Alimony, or spousal support, is a confusing and often controversial topic for residents of Michigan and elsewhere. If you are the one who receives alimony, you may wonder if you can have the amount increased. Along the same lines, if you are the paying ex, you may wish to have the amount you pay reduced or eliminated.
The answers to these questions depend on your personal circumstances, as well as current laws, as LiveAbout explains. When it comes to spousal support modification, the following circumstances will generally apply:
- You have a significant change in your financial circumstances, such as losing your job, becoming permanently disabled or having an increase in your income.
- Your prenuptial agreement or divorce agreement includes a clause to periodically adjust alimony for cost of living increases.
- You have remarried or are cohabitating romantically with another partner.
- Your alimony order includes an automatic share for an increase in the payor’s earnings (an escalator clause).
- There is a change in state law that affects alimony payments.
Many people, especially those who are ordered to pay alimony, consider spousal support to be outdated and unnecessary. You may disagree if you are the one who receives spousal support, especially if you did not earn as much as your spouse during the marriage or stayed home to take care of the children and household. Spousal support continues to remain a complex topic with rules that can change as laws evolve. As such, the information in this post is not meant to serve as legal advice.