If you’re thinking about retiring, don’t just assume that your alimony will end when you do so. You’ll want to discuss this with an attorney to make sure you know your rights, and obligations.
The highest court in Massachusetts recently held that voluntary retirement doesn’t necessarily mean that the obligation to pay alimony ends – even if the person retires at or beyond the typical age of 65. In this case, a couple divorced after 32 years of marriage. Their divorce agreement required the husband to pay the wife $110,000 per year until his death or until she died or remarried.
When the husband turned 65, he voluntarily retired from his law practice, dramatically reducing his income.He then tried to terminate his alimony payments, but the court wouldn’t let him.
Instead, the court reduced his payments to $42,000, and said that the husband’s decision to retire was just one factor that a judge should consider when deciding whether to reduce or eliminate alimony obligations.
