Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
Alimony if i change citizenship
If i move to another country and wed someone else and have children with that person will i have to continue to pay alimony to my ex who i bore no children with and were married for 8 years?
Also if i change my citizenship will the alimony still remain or cease? I wish to leave her everything including the house and all its contents also.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Alimony if i change citizenship
You are required to pay alimony, if the court orders you to pay it. Your getting remarried will not stop the alimony.
Your ex can seek to enforce the alimony judgment outside the US under interntational conventions. If your ex has the ability to work, it is unlikely you will have to pay alimony.
I strongly suggest you get an attorney to assist with the divorce.
Re: Alimony if i change citizenship
Alimony is your duty to assist your former spouse. If a court has ordered it, you will be responsible for it until and unless your former spouse remarries or becomes otherwise financially independent. Your remarriage, change of citizenship, or move out of Massachusetts has nothing to do with it. Failing to pay court-order alimony is a contempt of court. Leaving the country as part of a plan to avoid paying court-ordered support is a felony.
Re: Alimony if i change citizenship
If you do not yet have an order of alimony from the court, then you are not obligated to pay alimony. If you are still in the process of getting a divorce, you can give your ex a property settlement in lieu of alimony. If you already have an alimony order in place, you can go in to court for a Modification of the alimony order.