What Happens If I Stop Paying Alimony?
Divorce mediation spouses agree to make alimony payments. If you signed your agreement by January 1, 2019, you can deduct those payments from your income. But this changes as described in the 2018 Tax Act.
What if you’ve been paying alimony and stopped? The answer depends upon the facts. You need critical information. What are the specific terms of your divorce judgment? Does it allow alimony to be terminated based upon specific reasons? For example, remarriage is a common reason. If you confirm your spouse’s remarriage, you can terminate your payments without consequence.
You Need a Good Reason
Second, what is the reason for stopping alimony? If your spouse objects, they can file a motion for contempt of court. Contempt is an intentional failure to follow the court’s order. The divorce judge can find that you are in contempt. You get a time-time frame that you must restart alimony within. Restarting will get rid of the contempt. However, if in contempt and you do not restart, the court could order fines or even jail. On the other hand, if you had a serious illness or accident, you would probably not be found in contempt as the failure to pay wouldn’t be intentional.
The most difficult questions are somewhere in between. The reasons you stopped paying are critical. No matter the jurisdiction, the court must see the change as reasonable. This is different from having “good faith” or good intentions. For example, a corporate executive was paying alimony to her spouse. Then she decided to quit working in the peace corps. Would the court accept that decision? Probably not. The court might not see it as “reasonable” in light of the specific obligation in the judgment.
Divorce Mediation
In conclusion, divorce mediation produces agreements that are more detailed than litigated judgments. In divorce mediation with a mediator, you will work through the reasons for terminating or changing alimony. This includes remarriage, illness, injury, retirement at a specific age, or an increase in the receiving spouses’ income. Doing it on your own but without covering specific changes leaves you with a vague judgment. Therefore, this won’t adequately provide guidance for the future.
Lisa Derr
Lisa Derr is an experienced Divorce and Family Mediator with three offices in east central Wisconsin. She started the family mediation practice in 1995. Lisa earned her BA in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 in four years despite a serious car accident that involved a 2-month hospital stay. She began practicing law in 1987. For the first 8 years of her career, Lisa litigated personal injury and divorce cases. But she was frustrated with the tremendous financial and emotional cost of divorce trials. Contested hearings inhibited reconciliation and healing for thewhole family. She started the Beaver Dam divorce mediation practice in 1995 and with her partner, Cassel Villarreal, expanded to Oshkosh and West Bend ten years later.