PETITION TO REOPEN SPOUSAL SUPPORT AGAINST POKER STAR IS REJECTED

It’s a common trait of human nature that some people find it difficult to give up a good thing. Whether in Michigan or another state, that trait may be even truer when the benefit given up is $180,000 per month in spousal support payments. The wife of poker star Phil Ivey failed in her recent attempt to resurrect those payments by claiming that her husband made a $5,000 contribution to the campaign of the judge who handled their divorce proceedings.

The highest court in the state where the uncontested divorce took place has ruled that the ex-wife’s petition is dismissed and the divorce affirmed. The ex-wife, claimed that Ivey made the contribution to the judge just three months after the divorce was finalized. The court noted that the campaign contribution, without any other evidence, was not significant enough to have interfered with the woman’s due process rights.

Phil Ivey’s lawyer argued that his ex had made millions from the divorce and the case was dead. The Supreme Court of Nevada agreed. At one time, Phil Ivey was associated with a game called Full Tilt Poker. In about April 2011, around the same time when Ivey stopped making alimony payments to his former spouse, the U.S. Department of Justice had seized the domain name of Full Tilt Poker.

Ivey revealed that he was making $920,000 per month for his support of a related software program called Tiltware. During that period, his ex collected $180,000 per month as her share in the form of alimony payments to her. Although not clear from the press reports, it appears that the income dried up and the payments to the wife ceased after the government took action.

In Michigan and elsewhere, spousal support is usually a form of economic maintenance provided by the wealthier spouse to the one with significantly less income. Spousal support usually ends at the time of the divorce, but it can be continued with payments after divorce that are called alimony. If the parties have entered an uncontested settlement agreement, these payments can end at any time that the parties specify in the agreement. Divorce settlement agreements are not often disturbed by the courts because they are legal contracts that contain the intent of the parties.

Source: pokernews.com, “Nevada Court Rules Against Phil Ivey’s Ex-Wife in Divorce Case Petition,” Brett Collson, March 29, 2013