If you have been receiving alimony from your ex-spouse and are now remarrying, you are most probably wondering if your ex-spouse will keep paying alimony. Your ex-spouse, on the other hand, perhaps already knows that you are remarrying. They are probably already talking to an attorney about how they can have their alimony payments reduced or even terminated.

In Florida, whether or not a paying party stops paying alimony after the receiving party remarries depends on several factors. One major factor is whether the granted alimony order required the paying party to make payments periodically or make a lump sum payment.

Because not all situations warrant termination or modification of an alimony order, ensure you consult with a Tampa Bay alimony attorney to receive advice based on your situation.

How Does Remarriage Impact Alimony in Florida?

Under F.S. 61.08(7)(8), awards of both permanent and durational alimony end when one of the parties dies or when the individual receiving alimony remarries. Therefore, a paying ex-spouse has the right to cease making payments to the receiving party immediately after they learn of the remarriage. However, your ex-spouse can only stop making payments if they were paying periodically. If they were ordered by the court to pay a lump sum, then they still have to pay you as long as you remarry before receiving the payment.

It is vital to note that Florida law only allows the paying party to automatically stop paying alimony if the receiving party is legally married. Cohabitation without remarriage does not automatically grant the paying ex-spouse the right to stop making payments. For them to stop paying alimony in a case where you are not legally remarried, they need to ask the court to reduce or terminate alimony. If they can show that you are in a supportive relationship, the court might amend or even terminate the alimony order.

Does Cohabitation Impact Alimony in Florida?

Sometimes people assume that they can outsmart the courts. Many divorced individuals choose not to remarry but to live together with someone without getting legally married. They do so to avoid terminating their rights to receive spousal support from their ex-spouses. The courts know this tactic. Therefore, as long as your ex-spouse can prove that you are cohabiting with someone and receiving financial support from the individual, the court might approve the paying party’s request to have the alimony award modified or even terminated.

To determine if you are cohabiting with someone, courts consider certain factors, including;

• the extent to which you and the other person hold yourselves as married. For example, do you call each other by the terms “my wife” or “my husband?” If you do, then your ex-spouse has a case against you. Additionally, if you share a last name or use one mailing address, the chances are that your ex-spouse will succeed in having the alimony award modified or terminated.
• the period you and the other individual have lived together.

Click here to read the other factors that courts consider.

If you need more information on situations that warrant alimony awards’ modification or termination, contact the Tampa Bay Legal Center, P.A., today at (813) 341-3333. You can also contact us through our online contact form.