Man Seeks to Stop Alimony for Transsexual Ex-Wife

Lawrence Roach and his wife, Julia were married in 1986, and were married for nearly two decades before they divorced in 2004. As a result, Lawrence Roach was ordered to pay $1,250 per month in alimony to his ex-wife. But now, Mr. Roach is declaring that he should no longer be responsible for alimony payments. Why? Because his ex-wife now goes by the name, Julio Roberto Silverwolf.

A STRANGE TALE

Since the 2004 divorce, 55 year-old Julia Roach underwent a sex change and legally changed her name. The Clearwater, Florida couple is making news headlines nationwide with the bizarre tale of divorce settlements gone wrong. Lawrence Roach maintains the argument that he agreed to make monthly payments to the woman he divorced as opposed to "the man she became."

Per Silverwolf's lawyer, Gregory Nevins, Roach's divorce agreement affirms that he is to pay his ex-wife until she remarries or dies; since neither of those instances apply to Silverwolf, Roach is required to keep his end of the agreement. Circuit Court Judge Jack St.Arnold confirms that there are no laws in Florida addressing sex changes with regard to marriage. Arnold has said: "[The appellate court] is telling us you are what you are when you are born."

LEGALITIES AND FORMALITIES

In 2004, an Ohio court of appeals ruled that a man from Montgomery County was still required to pay his transsexual ex-wife "because her sex change wasn't enough to violate the agreement."

But one of Lawrence Roach's attorneys, John McGuire begs to differ. McGuire claims that because it is illegal for two men to marry each other, it should also be illegal for one man to pay alimony to another. Thus, McGuire claims-"when [Julia] changed to a man, she terminated that alimony."
Silverwolf (aka Julia Roach), who failed to appear in court on Tuesday (March 27^th) and refuses to discuss the divorce with media outlets, continues to earn the respect of his former spouse. Lawrence Roach, who has remarried since the divorce claims that he just wants to move on with the next phase of his life. While he wishes Julia/Julio Silverwolf no harm, he claims that the $1,250 is a lot of money to pay every month.

This is not the first time transsexual issues have entered the courtroom in Florida. On March 23^rd, a Largo man named Steve Stanton was fired from his position as City Manager upon announcing that he was a transsexual. As far as the Roach case, Lawrence states that efforts to convince federal and state lawmakers to approach the issue have been futile. He declares, however that he will continue in his fight.