If you are currently receiving alimony and are thinking about getting remarried, you’ll want to take a close look at your divorce settlement and spousal maintenance decree. Unless you and your former partner explicitly agreed in your divorce settlement or spousal maintenance decree that remarriage wouldn’t affect your former partner’s obligation to continue to pay alimony, remarriage typically ends your former partner’s alimony obligation.
Washington law is clear about the circumstances when alimony can be terminated. Remarriage of a person receiving alimony is one such circumstance. Under Washington law (RCW 26.09.170), “Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon… the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance or registration of a new domestic partnership of the party receiving maintenance.” What this means, is that if you receive alimony from your former partner, alimony payments will end if you get remarried, unless you and your former partner agreed to other provisions in your divorce settlement or decree of spousal maintenance.
It is important to note that if you receive child support, getting remarried won’t affect your former partner’s obligation to pay child support. Child support typically ends when a child turns 18 or graduates high school, is legally emancipated, or in the rare case when the spouse obligated to pay child support terminates parental rights through the courts.
In this article, we’ll delve into the situations that can lead to the termination of alimony payments, the kinds of situations that can lead to modification of alimony payments, and finally, explore some things you might want to consider when negotiating your divorce settlement to protect your alimony.
- What is Alimony?
- Under What Circumstances Can Alimony End?
- Can Alimony End If I Move in With My Boyfriend or Girlfriend?
- Under What Circumstances Will the Courts Modify or Reduce Alimony Payments?
- Protecting Alimony When Negotiating Your Divorce Settlement
What is Alimony?
Alimony (also often called spousal maintenance, or spousal support), are payments one spouse makes to the other after a divorce. When there is a significant difference in income or net worth between one partner and the other, the courts will sometimes award alimony to the lower earning, or non-income earning spouse. When one partner sacrificed their career, time, or money to support the other partner’s career, education, business, or to raise children, the courts will sometimes award alimony to the spouse who made sacrifices in their own earning potential to support the family or partnership. Income disparity alone isn’t the only factor considered when the courts make an alimony award. Length of the marriage can also be a factor. More significant alimony obligations, or even lifelong alimony may be possible in gray divorces where couples were married for a significant period (more than 20 or 25 years).
Alimony payments are typically paid month to month, for a specific period after a divorce. Most alimony awards are not permanent, meaning that there is a clear date by which the alimony obligation is set to end. Sometimes divorcing couples might agree to pay or receive alimony as a lump sum settlement, rather than in month-to-month installments for a set duration. While permanent alimony isn’t common, it may be more likely if you are getting divorced at an older age or if you were married for quite some time.
Some alimony agreements may only cover a former spouse’s education and expenses until they find stable work or complete their education. Other types of alimony may be awarded to reimburse a former spouse for giving up their career to stay home and raise the children, or to reimburse a former spouse for support provided while their partner was in school or working to build their business.
Washington state law sets some general guidelines about how alimony is determined, but these guidelines tend to be quite vague. Under Washington state law (RCW 26.09.090) the “maintenance order shall be in such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just” or fair. Yet, what is “just” or “fair” might differ from judge to judge.
In 1982, Robert W. Winsor, who served for nine years on the King County Superior Court Bench, wrote an article in the Washington State Bar News that is often cited when lawyers discuss how length of marriage can impact alimony awards. Winsor noted that “Under the law in Washington the trial judge has a wider discretion in making decisions in dissolutions of marriage than in any other area of his or her work.” To offer some general guidelines, Winsor divided marriages into three categories:
- The short marriage: a marriage lasting five years or less
- The mid-range marriage: a marriage between 5 and 25 years
- The long marriage: a marriage lasting longer than 25 years
For a short marriage, Winsor recommended that the judge look back to the financial position of both parties before the marriage, restore both parties to that position, and divide any additional assets. Yet, alimony may be considered in short marriages where one partner relocated to support the other party’s career, where one partner supported the other partner’s education or business, or where one partner left the workforce to support the children. We can see how alimony might be a consideration in a short military divorce where the civilian spouse had to make significant sacrifices in their career when they relocated to live with their military spouse. Many states don’t have reciprocity agreements when it comes to professional licensure, so it’s easy to see how even in a short military marriage, alimony might be warranted.
For a long marriage, Winsor recommended that the judge look forward, and award alimony in such a way as to ensure equal financial positions for both parties for the remainder of their lives. In the case of a long-term marriage, Winsor noted that long-term or permanent maintenance might be appropriate, unless properties could be divided in such a way as to make up for spousal maintenance.
Winsor doesn’t go into much detail about mid-range marriages, which is why couples in mid-range marriages (which constitute the length of many marriages), might find themselves unsure about how they should handle alimony in their divorce settlement.
Again, it’s important to note that Winsor’s article isn’t codified under state law. It only offers guidelines and a guide for how a judge might approach an alimony case should it be taken to court. Ultimately, each alimony award is made on a case-by-case basis.
The law does codify some factors that the court may consider when determining alimony payments. These are:
- The court will look closely at the income and assets of the person seeking alimony, including community property, assets, and cash the person seeking alimony will receive during the divorce settlement.
- The court will also look closely at how a child support award already required as part of the divorce settlement will impact the income and resources of the spouse seeking alimony and the spouse who will be paying support.
- The court will evaluate the kind of educational training the person seeking alimony might need to maintain his or her lifestyle and standard of living and will consider how long this training might last and how much it may cost.
- The court will evaluate the standard of living the couple had during the marriage and look at how divorce might affect the lower-earning, or non-income earning partner’s standard of living.
- The court will also look at the age of the person seeking alimony, as well as their health, mental health, and financial obligations.
- Finally, the court will evaluate whether the spouse paying alimony is able to meet his or her own needs and financial obligations while also paying alimony.
The key takeaway is this: alimony awards aren’t always clear-cut, and determining how much alimony should be paid and for how long can take up a significant amount of a divorcing couple’s energy, time, and money. When couples are in the process of drafting their divorce settlement and alimony decrees, they should also consider carefully the situations where alimony can be terminated or modified, because these situations could impact alimony in significant ways. When couples are aware of these circumstances, they can take steps to write their alimony decree in such a way as to protect the partner receiving alimony.
At least when it comes to alimony, your plans can have an impact on your divorce settlement.
Under What Circumstances Can Alimony End?
There are only a few circumstances where the courts will terminate alimony payments before payments are due to expire.
One of those circumstances is the remarriage of the partner receiving alimony.
The other is that alimony can be terminated if either party passes away.
Because getting remarried can lead to the termination of alimony, it’s important to consider this when making post-divorce life plans, and when negotiating your divorce settlement.
If you are in the process of negotiating your divorce settlement, or alimony decree, you’ll also want to think about whether remarriage is something you want soon, or something you might want during the term alimony will be paid. If that’s the case, you might want to consider alternatives, like lump sum payments, or consider whether you might be able to divide property, retirement accounts, or other assets in such a way as to eliminate the need for alimony.
Can Alimony End If I Move in With My Boyfriend or Girlfriend?
Unless your divorce settlement explicitly states that alimony payments will end if your former partner moves in with a new partner, cohabitation alone wouldn’t be a reason to terminate alimony payments. Yet, if you can prove that your former spouse’s cohabitation has significantly changed his or her financial circumstances, you may be able to petition the court to end or reduce alimony payments. If you think that cohabitating with a new partner might significantly change your financial situation, you might want to speak to an attorney before you make your move.
Under What Circumstances Will the Courts Modify or Reduce Alimony Payments?
Washington law (RCW 26.09.165) notes that alimony may be modified “only upon showing a significant change in circumstances” of either party. The law notes that modifications cannot be retroactive to alimony payments already made. This means that even if you can prove a “significant change in circumstances” modifications or terminations will only affect payments going forward and won’t retroactively affect payments you already made or payments already made to you.
The law doesn’t specify what constitutes a “significant change in circumstances.” Ultimately, it is up to a judge to decide what constitutes a “significant change.”
Small increases in income of the spouse receiving alimony or a small decrease in income of the spouse paying alimony won’t likely affect the alimony award. But if you are under an alimony decree, and involuntarily lost your job, involuntarily saw a reduction in your income or salary, or have become disabled and unable to work, and as a result are experiencing financial hardship due to your alimony payments, you may be able to petition the court for a modification. The court will likely look closely at how long you have been looking for another job, and what your long-term earning capacity might be. If you quit your job, or if the court deems that you are “voluntarily” out of work, then you might struggle to get the court to approve a modified alimony decree.
If your former partner who is receiving alimony suddenly experiences a significant increase in income, or if his or her life circumstances change significantly (her new business takes off, she gets a significant promotion, she wins the lottery, moves into her new boyfriend’s mansion), then you might be able to petition the court for a modification or termination of alimony payments. Again, the burden is on you to prove a “significant change in circumstances.” For example, if your former partner moves in with his or her wealthy boyfriend or girlfriend, you might want to end alimony, but proving that your partner is truly cohabitating or benefitting financially can sometimes be difficult because cohabitation doesn’t link two people together financially in the same way that marriage does.
Alimony terminates automatically upon your former partner’s remarriage (unless your divorce settlement states otherwise). In other situations where you want to try to terminate or modify alimony, you may want to speak to a family lawyer in the state of Washington. Typically this would occur if the person paying alimony had a significant life change that negatively impacted their income. For example, leaving the work force due to serious illness or injury.
Protecting Alimony When Negotiating Your Divorce Settlement
If alimony is a significant part of your divorce settlement, you may want to take steps to protect it.
For example, if you are being awarded alimony for rehabilitative or compensatory purposes, then you might want to include a clause in your divorce settlement that states that remarriage won’t affect your alimony award. A lump sum alimony payment, or a divorce settlement that compensates you for your contribution through a division of property in your favor is another way to address this issue. If you lost out on job opportunities because you relocated to live with your military spouse or spent years of your marriage supporting your partner as they built their business or pursued higher education, then remarriage shouldn’t necessarily impact your right to be compensated for the sacrifices you made during your marriage.
Couples who are divorcing at an older age, for whom alimony might be a significant (or long-term) aspect of their divorce settlement, should also get serious about their post-divorce plans and consider whether a clause protecting alimony in the event of a partner’s remarriage is appropriate or necessary. Even if you don’t see remarriage on your horizon, life is long, and things can change. Do you want to risk losing your alimony because you fell in love?
Couples who are divorcing due to infidelity where one party may want to remarry shortly after the divorce is finalized will need to consider how remarriage might impact an alimony award. Washington is a no-fault divorce state, meaning the court does not consider the reason for the divorce and settlements aren’t designed to punish an unfaithful spouse. Yet, if couples aren’t careful when crafting their divorce settlement, the divorce settlement could penalize an unfaithful partner who remarries shortly after divorce, if he or she doesn’t consider the fact that alimony ends with remarriage.
If you are getting divorced at a younger age, remarriage is something you’ll want to factor in when crafting your divorce settlement as well. If you are getting divorced without kids, but still dream about having children and getting remarried, you’ll need to think about how remarriage would impact an alimony award, especially if your biological clock is ticking.
The collaborative divorce lawyers in the state of Washington at Truce Law help couples navigate some of the more difficult aspects of divorce. Because of the vague wording of the law, alimony is an issue that can lead to disagreements and conflict. If you are looking for a more peaceful and fair way forward, you may want to speak to the collaborative family law attorneys in Washington state at Truce Law today. Our lawyers work with couples to help them negotiate divorce settlements outside of court.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is unique. For guidance specific to your circumstances, consult a licensed family law attorney in your area.