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Q I just found out that my ex moved in with her boyfriend last summer and rented our house to her cousin. I pay $5,000 a month in child support and am obligated to allow her to live in our home until our youngest, a college freshman, graduates. We'll share the mortgage and costs of the house and it will be sold as soon as Lucy graduates. Monthly expenses are approximately $2,000 each.
I know that now that my ex is living with her boyfriend, I can skip paying alimony, but it seems completely unfair to me that she has been pocketing my alimony for the last nine months, collecting $3,000 a month in rent and I pay half of the monthly mortgage. Do I have recourse?
A First of all, you can probably stop paying child support, but don't help yourself or you'll end up on the wrong side of a contempt complaint.
File a modification complaint requesting that child support be retroactively canceled to six months ago, when she first moved in with her boyfriend. You will need to prove that they live in a “joint household” – proof that your support is no longer needed due to the nature of their new relationship. Don't be afraid, you can file your change complaint and then do a little research to get the necessary information to support your point of view.
You can request documents from your ex and take her statement and ask her how long she has been dating him, who pays what, when exactly she moved in with him, where Lucy goes when she visits her mother from college, etc. Find They are witnesses who can testify that they present themselves as partners in the community.
As part of the modification claim, you can ask the judge to re-examine the housing provision, as she clearly does not live there with Lucy and is instead benefiting from a new source of rental income. Ask for half of the rental income she has received while you have paid half of the house's costs since the time her cousin occupied the house. If necessary, you can take the cousin's statement and request to see the rental agreement and records of all rental payments made.
The judge has appropriate powers to resolve such situations, and it is certainly not fair for you to maintain a house that your ex rents out while continuing to subsidize her life with her boyfriend.
Email questions to whickey@brickjones.com
For more information, see the Boston Herald
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