According to research, nearly 42% of marriages end in divorce. As such, more and more couples are deciding to cohabitate before getting married or even having wedding plans at all. When alimony matters get complicated, an individual may use cohabitation as grounds to reduce or terminate their obligation. Cohabitation is a legal concept that typically comes into play when one party is paying spousal support and discovers that the recipient is now living with a new partner. If your client needs to conduct a cohabitation investigation, you can trust a determined Connecticut Cohabitation Investigator to help prove your suspicions.
What is Cohabitation?
One of the most hotly contested issues when dissolving a marriage is spousal support, also known as alimony or spousal maintenance. This type of financial support is intended to help a dependent spouse maintain their standard of living following the divorce. It’s important to understand that alimony can often be extremely expensive, causing many to wonder when an alimony modification is warranted. Generally, alimony can be reduced or eliminated when there is evidence that shows there has been a significant change in circumstances. One of the most common changes in circumstances that warrant a modification to an existing alimony order is the recipient spouse living with a new partner. Cohabitation is the legal term that is used when two unmarried people live together as if they were married.
How Can a Private Investigator Help?
If you suspect that your client’s former spouse is living with a new partner, it’s in your best interest to contact an experienced private investigator who can help gather evidence of cohabitation and interdependency. Without this evidence, your client may continue to pay alimony while their former spouse is being unjustly compensated. As mentioned above, alimony is designed to continue giving the spouse what they had during the marriage, but when the spouse moves on, they should not be able to benefit and make a profit off of their ex.
To prove cohabitation, you must show that your former spouse and their new significant other are actually living together, for a sustained duration, and that they are sharing expenses. Essentially, it’s not enough to simply show they stay the night once a week. A private investigator can obtain evidence by conducting an undercover investigation, surveillance, monitoring social media accounts, and looking into financial habits. They will look for any red flags that could be indicators of cohabitation such as storing their vehicle in the driveway and bringing groceries into the house every week. Private investigators conduct their operations within the bounds of the laws, meaning the evidence they obtain is admissible in court.
If you are an attorney who needs help proving cohabitation on behalf of a client seeking an alimony termination, please don’t hesitate to contact a determined private investigator from Advanced Investigations who can help you prove suspicions. Connect with our team today to learn more about what we can do for you.
