My ex-wife and I divorced in May 05. When we had the divorce decree finalized, I agreed to pay for maintenance monthly and since we were in Illinois, the stipulation under termination of maintenance has a specific date (October 1,2007), death, remarriage, or the continuing conjugal basis resident clause.
In Feb 06, her father had a severe accident in which she decided to move and take our children to her parent's house and care for her father. Her mother is currently in a nursing home and will not be returning. At the time, we discussed this issue as it related tothe "continuing, conjugal basis" because she was concerned I would balk at this. It also should be known that prior to this she was operating a daycare from her home and this change meant her income was reduced to my maintenance plus her child support.
However, since that period of time, the father has made a full recovery by summer 06 and my ex-wife still lives there, with the children, without a job, still collecting my maintenance and child support. While I understand that this doesn't constitute the normal "conjugal" basis, I have talked to her about what her future plans are and she has said in definitive terms that she is not seeking anything until the date of the termination of maintenance, and even then, is just considering going back to school.
Number 1, I don't think this is right, because this was not the pretense of why she made the move, and technically, there's no need for her to be there any longer for his care on a day-to-day basis. She does provide homecare, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and of course her father provides a lot of the costs associated with the residence, even purchasing her a new van.
Number 2, the opportunities and priorities here are not being taken care of; the children have life's necessities, but her decision to not work obviously puts them in a financial quandry every day, and I don't believe that's fair of her; I realize this portion comes down to a custody issue which I am seriously considering, but I am putting this in because it does play a part in my line of thinking.
What is your feelings on whether this is a resident, continuing conjugal basis? Should I contact an attorney?
Thanks!
|
Previous
Index
Next
Flat
Continuing conjugal basis--Interpretation PLEASE!
Edit
Reply
Quote
