Will cohabitation mean spousal payments will stop?

Hi, I have been divorced for just over a year and separated for 2years. I have 2 young children and have recently bought my own home from the proceeds of the divorce and am funding the mortgage and bills solely through my spousal maintenance that my ex gives me, as per our court agreement.

My new partner has recently moved in with me and I have three concerns; firstly although our court order states that the spousal maintenance can only stop on my remarriage, will me cohabiting affect this at all?? Secondly, as this house is in my name and my partner pays a rent each month to me to cover his portion of bills, how can I protect my home should we split up?? Thirdly, if my ex does decide to contend the spousal maintenance is there any way to legally prove that my new partner does not support me or the children in any way other than his portion of bills? I have no access or interest in my partners finances and he has none in mine and I am happy for it to remain this way until such time as we should marry. I am currently still at home looking after my children as they are not yet of school age and therefore do not want to risk losing my spousal maintenance at this early stage.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I hope someone with more knowledge can confirm this, but I would have thought unless it was written in the court order that SM would not stop automatically if you cohabit.

Your ex could, however, apply for a variation to reduce SM after 6-12 months of cohabitation. Your new partner is paying a portion of the bills so this in turn reduces your need.

I believe you can put something in place to protect your assets when cohabiting I would definitely seek legal advice in relation to this asap.

When circumstances change either party can apply to court for a variation. The court then looks at the financial position of both parties afresh and a new partner would normally be expected to be contributing towards the household expenses and therefore reducing your need of SM.