Those who have recently become divorced may be financially dependent on alimony payments. If you are raising your children full time or you are in the process of gaining new skills to increase your employability, your alimony payments may simply not be enough to maintain the standard of living that you have grown used to. In this situation, you are likely wondering whether it can be possible to increase the amount of alimony that your former spouse pays.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to document a change of circumstances if you are to request a modification of alimony. The following are four situations in which it may be possible for you to successfully increase your alimony payments.
A cost of living increase
The original alimony order will have been based around your projected cost of living. Your rent or mortgage payments will have been a huge indicating factor of how much alimony you should be paid. If your cost of living has recently been increased significantly due to a rise in rent, you may be able to gain a modification of alimony by documenting this.
An escalator clause
Some divorce decrees will include an escalator clause that relates to alimony payments. If this is the case, the recipient of alimony will be able to gain an automatic share of an increase in their ex’s earnings.
Acquiring a disability
If you acquire a disability, you will likely be unable to support yourself financially or work toward employment in the future. You may be able to gain an increase in alimony payments to help cover all associated costs relating to your disability.
A financial emergency
If you have a financial emergency due to medical bills, a natural disaster or overwhelming debt, you will be able to request that your former spouse support you through this in the form of increased alimony.
It’s important to note that while alimony can be increased over time, it can also be decreased in certain situations. For example, if you cohabit with a new partner, your alimony payments will probably decrease or stop completely.
If you want to get the alimony payments that you deserve, start by identifying the change of circumstance that deems you eligible for an increase in payments.
