Alimony Reduction and Cohabitation Investigations in Florida
If your former spouse has moved in with a new partner or is living as part of a couple, you may be paying alimony you no longer owe. Florida Statute 61.14 lets a court reduce or terminate alimony when a supportive relationship exists, and since Florida’s 2023 alimony reform the statute directs courts to act on it once the relationship is proven. Proof is the entire game, and that is what we build. Top Gun Investigations documents supportive relationships to Florida courtroom standards so your attorney can move to reduce or end your alimony. We are attorney owned, led by Mark J. Aubin, a licensed Florida attorney and private investigator. Retainers for these matters commonly run $1,500 to $3,000. Call 813-902-0420 for a free, confidential case analysis.
The 2023 Reform Rewrote Florida Alimony
In 2023, Florida passed the most significant alimony reform in a generation. Permanent alimony was eliminated for new cases, durational limits now shape most awards, and the supportive relationship provisions of Statute 61.14 were strengthened. Under the amended statute, when the paying spouse proves a supportive relationship exists, the court is directed to reduce or terminate the award, and the burden shifts to the recipient to show why it should not be. The law also reaches supportive relationships that existed in the period before the petition was filed, so a couple who separates strategically right before a hearing has not necessarily escaped it.
How those provisions apply to your specific decree depends on when your case was filed and what your agreement says, which is a legal question. Because our firm is led by a licensed Florida attorney, we can explain how the reform bears on the evidence we would gather, and your family law attorney applies it to your judgment.
What Florida Law Calls a Supportive Relationship
Under Florida Statute 61.14, a court may reduce or terminate alimony when a supportive relationship exists between the person receiving alimony and someone they live with. The law does not require marriage. What matters is the reality of the relationship: shared residence, shared expenses, and the two people functioning economically as a couple. Proving that reality takes documentation, not accusations.
The statute points courts at practical questions a surveillance record can answer directly:
- Do the two people live at the same residence, and how consistently
- Do they hold themselves out as a couple in daily life
- Do they share the ordinary rhythms of a household, errands, meals, travel, and time
- Whose vehicles are at the residence overnight, night after night
- Does the outward pattern show one combined household rather than two separate lives
Financial records and discovery fill in the money side. The investigation supplies the lived reality that gives those records their meaning.
What We Prove
We build the factual record a judge looks for: whether the couple lives together and how consistently, whether they share a home and daily life, joint outings and travel, vehicles kept at the residence overnight, and the outward signs of a combined household. The result is a clear timeline supported by video, photographs, and a written report.
Every entry in that timeline is time stamped and tied to a location, so the pattern assembles itself in front of the judge: the same vehicle in the same driveway at 11 at night and 6 the next morning, week after week; groceries carried in together; the trash rolled out by the partner who supposedly does not live there. No single frame decides the case. The accumulation does.
Weeks of Documentation Beat a Single Photograph
A single photograph proves nothing. A pattern proves everything. Supportive relationship cases are won on consistency over time, which is why we document across days and weeks rather than a single visit. That patient record is what stands up when the other side claims the partner is just a visitor.
The visitor defense is the standard counter in these cases, and it collapses under a calendar. Anyone can explain one overnight. Nobody can explain thirty of them, photographed across six weeks, with the same car in the same spot before dawn. When we scope your case, we design the schedule around defeating that exact argument, concentrating sessions at the hours that show residence rather than visits: late nights, early mornings, and ordinary weekday routines.
How the Burden of Proof Shapes the Investigation
In a supportive relationship case, the paying spouse carries the initial burden of proving the relationship exists. That is why the investigation comes first, before the motion. Filing on suspicion invites a denial and puts the other side on alert; filing on a documented pattern puts the recipient in the position of explaining away a record. Once the relationship is established, the 2023 framework shifts the pressure to the recipient to justify continuing the award.
Sequence matters. The quiet weeks of documentation happen while the living arrangement is relaxed and unguarded. Once papers are filed, behavior changes. We have built these files long enough to know that the best evidence is gathered before anyone knows to be careful, which is one more reason to call an investigator before the courthouse.
An Investigation Team That Knows the Standard
Because our firm is led by a licensed Florida attorney, we understand exactly what a 61.14 motion needs and we gather to that standard. We are not guessing at what the court wants. We have seen it. The report is written to be read by a judge, the video is gathered from lawful public vantage points, and the investigator who built the file can take the stand and defend every entry in it.
That courtroom discipline is the difference between surveillance and evidence. Plenty of people can take a picture of a driveway. The question is whether the record survives objection, cross examination, and a skeptical reading, and that is a standard we build to from the first session.
What an Alimony Investigation Costs
It depends on how much documentation the case needs. We provide a clear written estimate and a retainer figure, commonly in the $1,500 to $3,000 range for these matters, before any work starts. Standard surveillance runs about $100 to $150 an hour, and a full day of surveillance runs about $600 to $1,500. Because these cases are built on a pattern across weeks, we spread focused sessions over the schedule rather than burning hours in unbroken stakeouts, which keeps the total proportionate to what the motion needs.
Weigh that against the other side of the ledger: alimony is a recurring obligation, month after month. If a documented record ends or reduces it, the investigation typically costs a fraction of what even a single year of continued payments would. That arithmetic is why these cases are among the highest return matters we handle: the file is built once, and the relief, if the court grants it, continues every month afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a supportive relationship in Florida?
It is two people living together and functioning economically as a couple, sharing a residence and expenses. Marriage is not required. The court looks at the reality of the arrangement over time.
Did the 2023 reform end permanent alimony?
Yes, Florida’s 2023 alimony reform eliminated permanent alimony for new cases and strengthened the supportive relationship provisions of Statute 61.14. How it applies to an existing award depends on your decree, which is a question for your attorney, and our attorney owner can explain how it shapes the evidence.
How long does an alimony investigation take?
These cases are built on a pattern, so they typically run over several sessions across a few weeks. We scope the schedule to the living situation you describe.
What will the investigation cost?
It depends on how much documentation the case needs. We provide a clear written estimate and a retainer figure, commonly in the $1,500 to $3,000 range for these matters, before any work starts.
Can this really reduce or end my alimony?
If a supportive relationship exists and is documented properly, Florida Statute 61.14 gives the court authority to reduce or terminate alimony, and the 2023 reform directs courts to act once the relationship is proven. Our job is to hand your attorney the proof.
What if they claim the partner is just a visitor?
That is the standard defense, and it is why we document across days and weeks instead of a single visit. A photographed pattern of overnights and shared household life is what defeats the visitor claim.
Is the surveillance legal?
Yes. We document from public vantage points and follow Florida recording and tracking law, so the evidence is gathered legally and built to be admissible.
Stop Paying for a Marriage That Ended Twice
Free, confidential case analysis. Speak directly with an attorney owned investigation team, describe the living arrangement, and get a clear written estimate before any work begins. Call 813-902-0420 or email topgun@privateinvestigator-tampa.com.
Top Gun Investigations, 1002 S Church Ave, Tampa, FL 33629. Attorney owned and operated, serving Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota since 2006. Florida agency license A2900089.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.