Category: Divorce
7.7.25
Category: Divorce
Written by Jessica Mansbacher Kibbe on 6.20.25
In Illinois, alimony is referred to as spousal support or spousal maintenance. Divorce settlements involving maintenance often leave the paying spouse wondering how long they will be on the hook financially. There are certain conditions in which court-ordered maintenance payments will terminate, one of which is when your ex starts living with a new partner. If your ex is receiving support from you but and living with someone else, you might be wondering, “Can I stop paying maintenance?” and “Can I recover the maintenance I’ve already paid?”
In Illinois, we look to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) to answer those questions. Under the statute, cohabitation by the maintenance recipient on a “resident, continuing conjugal basis” can result in the termination of maintenance.
The controlling law in Illinois for modifying or terminating maintenance is found in Section 510(c) of the IMDMA:
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance, or if the party receiving maintenance cohabits with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis. An obligor’s obligation to pay maintenance or unallocated maintenance terminates by operation of law on the date the obligee remarries or the date the court finds cohabitation began. The obligor is entitled to reimbursement for all maintenance paid from that date forward.
750 ILCS 5/510
This provision gives courts the authority to terminate maintenance when the recipient begins living with another individual in a relationship that resembles a marriage in key respects—namely, shared residence, emotional intimacy, and financial interdependence.
Notably, the language of the statute is forward-looking: the obligation to pay “future maintenance” ends upon a showing of cohabitation. However, the statute also provides for the payor of maintenance to be reimbursed for payments made from the date the cohabitation began. That date, of course, is typically a matter of debate between the parties and the subject of costly litigation.
Cohabitation is not automatically assumed just because your ex is dating someone or occasionally stays over at their place. Cohabitation on “a resident, continuing conjugal basis” is more than just a dating relationship – it is a de facto marriage. Illinois courts have developed a fact-intensive inquiry and a list of factors to consider in determining whether cohabitation exists.
Courts typically examine the following factors:
The burden of proof lies with the payor spouse, meaning if you want to stop paying maintenance to your ex, it is your job to show the Court that they are cohabitating with a new partner. Courts require compelling evidence, which may include:
In the 2024 decision Hunter v. Hunter, the Illinois Appellate Court (Fifth District) addressed this exact issue. After an 18-year marriage, Husband was ordered to pay Wife $2,000 per month in maintenance. Wife, however, began a relationship with new Boyfriend, and Husband subsequently filed a motion to terminate his maintenance payments in 2020. Husband alleged that the cohabitation began in 2018 when the new couple purchased land together and began building a lake house.
Wife agreed that she was currently cohabitating with Boyfriend, but she disagreed that said cohabitation began back in 2018. She asserted that it began in 2020 when she and Boyfriend moved into the house they built together.
The trial court found that Wife was indeed cohabiting on a resident, continuing conjugal basis, and terminated maintenance back through to 2018. Even Wife and Boyfriend did not technically live together from 2018 to 2020, the Court had ample evidence of cohabitation. For example, the new couple spent holidays together and vacationed together during that time. Wife was on Boyfriend’s health insurance plan, and he purchased her a $90,000 vehicle during that time. They purchased real estate together and joint tenants with rights of survivorship in 2018 and then opened a joint bank account. The Appellate Court agreed with the trial court that this relationship was more than just a dating relationship – that they shared a deep level of commitment and intended permanence.
The Appellate Court upheld the lower court’s ruling that Wife must pay Husband back approximately $50,000 of maintenance payments he made to her from 2018 to 2020.
It’s important to distinguish cohabitation from remarriage, which is more clear-cut. Under 750 ILCS 5/510(c), quoted above, maintenance obligations terminate upon remarriage of the spouse receiving those payments. If your ex remarries and you continue to pay maintenance, those payments beyond the date of remarriage are recoverable, as well.
If you suspect your ex is living with someone in a marriage-like relationship, you should act quickly:
While discovering that your ex is living with a new partner can feel like grounds for immediate relief from maintenance, Illinois law requires you to take formal steps to end those payments. The good news is that the law allows for reimbursement back to the date the cohabitation began. Unfortunately, sometimes that date is not clear-cut. So, if you are asking yourself, “Can I get my maintenance payments back?” the answer is that your chances are best when you have an experienced family law attorney in your corner. Reach out to the skilled lawyers of O. Long Law, LLC, today to schedule a consultation.
Category: Divorce
7.1.25