PLM Family Law

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When does spousal support end?

When receiving an award for spousal support, you may wonder how long you will receive the payments. Sometimes, it depends on the order and other times, external factors could impact it.

According to the State of North Dakota Courts, if the court does not specify an end date, then there are other triggers that will cause spousal support to end. Rehabilitative spousal support is an exception because the court will always issue an end date for that type of support. For all other types of spousal support, the following conditions can impact the end date.

Remarriage

In most cases, if the person receiving spousal support remarries, then the support obligation ends. The state presumes the new spouse will take over the financial support of the person. There is a minimal burden of proof on your part since a marriage license is easy to provide in this situation.

Relationship

A serious relationship where the person lives with someone else and has a marriage-like situation could also trigger the end of the spousal support. The law does require this relationship to last at least one year. This can be more difficult to prove. You will need convincing evidence about the relationship.

Modification

There are always exceptions to the ending of support. The court can modify the order at any time it wishes for other reasons, such as a substantial change in earnings.

It is important to remember if you are paying support that you must continue to pay it until the court issues an order to stop. This is true even if one of the conditions above occurs. If you stop paying prior to a court order, you could face penalties and end up having to pay additional money.