When can you reduce or increase the amount of alimony being paid?

Tim: It seems like 25, 30 years ago I got a divorce, and I still have to pay her alimony of $500 a month.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Okay.

Tim: What can I do to get that lowered?

Tom: Tim, thank you for--

Tim: Is it possible?

Tom: Thank you for calling. Let's start with this. If you are getting divorced these days, you should not ever agree to pay lifetime alimony to the spouse that you're divorcing. If your lawyer recommends that you pay lifetime alimony to divorce [unintelligible 00:00:31], then fire that lawyer and getting another one, okay? These days it is more likely that your alimony's going to end sometime about the time that you're going to be entitled to collect social security. That's what you should insist on.

Tim, you're paying lifetime alimony and in those circumstances, you have a right to go back to court and ask that that amount be changed whenever there's been a substantial change in circumstances. If when that alimony was awarded, you are working full-time and now you're retired and not working full-time, or your wife inherited a bunch of money from her parents or some other's financial circumstances have changed, that is all it takes for you to go back to court and ask the court to change the amount of this alimony award.

Tim, we don't do family law or divorce work, so you call a divorce attorney and talk to him, or her about what it takes and see if you would qualify to change the amount of alimony that you pay. Tim, we wish you the best of luck.

[00:01:26] [END OF AUDIO]