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Will spousal support stop when your ex remarries?

On Behalf of | Mar 24, 2022 | Divorce |

A stay-at-home spouse offers significant support for a household. Even if you don’t have children, they can manage the majority of the cleaning, cooking and logistical support for the household. With children, the duties of a stay-at-home spouse often expand to include around-the-clock childcare.

Your ex dedicated years of their life to your family. Their efforts didn’t just benefit the household. They also allow you to focus more fully on your own career development at the cost of their current income and future earning potential. Therefore, the South Carolina courts have the authority to award spousal support or alimony to a dependent or stay-at-home spouse in a divorce.

Regular payments from a wage-earning spouse can help someone live independently after divorce. Will you have to keep paying that spousal support when your ex remarries?

How can you tell when your support obligations end?

Many spousal support orders have specific time frames to them. Permanent spousal support only occurs in rare circumstances, such as lifelong marriages that end in divorce after retirement age or when a spouse who stayed at home for years faces divorce while also coping with a major health concern, like cancer.

In the rare case that the courts do order permanent spousal support after a divorce, the re-marriage of the recipient spouse is one of the few circumstances that will terminate the support obligation of the paying spouse. A remarriage will also put an end to short-term spousal support. As soon as your ex has legally married their new partner, you can terminate spousal support without requesting a modification hearing first.

Learning more about the rules that govern spousal support in South Carolina will make you a better advocate for yourself after divorce.