You’ve already been married once and have been through the divorce process. Who could blame you if you didn’t want to go through it again? But sometimes love finds a way, and now you’re about to remarry. What does remarriage mean for your divorce agreement?
Divorce doesn’t always mean that your ex-spouse is cut completely from your life, especially if you have kids. Even if you don’t have kids, things like alimony and co-owning high-value assets mean you have to have some contact with each other. These details are usually in your divorce agreement. Remarriage can affect or change the clauses and rules of your divorce. For example, if you or your ex-spouse get re-married, alimony may cease.
If you’re unsure about how remarriage will affect your divorce agreement, contact family law attorney Craig Kalinoski for help.
What Parts of a Divorce Agreement Are Affected by Remarriage?
There are several facets of your divorce agreement that can be affected by you or your ex-spouse getting remarried. Remarriage is considered a change in circumstance by the court and affects things having to do with child custody and alimony.
Child Support
While remarriage doesn’t typically affect a child support order, if the second marriage includes a new child, it can.
When one parent has an additional child they must provide for outside of the original relationship, either parent can petition to have their child support amounts changed. This change in child support will take into account changes in both parents’ incomes and the income of the new spouse. The new spouse isn’t responsible for children from their partner’s previous marriage, but they do usually lessen the costs on their partner. This can enable a parent to provide more child support.
The court will treat both children equally regardless, so this could end with child support being raised or lowered so both children are equally cared for.
Child Visitation
While this is a rare occurrence, a new spouse can help a non-custodial parent prove they are stable financially and/or physically able to take care of their child.
This can lead to the non-custodial parent earning more visitation time but rarely is this new marriage alone enough to justify a change in visitation rights.
A remarriage can usually negatively affect visitation rights. This happens when the new spouse is hostile or dangerous towards a child from a previous marriage.
Child Custody
If the custodial parent gets remarried but for some reason has less living space for a child from a previous marriage, the non-custodial parent can sue for custody.
It’s not unheard of for a parent to marry someone with their own children. In that situation, a child can find themselves without their own living space, which can be grounds for the non-custodial parent to sue for custodial rights.
If a new marriage in any way leads to a child experiencing abuse, neglect, or favoritism, the non-custodial parent has grounds to sue for custody.
Alimony
Remarriage only affects alimony if the person receiving alimony gets remarried. Once a partner remarries, the paying partner is under no obligation to pay anymore.
If the receiving partner does notify the paying partner of their new marriage, they can be forced by the state to pay back the amount they received.
Cohabitation, where two people are romantically and/or sexually involved while living together also nulls and voids alimony. This means in most occasions, you can petition or be petitioned to end alimony before your new marriage begins.
Contact Lifetime Lawyer Kalinoski for Help
If you or your ex-spouse are getting remarried and you need to figure out how it affects your previous divorce agreement, the family law attorney at Kalinoski Law can help. We have years of experience dealing with complicated divorces and child custody cases. If you’re unsure of what you should be aware of or what you need to prepare for, contact Kalinoski Law Offices today.