alimony

[mimi00]

If a mother was entitled to receive child support but no alimony, can she go back to court and request to receive alimony? And can she go back to court after her child turns 18 to request alimony?

[lukeb]

What you can't do is go to court twice for the same thing. If she went to court for divorce got council or was offered council then everything basically gets decided there and each goes their separate ways. Finances gets separated along with everything else, and the matter gets settled. It would not be fair to be able to go back to court again and again. To your question child support is supposed to be used to pay for the expenses of the children, it should not be used to pay for living expenses of the ex.

[avman]

It depends on the divorce order by the court. If it says something like spousal maintenance is "reserved" or any words in that vein then yes she could go back to court to request maintenance payments. If it says no spousal maintenance then it's pretty likely she cannot go back and request it later.

 

I think a court would look especially dimly on a request like that as child support was ending. As lukeb has said - child support payments are for the child.

[mimi00]

I think I should rephrase my question:

If a mother is entitled to receive child support but no alimony, can she go back to court after her child reaches 18 and is no longer recieving any more child support, to request for alimony?

[avman]

I think I should rephrase my question:

If a mother is entitled to receive child support but no alimony, can she go back to court after her child reaches 18 and is no longer recieving any more child support, to request for alimony?

 

This is still the same question and my answer remains the same. I think a court would see right through that request for what it likely is.

[tresqua]

Your exspouse can file a petition and request a hearing for anything she wants. Whether or not the judge will grant the request for a hearing and whether or not such a hearing will result in a spousal maintenance award is probably not very likely if the final divorce decree did not award it. However, if there is a significant "change of circumstances" that might put her in a much less favorable financial situation then you might have a bit of a problem. The expiration of child support would probably not qualify, and even if it did that would have been covered in the original divorce Stipulation. Either way if you're talking about the possibility of big bucks, you'd be wise to retain an attorney should you be served, because crazy things can happen with the "system" and you need to protect yourself.

[Calvin68]

She can go back and ask for anything she wants. Hopefully the Property Settlement Agreement states that you resolved the issue or spousal support. If it does, she will have to show "changed circumstances" warranting the revisiting of the issue. It takes something significant, like a catastrophic injury/illness, for example. The fact that she no longer receives child support is not a changed circumstance because that was obviously foreseeable. If the PSA is silent on the issue, she's got a better shot.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how women will sit around on their asses until their child support and/or temporary alimony run out and then run to court and ask for more. They waste years that they could working and banking money, maybe even building a career, all resting on the hope that they will be able to get more from the court.

 

I've seen probably more than a hundred of these post judgment applications and only one suceeded. It was a case where the exspouse was stricken with cancer and could not work. She ended up getting lifetime alimony despite the fact that the PSA gave it to her for 10 years.

 

So, for any women out there waiting for another payday, go get a job! The fact that your exhusband makes more money is not a changed circumstance when you sat around playing stay-at-home mom for you high school-aged kids.

[tresqua]

I've seen probably more than a hundred of these post judgment applications and only one suceeded. It was a case where the exspouse was stricken with cancer and could not work. She ended up getting lifetime alimony despite the fact that the PSA gave it to her for 10 years.

 

I have read numerous cases and have also spoken to my attorney about this and he said pretty much the same thing. It's quite rare for such claims to be successful but when they are it's usually because the spouse looking for support has suffered some sort of unanticipated physical or mental disability AND they are in danger of becoming a ward (or a financial liability) of the state who looks to pass the buck back to the former paying spouse. Nice, eh? You're never "really" divorced...

[helplesslyhoping]

I have been divorced twice and both with different circumstances. The first marriage produced no children and I received no alimony. My divorce papers state as such and it it also stated that I may not, at any time, take him to court to request alimony.

My 2nd marriage produced a child. I receive both child support and alimony (until I finish school and with many stipulations, which I believe are fair). I still have the same clause in my papers. I cannot at any time take him to court to receive additional alimony and when the date arrives that I no longer am entitled to alimony, I cannot take him to court to extend alimony payment.

If you look at your papers, I'm guessing you have a clause stating as such.

And I agree with everyone here. Child support is to support the child. If you can't support yourself with out that money, maybe finding a new career path or going back to school is the answer.