Modifying Alimony When Ex Is Eligible For Social Security

Omaha Nebraska Divorce LawyerQuestion:

My ex-wife has been eligible to draw off my Social Security but refuses to do so while collecting alimony.

Meanwhile I am going broke with my alimony payments and she is doing nothing to mitigate my payments by filing for my Social Security benefits.

Do I have any recourse to force her to start drawing off my benefits or otherwise find a way to lower my alimony payments?

Answer:

I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can give general divorce help for men, though, my knowledge is based on Nebraska divorce laws where I am licensed to practice.

Where I practice, an individual may file to change their current support obligations, both child support and spousal support, based on a “material change of circumstances.”

The “material change” causing the increase/decrease in income or possible inability to pay could not have existed at the time of the entry of the divorce decree.

In general, the “material change” must be:

1.) ongoing;

2.) must have existed for a certain length of time;

3.) must be reasonably foreseeable to last for some indefinite future period; and

4.) not exist through any “fault” of the individual paying the support, such as quitting one’s job or being fired for insubordination.

Read Related Article:

Why Choose Non-Modifiable Alimony

By filing to modify, you may be able to reduce your spousal support obligation or possibly force her to file to draw off your social security. Either way, without a court order, you cannot lower an obligation without a court order.

In addition, you cannot force your spouse to draw off your SSI, and I am unaware if your jurisdiction could force her to make a claim for the same, without a court order.

Further, without a court order reducing your alimony obligation, her ability to draw off SSI may not change the requirement that you still pay her the amount of support ordered, and you will still need to file for a modification.

Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than divorce tips for men, so please consult with a divorce lawyer in your jurisdiction.

To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Omaha, Nebraska Divorce Lawyer Jamie Kinkaid, contact Cordell & Cordell.

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5 comments on “Modifying Alimony When Ex Is Eligible For Social Security

    I went back o court to get a wage assignment because my ex was not paying his arrears alimony. He promptly quit his job to avoid paying me.
    I found out he was collecting Social Security, so I took my wage assignment order to the local SSA office, submitted it, and started getting checks. All of a sudden, the money stopped coming in and I I received a letter that he no longer owed me child support? Huh? Evidently, an office worker made a huge error, and now the SSA is trying to fix it internally. I cannot tell you how much of a fight it was to get them to to acknowledge the error. Meanwhile, the money is being taken from my ex’s benefits and sent to the CASDU, but one payment was sent back my ex because the CASDU didn’t know where to send it.
    Any thought?

    I have been separated for 6 years. We are not divorced. I am receiving a check weekly from my husband . I also work part time. I will be 62 in 2017. I would like to retire, can I collect my husband’s social security ? He is still working.

    My ex husband owes me over 20,000 dollars in alimony and is now filing for disability in florida. I was awarded 1000 per month but never received anything. Can I get anything from the state if he is awarded disability and if so he is not notifying the state how do I let them know?

    I sent a request for information a few days ago and have not gotten a response. My question is that on alimony, when circumstances change such as I have retired and my income is less than 50% of what my salary was AND when I went to apply for SSA benefits I found out that my ex has been getting benefits from my earnings for the past 3 yrs. u have never missed paying her alimony in time in the 13.5 yrs we have been divorced. I can’t afford to pay her this high amount any longer. Please advise me on what I should do

    Question, I was divorced from a marriage of 34 years. I have been paying alimony religiously since. I am 65 and just was forced into retirement from the coal industry and When I went to file for my SSA, I found out that my ex wife has been receiving SSA spousal benefits for the past 3 years (while I was still paying full alimony to her) since I have retired my Nicole is less than 1/2 of the income I made when alimony was awarded to her. In light of the changes do I have a chance of a modification to the alimony ? I can’t pay her what I have been and still be able to have any kind of life or exsistance

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