3 Strategies To Reduce Your Spousal Support Pyaments
Are you divorced or facing divorce? Do you have to pay your former spouse alimony? If so, you may feel that the payment amount is excessive, or it may be unaffordable. The good news is you have options to reduce your alimony payment. It's not easy to adjust an alimony payment, but it is possible. It's nearly always best to start with a conversation directly with your former spouse. If the two of you can agree on a new payment amount, the process will go much quicker. However, you can still take the issue to court if that's impossible. Below are a few strategies to consider.
Show that you make less money. One of the most effective ways to reduce alimony is to show that you make less money than when the alimony was initially set. Maybe you lost your job and are temporarily unemployed. In this case, the court could suspend your alimony until you find a new job. Or perhaps you found a new job but at a significant pay cut. Again, in this case, you could demonstrate your new lower income as justification for a reduced payment amount. Most states have formulas based on income to calculate alimony. If you're making less money, you have a good chance of having your payment adjusted.
Show that your spouse has more money. The other option is to show that your former spouse no longer needs support. Perhaps they have gotten a better job and now make more money. Maybe they received a large inheritance or another financial windfall. It can be difficult to show that your spouse is making more money, especially if they're not cooperative. You may need to show that they have money indirectly. For example, you could use their social media posts to show them going on vacations or driving an expensive car. Anything you can use to demonstrate that they are not financially struggling will help your case.
Show that your former spouse is cohabitating with another person. In most states, alimony is paid for a set period of time or until the other person moves in with a new partner. For this reason, many alimony recipients will resist moving in with a partner, or they will try to hide the fact that they are cohabitating. If you believe your spouse is cohabitating with a new partner, you could use this as a reason for an alimony reduction. You will need to prove it, possibly with photos of the other person's car being at your former spouse's house several days in a row. This can be a difficult strategy to prove, but it can be effective.
For more info, contact a local company like Gomez May LLP.
