WILLIAM JEFFREY SMITH, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v BETTY LEE SMITH, a/k/a BETTY LEE JENKINS, Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant., 278 Mich. App. 198

Summary

The judgment of divorce required plaintiff to pay defendant $ 3,500 per month in spousal support until such time as she began cohabitating. Plaintiff moved to terminate spousal support, asserting that defendant was cohabitating with her boyfriend. The trial court correctly denied plaintiff's motion; defendant and her boyfriend were not cohabitating. Defendant's relationship with her boyfriend was a committed, long-distance dating relationship, involving regular overnights together. The boyfriend maintained a separate residence in Georgia, he did not keep personal items at defendant's house, he did not regularly receive mail there, the couple did not share personal property, and they did not hold themselves out as living together. The appellate court upheld the finding that they were not cohabitating. The trial court did not err by denying defendant's request for attorney fees, because she failed to demonstrate her need for financial assistance in defending the action as required by MCR...