Being ordered to pay spousal support or maintenance to your former spouse can be stressful. It can be emotionally draining, and the financial ramifications can be severe. But there may be end in sight, especially if you can show that your ex-spouse is now cohabitating with someone else. After all, a maintenance award is meant to provide financial assistance to your former spouse when he or she is unable to adequately support himself or herself. But cohabitation may provide your spouse with that needed support. If you can show the court that your ex is cohabitating with a new partner, your spousal support order may be cancelled.
How do you prove cohabitation?
Cohabitation isn’t always easy to prove, but there are steps that you can take to try to build your argument. Here are some of them:
- Scan social media to see if your former spouse has a new love interest and if he or she has posted anything that would be indicative of him or her living with someone else.
- Consider where your former spouse is going after work and where he or she is leaving form in the morning.
- Try to figure out whose name is on the lease where your former spouse is living and who is paying for other bills, such as utilizes and internet and cable.
- Obtain financial records from your spouse and any other parties to gain a clear sense of where money is coming from and where it’s going.
Know how to fight for an outcome that is fair for you
You shouldn’t have to pay maintenance when it isn’t warranted. That’s why you need to be prepared to make the legal arguments that support your position. Gathering the evidence that’s necessary to support those arguments isn’t always easy, and if done poorly it can even be abusive. An attorney who is well-versed in this area of the law may be able to assist you so that you can achieve the fair and favorable outcome that you deserve.