, in the event that the independent spouse decides to go back to the pre-amendment terms, the dependent spouse will likely have a difficult time enforcing the later agreement.
Some divorce decrees contain automatic escalators for terms such as cost of living or an independent spouse’s income increase. A statement that automatically increases payments based on those factors within the original spouse support clause is typically included for convenience. It ensures that ex-spouses will not have to file a spousal support change every time the independent spouse gets a raise.
Another automatic change is the cessation or decrease of payments if the dependent spouse lives with a significant other. This type of clause is a matter of equity towards the independent spouse. If your dependent spouse moves in with a significant other, he or she is assumed to receive support from that person. Therefore, there should be a change in spousal support that reduces spousal support payments.
Evidence of a “material change in circumstances” must be shown if either party wants to independently file a motion to reduce or increase payments. The applicant spouse will need to demonstrate that there has been a significant change in both parties’ financial circumstances that requires a change in the interest of equity. Common examples of this are significant increases or decreases in pay and sick pay that result in a heavy financial burden.
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