Having to pay alimony can be frustrating when you want to move on from your marriage. Unfortunately, if you provided for your spouse and they need support to move forward in the future, alimony may be ordered. There are different reasons for ordering alimony, and each case is different, so what you pay may differ from someone else going through divorce.
In Florida, you may be able to end your alimony obligation if your ex remarries someone new. Depending on the kind of alimony you were ordered to pay, it may stop right away or you may be obligated to pay through a certain period of time.
When alimony ends may depend on the kind that is ordered
For example, if you have to pay durational alimony, it will be designed to provide the other party with economic assistance for a set length of time. The only time this can end early is if one party dies or if the party receiving alimony remarries. So, in that case, you could go to court and ask that the alimony order be terminated. There are exceptions that the court may make, though, so it is not an automatic assumption that you will no longer have to pay.
Rehabilitative alimony may be paid until there is a substantial change in the other party’s circumstances. Remarriage may count, so it’s important to consider seeking and adjustment to your alimony order if that is what you pay.
Finally, permanent alimony is ordered when no other kind of alimony is seen as fair. This, too, may be terminated if the other party remarries or dies. It may also be changed or ended if there is a substantial change in the other person’s life, such as if they now are in a supportive relationship that meets the state’s requirements.
Exceptional circumstances may influence your case
Sometimes, exceptional circumstances do impact how much alimony has to be paid and when. For that reason, it’s important not to just stop paying if your ex gets remarried. Instead, you will have the obligation of going to court to ask a judge to terminate alimony.
