Divorce questions
Generally speaking, without knowing the settlement details. What would be the reason for someone who is receiving alimony, to get re-married and not tell anyone? My initial thoughts are that it would be to take advantage of the person writing the checks and continue to receive payments.
So, are there any serious legal issues with this or just the moral ones?
Originally Posted By Bitter:
Generally speaking, without knowing the settlement details. What would be the reason for someone who is receiving alimony, to get re-married and not tell anyone? My initial thoughts are that it would be to take advantage of the person writing the checks and continue to receive payments.
So, are there any serious legal issues with this or just the moral ones?
Likely violates the terms of the divorce order.
You should be able to go back to court and get the money returned.
Be careful though, living together is not necessarily married.
If you suspect it, a search of a few counties probate courts should confirm or deny that fact prety quickly.
I guess if she ran off to vegas to get married, finding that info would be a bit tougher.
And it wouldn't suprise me if somebody who was getting alimony chose not to get remarried until the payments stopped, even if they did live with someone else.
Someone who got remarried, concealed that fact, and continued to receive alimony payments that would otherwise be terminated may be committing civil fraud
and at the least is going to be forced to return the alimony paid.
And in some circumstances, I would not be shy about asking the court to cite her for contempt of court.
I am a divorce lawyer practicing in Florida. The short answer why someone who is receiving alimony might not want to advertise the fact that they have remarried would be because in many states, Florida included, alimony in almost every form, terminates upon death or remarriage of the recipient spouse. So, if the payor found out abt it, he/she could petition the court to terminate the alimony award. Feel free to PM me with any other questions. Cheers.
Originally Posted By Bitter:
Generally speaking, without knowing the settlement details. What would be the reason for someone who is receiving alimony, to get re-married and not tell anyone? My initial thoughts are that it would be to take advantage of the person writing the checks and continue to receive payments.
So, are there any serious legal issues with this or just the moral ones?
Since remarriage is a terminating event in pretty much every state, I'd guess that the reason would be to continue to receive alimony.
There are definite legal issues. In some states the payee can be required to repay all monies paid after the remarriage, and the payor may want to apply to a court for an order officially relieving him of any further obligation to pay.
