How Will Remarriage Affect My Divorce Agreement in Illinois?

 Posted on June 19, 2020 in Alimony/Spousal Support

If you have kids from a prior marriage, then you know that the divorce proceedings are hardly the last time you will hear from your former spouse. There are all sorts of things that you two must continue to work through, especially if your children are under the age of 18, including child support, parenting time, parental responsibilities, spousal support, and much more. But how will this change if you decide to remarry? Will your new spouse be responsible for any of the parental responsibilities or child support? How will spousal support change? While at one time there was a clear-cut answer to all of these questions, in recent years, there is much more gray area when making some of these determinations in Illinois. The following is a look at how remarriage can change things after your divorce.

Remarriage and Its Impact on Divorce Obligations

With regards to spousal maintenance, the following is true in Illinois:

• The recipient of spousal support immediately stops receiving spousal support payments the moment that he or she remarries or begins cohabitating in a romantic/conjugal relationship. The receiving spouse is required to immediately notify the spouse who is providing the support payments.

• The spouse providing the support must continue providing that support if he or she gets remarried.

In terms of child support, things can get even trickier:

• In recent years, the Illinois courts have been more deliberative on child support issues, considering it on a case-by-case basis. For example, the remarriage could result in the spouse providing child support having significantly more disposable income due to the comingling of funds with the new spouse. This can be taken into consideration should the recipient of the child support payments request a modification of parental responsibility orders to change the child support payment amount.

• Overall, either spouse can request any modifications to the divorce agreement, including child support and spousal support orders, should the remarriage affect the fair and equitable decisions agreed upon through the divorce process. These orders can also alter the divorce agreement in such a way as to reallocate parental time or responsibilities in addition to finances should the two former spouses mutually agree to such changes.

Contact a Wheaton, IL Divorce Modification Attorney

You might think that remarriage is none of your former spouse’s business, but the truth is remarrying could impact your divorce agreement in ways you might not have anticipated. In cases when you think it might be necessary to modify your divorce decree due to your former spouse’s remarriage, consider speaking with a skilled DuPage County divorce lawyer. The compassionate professionals at Andrew Cores Family Law Group can help make sure you and your ex-spouse can reach a fair and equitable compromise. Call our office today at 630-871-1002 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K505.htm https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T065-C032-S014-getting-remarried-5-financial-steps-to-take-first.html https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/financial-considerations-for-remarriage