In Massachusetts, alimony can be suspended or terminated based on the fact that an ex-spouse has been cohabitating with someone else in a common household for three months or longer. But what if your ex won’t cop to the cohabitation? How do you tell if cohabitation is really happening or the whole thing is just your suspicions playing on coincidences? There are some usual tell-tale signs: — Your ex-spouse’s new partner is spending all of his or her nights with your ex. — He or she is parking down the street, around the corner, or trying to hide the car in the garage. — The kids have been told not to mention their new “Uncle” or “Aunt” to you. Most of the actual evidence that you can take into a courtroom isn’t easily obtained without the help of an attorney and, quite possibly, a private investigator. If you’re only paying a modicum of support, and the payments are due for only another year or so, you’ll have to ask yourself if the cost of investigation and litigation is worth the result. However, if you’re paying substantial alimony and it’s due to continue for a long period of time, then you should absolutely seek the help of an attorney to get the proof that you need to obtain a modification. What sort of evidence can an attorney get that can help your modification request? Cell phone records, for example, can often be obtained with the help of an attorney. Even if

The days of lifetime alimony are generally a thing of the past. Women – who have commonly been the recipients of spousal support – are now more likely to be just as well- if not better-educated, than their husbands. They’re also likely to have spent a number of years in the workplace, even if they took some time off to have and rear children. Therefore, when an alimony agreement can’t be reached between divorcing spouses and a Massachusetts court has to step in and make the decision, the length of alimony payments generally is based on how long the marriage lasted. State law, however, provides some guidelines: — For marriages of 20 years or more, a judge can order alimony for whatever period he or she believes is fair. — For marriages that lasted up to 20 years, alimony can’t be mandated for more than 80 percent of the total months of the marriage. For example, if a couple was married for 18 years, alimony cannot be ordered for more than about 14 years. — For marriages that lasted up to a decade, the maximum length of alimony payments is 60 percent. — For marriages that lasted no more than five years, the maximum length of alimony payments is half of the duration of the marriage. Judges can increase the duration of alimony beyond these limits under a number of circumstances, such as if a person has a “clear and convincing” reason under the law for an extension. This can