I’ve Lost My Job, The Economy is Horrible, Do I Still Need to Pay Alimony to My Ex?
The economy is bad, the employment rate is plunging, and life just doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. An important issue that many recently unemployed white-collar workers may be facing is whether their current alimony payments to their ex-spouse should remain at the same rate. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario that when Husband and Wife were going through a divorce 3 years ago, Husband worked a management level position at a Finance Corporation in Boca Raton, was getting paid a high salary, and his wife was a stay-at-home mother living at the couple’s home in Fort Lauderdale. When Husband and Wife got divorced, Husband was required to pay alimony to Wife, the terms of which were set in accordance with Husband’s high-paying job at the time. But, now it’s 2009, Husband has lost his job, and because of the downturn in the economy, Husband has no employment prospects in the near future. Husband’s savings are declining at a rapid pace, and he can no longer pay the required alimony payments dictated by a three-year-old divorce settlement agreement.
At the time of divorce, the parties’ needs and abilities to pay are settled by a final judgment awarding alimony. However, a final judgment requiring one party to pay the other alimony may be modified or even temporarily suspended. A party may petition the court to modify alimony, but the moving party must show: (1) a substantial change in circumstances has occurred; (2) that the change in circumstances was not contemplated at the time the divorce settlement was reached; and (3) that the change in circumstances is sufficient, material, involuntary, and permanent in nature. In the fact situation described above, the first two requirements are easily met. Husband has lost his job and cannot find a new job, severely reducing his income – no doubt a substantial change. Furthermore, this change could not have been contemplated 3 years ago when Husband was gainfully employed. The real issue in this situation is whether the change in Husband’s circumstances is permanent enough to warrant a reduction, or at least a temporary reduction or suspension, in his alimony payments to his Wife.
Florida law dictates that a showing of substantial change in circumstances is sufficiently “permanent” when the conditions exist for one year or more. However, an important caveat to this general rule is that not all circumstances must adhere to this standard. In fact, there may be fact situations where the permanence of a situation can be proved right away. Could this just be one of those situations that warrant such treatment? A recent article made an interesting argument that with the downsize of the financial sector, it should be easier for unemployed and underemployed professionals to minimize alimony by arguing “their plunge in fortunes isn’t short-lived” and is most likely permanent in nature. That argument aside, in Florida, a temporary modification in alimony is appropriate where the court determines that Husband has suffered a reduction in income without deliberately seeking to avoid paying alimony and is acting in good faith to return his income to its previous level. In fact, when such a situation arises, the Husband’s alimony obligation should be reduced to be more commensurate with his current ability to pay. Also, a court may even suspend payments temporarily if such inability to pay arises. It’s important that in these uncertain times to take advantage of what Florida courts allow.
If you are currently paying alimony payments to your ex-spouse and have lost your job and do not see any hopeful employment prospects in the future, the best advice would be to consult a lawyer concerning your ability to either temporarily or permanently reduce your alimony payments.
