Modifying Spousal Maintenance in Minnesota

Last reviewed November 3, 2026

Spouses seeking to modify spousal maintenance in Minnesota must show a change in circumstances that makes the existing order unreasonable and unfair. Since 2024, the modification rules have appeared in their own subdivisions of the maintenance statute, Minn. Stat. § 518.552. The statute also contains separate provisions for cohabitation and retirement. This page explains each ground, the effect of an agreement that limits modification, and the practical steps involved. It is part of the site’s guide to spousal maintenance in Minnesota.

Who May Seek a Modification

Either party may move to change the amount or the duration of maintenance (§ 518.552, subd. 5b(a)). The paying spouse may seek a reduction or an end date. Likewise, the receiving spouse may seek an increase or an extension. In each case, the court may issue any order it could have issued in the original proceeding, unless the statute provides otherwise.

One important exception applies at the outset. If no maintenance was awarded and the court did not reserve the issue, there may be nothing left to modify. The same is true when the parties validly waived modification, as discussed below.

The General Grounds

A maintenance order may be modified when one or more of the following makes its terms unreasonable and unfair (§ 518.552, subd. 5b(b)):

1. a significant rise or fall in either party’s gross income;
2. a significant rise or fall in either party’s needs; or
3. a substantial change in federal or state tax law affecting maintenance.

Unlike child support, maintenance has no percentage-based presumption. Instead, the court weighs the facts as a whole. On a motion to modify, it applies the same factors used for an original award, as they exist at the time of the motion (subd. 5b(c)). Those factors include each party’s resources, the standard of living during the marriage, and the length of the marriage.

Cohabitation by the Receiving Spouse

The 2024 amendments expressly allow modification when the receiving spouse lives with another adult (§ 518.552, subd. 6). The court may reduce, suspend, reserve, or end maintenance. In deciding, it considers four factors:

• whether the recipient would marry the cohabitant if not for the maintenance award;
• the economic benefit the recipient receives from the arrangement;
• how long the cohabitation has lasted and is likely to last; and
• the economic effect on the recipient if maintenance is changed and the cohabitation then ends.

Timing is restricted. A cohabitation motion generally cannot be brought within one year after the decree. An exception applies when the parties agreed in writing, or when the court finds that waiting would create an extreme hardship.

Retirement of Either Party

A party’s retirement may also justify a change (§ 518.552, subd. 7). The court asks whether the retirement is in good faith or an unjustified limitation of income. It also considers the party’s age, how each party has managed assets since the divorce, and both parties’ resources.

Two rules give this ground practical weight. First, retirement at or after full Social Security retirement age, or the customary age in the party’s occupation, is not presumed to be in bad faith. Second, at that age, each party is presumed to use both income and assets to meet their needs. Notably, a motion may be filed before the retirement occurs, as long as it states the planned date.

Agreements That Limit or Waive Modification

Spouses may agree, as part of their divorce, to preclude or limit future modification of maintenance. Such a provision is often called a Karon waiver, after Karon v. Karon, 435 N.W.2d 501 (Minn. 1989). In that case, the Minnesota Supreme Court enforced a stipulated waiver of the right to seek modification.

The requirements now appear in statute (§ 518.552, subd. 5). The court must make specific findings that the stipulation is fair and equitable, is supported by consideration, and followed full financial disclosure. The stipulation must also be made part of the decree or a post-decree stipulated order.

A valid waiver can remove the court’s authority to modify maintenance at all, even after a significant change in circumstances. Consequently, the decree’s exact language must be reviewed before any motion is filed. The parties may restore the court’s authority by a later binding stipulation.

Retroactivity

A modification generally can reach back no earlier than the date the motion was served on the other party (§ 518.552, subd. 5b(d)). Where public assistance is involved, or the county attorney is the attorney of record, service on the public authority or county attorney is also relevant. The parties may also agree to an alternative effective date. For these reasons, a party should not delay after a significant change.

The Hearing

The court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion to modify maintenance (§ 518.552, subd. 5b(e)). Many motions are decided on written affidavits and exhibits. In practice, this places great importance on the written submission.

The motion follows the family court rules (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 303). It requires current financial information, such as tax returns, pay records, and a budget. The state court administrator also publishes a form for maintenance modification motions (subd. 8). The site’s documents checklist describes the financial records a court typically expects.

When Maintenance Ends Without a Motion

Some events end maintenance automatically. Unless the parties agreed otherwise in writing, or the decree provides otherwise, future maintenance ends when either party dies or the recipient remarries (§ 518.552, subd. 5a). Transitional maintenance also ends on the date the order sets, unless it is extended by a timely motion.

Orders Entered Before August 2024

The 2024 amendments reorganized the maintenance statute and added the cohabitation and retirement provisions. Some older decrees were drafted under the prior law, using terms such as “temporary” or “permanent” maintenance, or under earlier case law. A party with an older order should review how the decree’s language interacts with the current statute. For an overview of how maintenance is awarded in the first place, see Minnesota Spousal Maintenance.