Spousal support

[Bali Hai Again]

I have wondered about you from time to time. You said some pretty funny damn stuff over the years.

I always used what I thought was the best tact.

 

[Zigner]

Women, please, always sign contracts with men, no verbal agreements, especially if it concerns the rights of the child

Look, the advice to sign contracts is GREAT - but applies whether dealing with a man or a woman.
As to signing contracts concerning the rights of a child, I have to assume you are speaking of child support and/or custody matters. In THOSE matters, signing a contract means nothing. One needs a court order to protect everyone's rights.

 

[Litigator22]

Oregon

Hello and thanks for taking time to read. I believe the answer to my question is fairly obvious but I would love some clarification before meeting with the lawyer.

My wife is currently having to go to court with her ex-husband to modify child support and parenting time.

Our question is related to spousal support. In their decree, she would receive spousal until she remarried or 4 years. They had an amicable, slightly DIY split and they both agreed this was an oversight. He agreed that he would continue to pay spousal for four years regardless of remarriage because she had agreed to be a stay at home mother for eight years.

There is one year left on the spousal agreement and he has voluntarily paid with little issue. Now, there is a big issue. We understand that a verbal agreement does not override a written contract but are curious if there is a small chance That because of his willingness to pay that she won’t have to give it up if he just decides to stops before the 4 years is up.

We both assume the written contracts wins here but wondering if the other circumstances might help her!
Thank you!!!

Contrary to your misconceived notion, the issue here is not whether a verbal contract prevails over the incompatible terms of a written contract. The reason is that in this instance no verbal contract tending to vary the terms of the prior written agreement came into being. Why?

Because in order to form a contract the expressions contained, verbal or written, must impose a condition of mutual obligation whereby the promise of one supports the promise of the other. Here, your wife gave up nothing nor did she agree to do anything. Hence, her ex is not bound to perform as verbally promised.