Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Alimony

Washington family law is similar to California family law, but I am not sure about this particular issue. In California, co-habitation carries with it a presumption of reduced need for support. Marriage, however, terminates spousal support. You may want to wait until the wedding and then file a request to terminate support based on marriage. You would have to file in Washington.

Good luck!

Re: Alimony

Your maintenance agreement is modifiable; this makes an interesting question. WA caselaw generally holds that maintenance terminates when a receiving party re-marries. I have seen cases where receiving party is co-habiting and doing everything except saying "I do" and the Court finds that maintenance continues- because receiving party has not yet re-married formally.

I would consider using her statement "we feel married" as a basis to ask the court to terminate maintenance in JULY.

You could do this now, and set it up ahead of time so there is no question of the exact date your obligation ends.

If you need a referral, you could tell me which county you were divorced in and I might be able to suggest somebody useful. This should not be a particularly expensive proposition.

Hope this helps. Powell