Florida Man Says Ex-Wife's Sex Change Should End His Alimony Obligation
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

CLEARWATER, Fla. —

Lawrence Roach agreed to pay alimony to the woman he divorced, not the man she became after a sex change, his lawyers argued in an effort to end the payments.

But the ex-wife's attorneys argued Tuesday that the operation doesn't alter the agreement.

Less than a week after commissioners in nearby Largo drew national attention by firing the city manager after he announced he was a transsexual, lawyers for Roach and his ex-wife grappled in another transsexual rights case that delves into relatively uncharted legal territory.

Only a 2004 Ohio case has addressed whether or not a transsexual can still collect alimony after a sex change, those involved say.

"There is not a lot out there to help us," Circuit Judge Jack R. St. Arnold said.

Roach and his wife, Julia, divorced in 2004 after 18 years of marriage. The 48-year-old utility worker agreed to pay her $1,250 a month in alimony. Since then, Julia Roach, 55, had a sex change and legally changed her name to Julio Roberto Silverwolf.

"It's illegal for a man to marry a man and it should likewise be illegal for a man to pay alimony to a man," said John McGuire, one of Roach's attorneys. "When she changed to man, I believe she terminated that alimony."

Silverwolf did not appear in court Tuesday and has declined to talk about the divorce. His lawyer, Gregory Nevins, said the language of the divorce decree is clear and firm — Roach agreed to pay alimony until his ex-wife dies or remarries.

"Those two things haven't happened," said Nevins, a senior staff attorney with the national gay rights group Lambda Legal.

Arnold found fault with several of Roach's legal arguments and noted that appeals courts have declined to legally recognize a sex change in Florida when it comes to marriage. The appellate court "is telling us you are what you are when you are born," Arnold said.

An Ohio appeals court ruled in September 2004 that a Montgomery County man must continue to pay alimony to his transsexual ex-wife because her sex change wasn't reason enough to violate the agreement.

Roach, who has since remarried, said he has been unable to convince state and federal lawmakers to tackle the issue. He said he will continue to fight.

The case is the second transsexual rights showdown in Pinellas County in less than a week. On Friday, city commissioners voted 5-2 to fire Largo's city manager, Steve Stanton, after he announced he was a transsexual.

Your obligation to pay alimony is usually to provide financial means for the spouse until that party is able to properly provide for themselves. This may occur after children reach a certain age and leave the home or a period of time after the couple split so that the spouse can return to the work force. The changing of gender should not in and of itself effect the need for the support nor the obligation of the the alimony payer to provide it. If alimony was only based upon gender and therefore voidable if there was a change in gender from female to male then men could not collect alimony where they were the lower earner in the relationship or passed up opportunities in order to advance their wife's career.

heres your alimony beotch- 2 grand in tampons, maxipads and bras. :bshake:

she/he had money to pay for a friggin #^&#^&#^&#^& but has to collect alimony? wtf is wrong with these people. I'd go to court get an injunction and tell her to chop the friggin thing off if she wants money.
disgusting

If my wife ever did that to me I'd make it a point to either kill myself or move well out of the country and tell her to pound something...

I do not want to drive you over the edge #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& but my guess would be his insurance probably covered the treatments.

yea don't get me started on insurance. If God meant her to be a man she'd have had the frickin package when she was born. SICKOS

there is no way any insurance Co. would cover a sex change.

Here is a quote from an article I just clipped off the web:

Consider a recent Chronicle article detailing San Francisco's role in providing insurance coverage for sex-change operations for its employees. Since 2001, when the city took the lead in providing such coverage, 67 major corporations decided to cover the surgeries, hormone therapy, short-term leave, medical visits and mental-health services for transsexual employees. The article concludes that, while emotional and psychological complications are still formidable for people who opt for surgery, today the largest hurdle is financial.

Mosholu has no idea that San Francisco isn't even part of the normal world when it comes to sexual assignment.

I am with Saltbugger on this all the way.

Mosholu has no idea that San Francisco isn't even part of the normal world when it comes to sexual assignment.
Normal to you :devil:

Some areas have attracted more transgender people as a means to cope, and area of more tolerance.

It would only make sense that the interpretation of various issues is skewed in these areas as it represents the demographics of the voters.

If this offends your morality, then perhaps you should take the issue up with the local state constitution.

-spence

Normal to the vast majority of the world.

So relative...

If you believe it's a mental disorder, ok.

If it's the way you're born...it's a big deal.

-spence

There has to be some way to get these people the genitals they desire. Nothing a hike in taxes or another pork filled war funding bill can't handle. Want a #^&#^&#^&#^&? Maybe the polls can 'tuck' a few billion in a bill so this woman can get her new junk. Maybe we can hide it under 'experimental surgery' or something like that.... Where there is a bill theres a way.

she/he had money to pay for a friggin #^&#^&#^&#^& but has to collect alimony? wtf is wrong with these people. I'd go to court get an injunction and tell her to chop the friggin thing off if she wants money.
disgusting


I agree 100%

the main sentence being.... "Roach agreed to pay alimony until his ex-wife dies"

dismemberment is another option.

Touching a nerve there Spence :hihi: - just slightly more clip in the response than usual :musc: :gf: :fishslap:

Trans-gender aside....I think Alimony as a whole is Bull-Chit. If the marriage disolves then you split everything you accumulated while you were married 50-50 and then see ya....Don't let the door knob hit ya where the good lord Split ya.