How to Terminate Alimony in Florida

Terminating alimony depends on the opinion of a judge.

Traditionally, Florida has not been a good place to live if you're divorcing. The state legislature once had a reputation for hefty and prohibitive alimony awards after long-term marriages that often left paying spouses unable to meet their own expenses. New laws in the millennium change that to some extent. If a Florida court ordered you to pay alimony prior to the state's legislative tweaking, you have an additional option now to end your obligation.

Instructions

1. Make sure you have legitimate grounds to terminate your alimony obligation. Changes to Florida law allow you to petition to end alimony if your ex-spouse is living with someone who is sharing household expenses, just as alimony would end if she remarried. Otherwise, you would have to prove a substantial decrease in your income or a significant increase in hers.

2. Collect all possible documentation to support your position. If your ex-spouse has remarried, get a copy of the marriage license. If he is cohabiting with someone, you might need to hire a private investigator to prove it by showing utility bills in his significant other's name or establishing a continuous record of his roommate's vehicle being at the home. If your pay has decreased, prove it with your financial records. If his has increased, you might also need a private investigator to find proof.

3. Go to the courthouse where you were divorced and ask for a "Petition to Terminate Child Support and/or Alimony." You can also download a form for this document from legal websites online.

4. Complete the petition by copying the case number and other identifying information from your divorce decree onto the top portion. On the bottom of the first page check "Other" for your reason for making your request. Explain what change has occurred that makes you think you should no longer have to pay alimony. Sign the petition and have it notarized. Attach any documentation you've gathered to support your reasons for terminating the alimony order.

5. Take the petition back to the court and file it with the court clerk. The clerk will give you back a stamped copy with a summons attached.

6. Serve your ex-spouse with a copy of your petition and summons. The best way to do this is through a private process server or your county sheriff so you have legal documentation that it was received.

7. Return to the courthouse and ask the clerk for a form requesting a date for a hearing. When you complete it and file it, the clerk will give you a notice of hearing form. You must serve this on your ex-spouse as well so she knows when to appear in court.

8. Go to court on the scheduled day. The hearing allows you a chance for "oral argument" to verbally explain and persuade the judge that your reasons for terminating alimony are legitimate. Your ex-spouse will probably also appear in court to argue against your reasons.

Tips & Warnings

• Though Florida's laws are changing, you might still face an uphill battle getting your alimony order terminated if your ex-spouse hasn't remarried or isn't living with someone. If your reasons for ending alimony are a change in financial circumstances, it would probably be to your advantage to hire an attorney to handle the matter for you, because this is a gray area and a difficult case to win. The financial change would have to be permanent, not potentially temporary, like losing your job. Even if it's permanent, a judge might only order a reduction in your alimony rather than stop it entirely.

References

• The Law Office of R. Flint Crump, P.A.: Alimony
• McGuire Law Offices: Alimony
• Justia: Petition to Terminate Child Support and or Alimony (One Signature)
• Tampa Bay Online; Florida Lawmakers Consider Easing Alimony Requirements; Elaine Silvestrini; April 2011