How to Prevent Spousal Maintenance? – Guest Post

Yes! You read right, and you can save yourself from paying any alimony to your partner. Let’s learn more.

As we know that alimony is a privilege given to a spouse after divorce or separation. If your marriage circumstances and divorce fall are at some common point, you may not be able to avoid paying alimony to your ex-spouse. There is a time when you do not want to pay spousal maintenance to your partner; the reasons can vary from person to person. You need to find ways to get out of this liability if you think things are unfair to you.

However, some things can help you avoid paying alimony.

What does spousal maintenance mean, and how to calculate alimony?

The alimony award is usually calculated based on two key factors: the applicant’s income and the paying spouse’s income. Therefore, you can avoid the maintenance charge if you earn less or about the same amount as your spouse. And there is no predetermined divorce rate for them, and the alimony or deductible payments vary from state to state.

While no one is entitled to automatic marriage maintenance, there is a common law for all married couples to support each other during and after any marriage or civil partnership.

Note: If the recipient has a long-term partner and lives together but does not remarry, the payments should continue.

In case you got married for a short period

If your marriage has taken place for 20 years and you have been the family’s breadwinner, you will probably pay maintenance to your spouse, but if you are married for only a short time, there is little chance that the judge will want to you to help your ex.

If you are married for only a short time, the judges will likely try to restore the couple’s financial status before the wedding. A few states offer short-term maintenance to help the recipient have time to gain employment skills or education to support themselves when the other spouse’s income is too high. There is a different concept for everyone what is spousal maintenance to them.

Job evaluation application

You may be able to get out of paying alimony or reduce the amount you pay if you prove to the court that your spouse does not need it. If, for example, the applicant’s spouse has a degree in which they can get a better paying job but deliberately chooses to work part-time in a lower-paying job, ask the court to conduct a job evaluation.

Request a change of maintenance payment termination

In the case of a divorce decree and the payment of alimony, the declaration of permanent payment does not mean that it will not get terminated. It simply means that there is no specific lo date for the end of the maintenance payment.

If your ex-spouse remarries or starts living with another partner in other states, you may be able to get the court to cancel the alimony and child support payments.

Also, you may be able to get an alimony lawyer to reduce the amount you pay for alimony if your income goes down.

Pre-planning with a prenuptial agreement

Suppose you are in the process of getting married and wonder how you can avoid paying alimony in the event of a marriage ending in divorce. You can skip alimony payments by getting a prenuptial agreement.

People often ask for a premarital agreement when they earn or have more money than their spouses because the standard of living and the amount each spouse earns determines whether the spouse receives alimony or not.

Stop any unhappy marital relationship early

The amount of alimony also depends on how long you have been married. Temporary marriages are usually not provided with alimony. If you are unhappy in your marriage and the decision is not coming soon, when you are separated early and seek a divorce, it is best to engage an alimony lawyer who can fight for your rights.

Pay property taxes

If you find a situation where you have to pay taxes at the time of the divorce, it may determine the amount you will have to pay in support of your spouse. Therefore, you may want to claim any property that your spouse is willing to forfeit if it means that you will end up paying fewer taxes than the full alimony payment.

Conclusion

Usually speaking, the paying spouse will need to get permission from the court before they allow stopping paying alimony. They can start this process by filling out a court form known as the petition for termination of spousal support to the local family law court.

To convince the judge to reduce (or eliminate) spousal maintenance, the paying spouse must indicate a significant change in the financial circumstances of one or both spouses, such as job loss or random reduction, an illness or disability that prevents a paying spouse from working.