Anyone taken their ex back to court to lower alimony

TheDivorcedDadvocate · 2026-04-01T21:21:24+00:00

Seven years of "alimony pain" is a long time to endure, especially when you see the other party effectively stockpiling your hard-earned money while their own financial needs have clearly diminished. Since your case is tied to Orange County, California, you are dealing with a jurisdiction that is very specific about "self-support" and the expectation that a supported spouse should eventually become self-sufficient.

The "Gavron Warning" you mentioned. In California, this is a formal notice from the court that the supported spouse must make reasonable efforts to become self-supporting. Since she has been at the same job for eight years and is now 54, her "earning capacity" is well-established. Her plan to retire early on disability is a classic "lifestyle" play, but the court will look at whether she is truly disabled or if she is simply attempting to "step down" her income to maintain your payments. Another critical variable is her "reduced need." If she is living rent-free and has significantly padded her retirement, her actual "marital standard of living" requirements may be far lower than they were seven years ago. You must also be careful with the "inheritance" plan; California courts generally do not consider a future inheritance as current income until the person actually receives the assets, so relying on her "releasing" you later is a high-risk gamble compared to filing for a modification now.

The success rate for a reduction in Orange County often depends on the "Change of Circumstances" rule. If her income has increased or your financial situation has shifted, the court has the discretion to set a "step-down" schedule where the alimony decreases over a set period until it terminates.

Have you and your California counsel discussed performing a formal "Vocational Evaluation" to professionally document her ability to continue working before she tries to file for that disability retirement?

nomohydro · 2026-04-01T18:31:29+00:00

I just paid a large lump sum.

waterfoiler · 2026-03-31T23:37:06+00:00

Not in CA but in UT and I was able to successfully terminate alimony 2.5 years after divorce. She got a new job and went from 40k per year to 110k per year. I argued there was no need for alimony anymore. It took 2 years to fight, but the day of trial she finally agreed to terminate.

Title	Anyone taken their ex back to court to lower alimony
Author	Lord-Dogbert
Upvotes	5
Comments	3
Date	March 31, 2026 4:47 PM UTC (3 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/1s8sty6/anyone_taken_their_ex_back_to_court_to_lower/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/anyone-taken-their-ex-back-to-court-to-lower.1576828 https://theredarchive.com/post/1576828

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