In most states, yes, but only if you can show the court a "substantial change in circumstances" since the order was issued. Courts don't reopen a support order just because one side thinks it's unfair now; the change in circumstances has to be real, significant, and something the court can verify.

That standard shows up in every one of Marble's active states, though the exact wording differs. Texas requires a "material and substantial change in circumstances," and Texas courts enforce it strictly compared to most other states. California courts look for a "material change of circumstances" tied to the same factors used to calculate the original award.

Georgia requires a "substantial change in income or financial status." Colorado's bar is a change "so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unfair." The common thread: a modest income swing or a temporary rough patch usually isn't enough on its own.

Courts don't work from a checklist: a modification request is decided on the specific facts of your situation. That said, certain changes come up again and again in the cases attorneys actually see:

Losing a job, a serious pay cut, or an industry downturn can support a modification, as long as it's genuine and not engineered to avoid paying.

A paying spouse reaching a reasonable retirement age, with income dropping as a result, is one of the more common triggers courts will consider.

A new medical condition that limits either spouse's ability to earn, or that increases their needs, is a frequent basis for revisiting support.

This is one of the few changes that, in several states, doesn't require a modification motion at all: support can terminate automatically by law. Illinois ends maintenance on remarriage or cohabitation "on a resident, continuing conjugal basis." Arizona and Georgia terminate alimony automatically on the recipient's remarriage.

If the original award was meant to be temporary (rehabilitative alimony while a spouse retrains or re-enters the workforce), the recipient reaching that point of self-sufficiency is itself a basis to end or reduce it.

A widespread misconception is that any financial change qualifies. It doesn't. Courts are generally skeptical of a voluntary change: quitting a job, taking a lower-paying position, or otherwise engineering a drop in income to reduce support typically won't succeed, and can backfire if the court concludes you're underemployed on purpose.

A short-term dip (a slow month, a temporary layoff you're actively working to reverse) usually doesn't meet the "substantial and continuing" bar either. And in every state Marble covers, a modification only changes future payments. None of them let you rewrite what already accrued before you filed, so a modification doesn't erase payments you're already behind on.

The process is fairly consistent across states, even though the underlying legal standard differs:

Having those ready before you file, or before you call an attorney, saves real time.

Not necessarily. Some awards were only ever meant to be temporary. Rehabilitative or bridge-the-gap alimony, common in states like Florida, is designed to end on its own once the recipient reaches self-sufficiency, and a modification there is often about adjusting the glide path, not rewriting the whole award.

"Permanent alimony" isn't what it used to be. California doesn't use that term at all. Long marriages instead get indefinite court jurisdiction over support, which is a related but distinct concept. Florida eliminated permanent alimony entirely for petitions filed (or pending) on or after July 1, 2023, replacing it with durational alimony that has its own, often stricter, rules for changing the length of the award versus the amount.

Some settlement agreements go the other direction and make support non-modifiable by design. In California, spousal support can be made permanently non-modifiable if the written agreement, or an oral agreement made in open court, specifically says so. If your settlement includes language like that, a change in circumstances may not help you, no matter how significant it is. Read your own agreement closely, or have an attorney read it, before assuming modification is on the table.

Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect, alimony generally isn't deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient for divorce or separation agreements executed after December 31, 2018, but agreements executed before that date were grandfathered under the old rules, unless the modification itself expressly adopts the new tax treatment, worth confirming before you agree to any modification language, since it can change what the new number actually costs you. See IRS Publication 504 for the full rules on divorced or separated individuals.

Property division and alimony modification rules both vary significantly by state. A few of the differences that matter most if you're considering a modification:

An attorney's first job in a modification case is usually figuring out whether your situation actually clears the bar: a lot of people file (or don't file) based on a misunderstanding of how "substantial" that change needs to be. From there, an attorney with Marble can pull your original order and case file, help you assemble the financial documentation courts expect to see, evaluate whether your settlement agreement contains a non-modification clause that limits your options, and represent you at the hearing if the other side contests it.

Modification requests also don't always show up alone. A support change often surfaces alongside other post-divorce financial questions: recalculating what you'd actually owe or receive under a new number, or realizing a retirement account was never properly divided in the first place. An attorney with Marble in your state (Texas, Florida, and eight others) can look at the whole picture rather than just the one number you called about.

An alimony modification isn't automatic, and it isn't guaranteed, but if your circumstances have genuinely changed since your order was entered, you generally have a legitimate path to ask a court to reconsider it. The details of that path (what counts as "substantial," how long you have, whether your agreement even allows it) depend heavily on your state, so it's worth getting specific advice before you file.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state and change over time, and your situation may differ from the examples described here. For advice about your specific circumstances, consult a licensed attorney in your state.