Alimony Reduction

d. You must be prepared to provide detailed documentation to the court to prove that your income has bee substantially reduced. If you are unable to provide adequate documentation, then the court will deny your motion”in a jiffy.” Under New Jersey law, you must prove that there are a material “change of circumstances” to justify a reduction in your alimony. There is no set percentage that your income has to be reduced in order to file a motion for an alimony reduction. However, the reduction in your income must be substantial enough so that it impacts upon your ability to “make ends meat” and to keep up with your child support and alimony payments.

e. If you file a motion to reduce your alimony, then you also should keep detailed records of your job search. In your motion, you should attach any agreements that you have with headhunters, any e-mails that you have send to potential employers, any listings that you have placed with Monster.com or any other employment related websites, and copies of any rejections letters. The family courts are obsessed with documentation. The more documentation that you can provide the better.

f. If you have lost your job, and if your former spouse is gainfully employed, then you might want to consider whether you might qualify for receiving alimony from your former spouse. You may consider filing a motion for alimony against your former spouse to help you meet your financial needs until you are able to find another job.

g. Finally, you should consider whether you should try to file a motion to terminate alimony because of the passage of time since the date when the judgment of divorce was originally filed. There are many major grounds to terminate alimony. Perhaps your ex-wife now earns even more money than you do. If this is the case, then there is no longer an economic need for alimony for your spouse to still receive alimony, and you would have an excellent chance to prevail on your motion. Perhaps, you can file a motion to reduce alimony based on your health condition. Maybe, you can file a motion to reduce alimony based on the grounds that your business has failed. A motion to reduce alimony can also be filed if you have retired. Get the point, there are many reasons why alimony can be reduced or even terminated. However, only an experienced family lawyer can give you the “low down” on your chances of success.

38. I have just lost my job as an accountant at a major accounting firm where I was making $100,000 a year. I just accepted another job as an accountant, however, I am now only making $50,000 per year. This was the best job that I could find after many weeks of searching. I now pay $250 per week in child support for my two kids, and $200 per week in alimony. What are my chances of success if I file a motion to reduce my child support and alimony?

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