As Seen in the Huffington Post – Cohabitation and Alimony – Do the Current Laws Make Sense?

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I continue to receive emails and phone calls in response to my last article, “Cohabitation, the Termination of Alimony and Cell Phones,” in which I wrote about the use of cell phone data to prove or disprove the element of “living together” in cohabitation claims related to the termination of alimony. I received a wrath of responses. Some readers were intrigued. Some readers were skeptical. But many, instead, shared their frustrations that even with this evidence, their claims could still fall short because even in the face of cohabitation, in their particular jurisdiction, all or part of their alimony obligations would nevertheless continue. So, the purpose of this writing today is to pose the question: Under what scenario is it “fair” or equitable to force the alimony obligation in the face of overwhelming evidence of cohabitation? I will answer my own question by asking additional ones: “In the face of a finding of cohabitation, under what circumstance should the continuation of alimony be appropriate? Under what circumstance should it be deemed inequitable or inappropriate?” Like so many issues in family law, every situation is unique and should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  Read more …