Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Divorce modification

Married 24 yrs. divorced for 12 yrs. have life time alimony of $1100.00. Was making $95K lost job & financial circumstances changed. Am 61 yrs old w/ heart problem.Went to court for modification & judge denied case. ABSOULUTELY cant pay original amt. I make now $38K. Former wife makes more money then I do. Judge says she will put me in jail if pmts not paid. Judge upped pmts from $1100.00 a mo. to $1600.00 for back pmts. Also said $5000.00 to be paid Mar.15, 2007. I do not have $$$ Am filing bankruptcy and trying to sell my house before I lose it. I have tried to get a job in my field of IT management for 3 yrs but no response. I am terrified of going to jail for something I cant pay. Paying was never the issue when I had a good job. Now that I cant get a job the court says I still have to pay the same amt of alimony. I would if I could. I went to the modification hearing w/o a lawyer as he wanted another $10k after I already paid him $15k. Please I need help. There has to be something that can be done to help me. If it means getting another lawyer that wants $300.00 an hr. then how can I get any justice? I cant pay. Please help.


Asked on 4/02/07, 12:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marie-Anne Oatley

Re: Divorce modification

You need to understand the legal reason the court gave for denying your modification. Because of your (quite) substantial change in circumstances, the court should have allowed you to make smaller payments within your means. There has to be something not stated here. Once you know what it is, you can work on eliminating the obstacle.

Because this is a rather difficult situation, I would strongly recommend that you do your best to have representation. Try finding an attorney who will accept payments or credit cards. There is also an organization specializing in helping fathers/men. Do a search. You can also try to find an attorney who wil charge a flat fee but in any case, not all lawyers charge $300 an hour.

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Answered on 4/02/07, 2:56 pm


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