Alimony and child support are awarded in Florida based on the income of both spouses. When the spouse paying the alimony and child support suffers a drop in income, it can become difficult or impossible to continue making those payments.
Fortunately, it is possible to get a reduction in the amount of child support and alimony you are legally required to pay. You have to request a change with the court. In order for the reduction to be granted, you must show that you suffered an unexpected, involuntary change in circumstances.
If you chose to quit a job the alimony and child support will most likely not be reduced. If you behaved very badly at work and got fired, the judge may find that you purposely got fired in order to get a reduction in alimony or child support, and they will not be reduced.
In order for the alimony or child support to be modified, you must show that you had a certain percentage of financial change to the negative, or that your spouse had a certain percent of financial change to the positive. You will need to show proof of the change in financial circumstances, which can be done with pay stubs, testimony from a boss, bank records and more.
In some cases, you may need to hire an investigator to show that your former spouse’s financial condition has changed.
Alimony and child support can add up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of payment. If something has changed in the financial circumstances of either party since the alimony or child support was awarded, it is worth hiring an attorney to help get alimony and child support reduced.