How can I get out of a court order to pay alimony in Missouri?

Once the court has ordered you to pay alimony to your former spouse, there is no way to just get out of it. Defaulting on court order to pay alimony Missouri can have serious consequences, including the garnishment of your wages. You may even be found to be in contempt of court and potentially get sent to jail if you fail to pay your support payments.

Your best option is to protect yourself before this happens, either through creating a prenuptial agreement before marriage or a postnuptial agreement during marriage. If you are already in the process of getting a divorce, you can try to negotiate alimony on your own outside of court with your spouse and get him or her to agree to an amount of support you believe is fair. 

However, if it is too late for that and the court has ordered you pay alimony, you have very little choice but to pay it. If it becomes a hardship for you- such as if your expenses significantly rise or your income significantly falls- then you may be able to petition the court to adjust the alimony that you are being required to pay. You will, however, have to have conclusive proof of why the alimony is causing you to experience hardship. You also cannot do things to deliberately interfere with your ability to pay alimony, like assuming very large voluntary monthly expenses to reduce the amount of money available to you to pay. 

If you wish to get help understanding whether or not you may get out of a court order to pay alimony in Missouri, your best bet is to talk to a lawyer who can provide you with guidance and advice.