Gathering evidence to terminate alimony payments

Wisconsin residents, particularly those who have been through a divorce, may be interested in an article detailing ways to gather evidence in order to terminate alimony payments. When an ex-spouse is in a new relationship, he or she may no longer require these payments, but it takes adequate proof and a court hearing to make a termination happen.

For many divorced spouses, paying alimony is an ongoing commitment that is financially and emotionally stifling as they try to move on from the end of their marriage. When an ex-spouse begins a relationship with another partner, often that ex will attempt to hide this fact. This is because cohabitation with a new partner could lead to termination of the spousal support payments. In order to prove that the ex no longer needs that alimony payments, it must be shown that he or she cohabitating and that both new partners are financially and socially “interdependent.”

This can be evidenced by the sharing of bills, babysitting of each other’s children and other ways that can be proven by a private investigator. However, evidence of continued cohabitation can be expensive to gather. Cellphone location data can show a person’s movements to and from the place of cohabitation. This technique, used by investigators, allows the gathering of the cohabitation evidence with much less cost to the spouse than hiring an investigator to document these movements over a period of months.

This evidence can then be used to file for an alimony termination in civil court. A divorce attorney may be helpful in ensuring that the proper proof is gathered and the filing is done correctly. This might facilitate a prompt and speedy resolution to a spousal support issue.

Source: The Huffington Post , “Using a Cell Phone to Show That Your Former Spouse Is Cohabiting“, Diane Danois , January 24, 2014