Must I continue to pay alimony if my ex-spouse has begun a relationship with someone else?

 

If the relationship is considered to be a supportive relationship, it can impact one’s alimony obligation.  When we speak of supportive relationships, we are referring to situations where the alimony recipient is cohabitating with another person who he or she is not related to and such relationship provides economic support equivalent to a marriage.  A supportive relationship does exist where the alimony recipient cohabitates with a person whom he or she is related to by blood or marriage.  Further, there is no supportive relationship where it is a nonrelative and there is no support between the two.

If the alimony recipient is found to be living in a supportive relationship, a court may modify or terminate alimony based on the particular facts of the case.  Florida Statute § 61.14(2) sets forth the factors that a court will consider when determining is a supportive relationship exits.  The list is not exclusive:

The extent to which the alimony recipient and the other person have held themselves out as a married couple by engaging in conduct such as using the same last name, using a common mailing address, referring to each other in terms such as “my husband” or “my wife,” or otherwise conducting themselves in a manner that evidences a permanent supportive relationship.

• The period of time that the alimony recipient has resided with the other person in a permanent place of abode.
• The extent to which the alimony recipient and the other person have pooled their assets or income or otherwise exhibited financial interdependence.
• The extent to which the alimony recipient or the other person has supported the other, in whole or in part.
• The extent to which the alimony recipient or the other person has performed valuable services for the other.
• The extent to which the alimony recipient or the other person has performed valuable services for the other’s company or employer.
• Whether the alimony recipient and the other person have worked together to create or enhance anything of value.
• Whether the alimony recipient and the other person have jointly contributed to the purchase of any real or personal property.
• Evidence in support of a claim that the alimony recipient and the other person have an express agreement regarding property sharing or support.
• Evidence in support of a claim that the alimony recipient and the other person have an implied agreement regarding property sharing or support.
• Whether the alimony recipient and the other person have provided support to the children of one another, regardless of any legal duty to do so.

The burden of proving that a supportive relationship exists rests on the one paying alimony.  However, establishing that there is a supportive relationship does not in and of itself warrant the modification or termination of alimony.  Further, there must be a showing that the alimony recipient’s needs have actually reduced.  It should also be noted that if the supportive relationship existed prior to the entry of final judgment for the divorce, the court may deny the request for modification or termination of alimony.