Can a Live-In Boyfriend or Girlfriend Affect Your Alimony in Florida?

Divorce rarely ends every financial tie between former spouses, especially when alimony is involved. But what happens when the spouse receiving support moves on and starts sharing a home, and a life, with someone new? Florida courts have had to wrestle with exactly this question, and the answer is not always what people expect.

Background of the case

In the case at hand, a couple had been married for twenty years before the wife sought alimony as part of the dissolution proceedings. During the case, the husband raised the issue of a relationship the wife had allegedly formed with another person, arguing that the relationship reduced her financial need and should be weighed by the court in deciding whether alimony was appropriate at all.

The trial court considered the alleged relationship as one of several factors in reaching its decision on alimony, ultimately denying the wife’s request. The wife appealed, arguing that the court should never have looked at the relationship in the first place, and separately, that the court failed to properly account for the length of the marriage.

The appeal

The appellate court disagreed with the wife’s first argument. It held that Florida law specifically allows a trial court to consider an alleged supportive relationship as one of many factors when initially deciding whether alimony is warranted, not just later, when someone tries to terminate an existing award. A relationship becomes “supportive” in the legal sense when it takes the financial place of a marriage and meaningfully reduces the need for support, though financial help alone is not automatically enough to meet that standard.

However, the wife’s second argument succeeded. Because the marriage lasted twenty years, it triggered a rebuttable presumption in favor of permanent alimony under Florida’s long-term marriage guidelines. The trial court’s order never addressed this presumption, so the appellate court sent the case back for further proceedings.

Key takeaways

This case is a useful reminder that a new relationship does not automatically cancel out alimony, and it is not automatically ignored either. Courts are permitted to weigh the financial reality of a supportive relationship, but they must still follow the statutory framework built around marriage length, need, and ability to pay. Both spouses benefit from a clear-eyed presentation of the evidence, since assumptions in either direction can lead to an appeal.

Talk to a Clearwater, FL, Alimony Lawyer Today

Whether you are trying to establish alimony, defend against a reduction, or argue that a former spouse’s new relationship should matter to the outcome, these cases are rarely simple. Our Clearwater alimony lawyers at Cairns Law, P.A. can walk you through how the law applies to your specific circumstances. Give us a call to schedule a consultation.

Source:

case-law.vlex.com/vid/bruce-v-bruce-case-890237990