All You Need To Know About Court's Reluctance to Change Agreements

Any permanent There are many circumstances that allow a person to take advantage of alimony modification. The most common one is when the alimony recipient remarries. A judge will almost always be willing to modify alimony in that case. Usually, the paying individual will not have to pay alimony at all anymore. A court will not stop ordering alimony payments just because of a petition for alimony modification. However, if the petitioner wins the right to the alimony modification, any payment increases or decreases will be given to the petitioner, with the court using the filing date as a starting point. Alimony modification can or harm either spouse, depending on the circumstances.

The court tries to be fair when making an alimony arrangement. It may take the court a long time to determine a fair alimony arrangement. Determining a fair alimony modification can be even more difficult, especially if the circumstances are complicated. The spouse paying alimony may request an alimony modification if they lose their job, take a lower paying one or retire. The court is reluctant to modify alimony here because the needs of the receiving spouse are still the same. The receiving spouse is likely to suffer due to the alimony modification, yet the judge may still decide to grant it due to the circumstances.

The court is also reluctant to modify alimony if the dependent spouse requests an increase due to special circumstances or the rising cost of living. The court tries to be fair to both spouses and it is understood that the paying spouse may suffer as a result of the increase. However, if the recipient of the alimony is able to prove that they have a good reason for wanting to modify alimony payments, the court may decide to rule in their favor, even though they have no actual legal obligation to.

Courts are reluctant to modify alimony payments because of the negative effects it may have on either spouse. However, the court may still choose to order alimony modification, if the circumstances call for it.