Divorce

Alimony terms can be changed (modified) if one spouse can prove one or more of the following circumstances makes the existing terms unreasonable and unfair:

• substantially increased or decreased gross income of either party;
• substantially increased or decreased need of either party; 
• receipt of public assistance under the AFDC program; or
• a change in the cost of living for either party as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.¹  

The judge can also change your alimony award if you live with another adult in a romantic relationship (“cohabitation”) after your divorce. That change could come in the form of your alimony award being:

• reduced;
• suspended;
• paused (“reserved”); or
• terminated.²

In deciding whether cohabitation should be the reason to change the alimony, the judge will consider all of the following factors:

• whether the reason you (the person receiving support) are not marrying the live-in partner is due to the alimony award;
• the economic benefit that you get from the cohabitation;
• the length of time you have lived with your partner and the likely future length of the cohabitation; and
• the economic impact that changing the alimony award would have on you if you and your live-in partner later stop living together.²

Note: In your divorce decree or in a post-divorce decree, you and your spouse can agree that your alimony order cannot be changed in the future. The judge will follow that agreement if it is fair, supported by the facts in your case, and there is full disclosure of both your and your spouse’s financial situations. However, at a later time, if you and your spouse both agree that the judge should be able to modify the alimony order, you can both agree to the change.³

¹ ​Minn. Stat. §§ 518.552(6)(a); 518A.39(2)(a)(1) - (2)(a)(4)
² Minn. Stat. § 518.552(6)
³ Minn. Stat. § 518.552(5)