Pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 61.14(b)(1) a court may reduce or terminate an award of alimony upon specific written findings by the court that since the granting of a divorce and the award of alimony a supportive relationship has existed between the obligee and a person with whom the obligee resides. The burden is on the obligor to seek the modification and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a supportive relationship exists.
In Pollack v. Pollack, the Fifth District Court of Appeals for the State of Florida confirmed that a termination of alimony on such grounds should be retroactive to the time of filing a petition for modification rather than the beginning of the supportive relationship itself.
Delaying in the filing a petition for modification can cost you the alimony payments owed between the time of the beginning of the supportive relationship and the time of actual filing of the petition for modification. A party seeking the modification on such grounds will want just enough time to pass to be able to obtain and present clear evidence of the supportive relationship to the court.
If you need to talk to one of our lawyers about the modification of alimony, please call our office to schedule a consultation.