Articles Posted in Divorce

In Maryland alimony terminates, unless the parties agree otherwise, upon any of the following four events: (1) death of either party (2) the date specified by the court (rehabilitative alimony) (3) upon remarriage spose receiving alimony or (4) if the Court finds termination is necessary in order to avoid an inequitable result. Maryland Code, Family Law § 11-108.

Many clients ask if cohabitating with a new partner is the same as re-marriage for the purposes of termination of alimony. The answer is no, unless the parties agree otherwise (via a separation agreement). However, this does not mean that the paying ex-spouse can not seek a modification based upon the marriage type relationship. According to the Maryland Court of Appeals case Gordon v. Gordon, 342 Md. 294 (1996), the Court should consider the following factors when determining if a relationship amounts to cohabitation for purposes of terminating alimony according to separation agreement between the parties: establishment of common residence, long term romantic involvement, shared assets or bank accounts, joint contribution to household finances, and/or recognition of the relationship by the community. The Court in Gordon specifically states that the following provision included in a separation agreement properly defines cohabitation:

For the purposes of this agreement the term “remarriage of the Wife” shall be defined as either a ceremonial civil or religious marriage or a situation whereby the wife habitually and continuously resides with another man without benefit of a marriage ceremony for a period of 120 days consecutively or 120 days cumulatively within a sixteen-month period.
The parties may also agree, via separation agreement, that alimony may not be modified at any time. Otherwise, upon petition by the paying party, and a change in circumstance the Court may modify alimony at any time. Maryland Code, Family Law § 11-107.
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Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a payment or a series of payments made from a former spouse to the other that serves as a continuation of the economic responsibilities made during the marriage. There are three types of alimony awarded in Maryland. The first is pendente lite alimony (PL alimony) which is awarded to a spouse during the limited period while the case is pending. The purpose of PL alimony is to keep the status quo of the parties while the divorce action is pending, so that one party does not have an unfair economic advantage over the other. The second type of alimony is rehabilitative alimony. This is alimony that is awarded by the Court only for a set period of time. This period of time is for the purpose of allowing the receiving former spouse to rehabilitate themselves from economic dependence to economic independence through education or training. The third type of alimony is indefinite alimony which the Court only awards in 2 situations. First, when due to age, illness, infirmity or disability the former spouse seeking alimony cannot reasonably be expected to make progress towards becoming self-supporting. Second, when even after the former spouse seeking alimony will have made progress towards becoming self-supporting, the parties’ respective living standards would be unconscionably disproportionate.

In light of the Jon and Kate’s recent news and Kate Gosselin’s filing for a no-fault divorce, I have received many questions asking what is a “no-fault” divorce? Although the Gosselin’s divorce proceedings will be held in Pennsylvania, the law in Pennsylvania is similar to Maryland, in that a party filing for divorce may elect to proceed on fault (contested) or no-fault (uncontested) based grounds.