Alimony

Mother and three daughters

HOW IS ALIMONY DETERMINED?

Spousal support, or alimony, comes in many different forms and is dependent on the lesser earning spouse’s need for economic subsidy beyond their own earning capacity.  Beyond need, however, a court can only order alimony if the greater earning spouse has the ability to pay after meeting his/her own reasonable needs. In a divorce situation, it is unlikely that either spouse is going to be able to live the same lifestyle they previously enjoyed while sharing their income to support one collective household. These competing needs result in challenging financial circumstances for each of the separating spouses.  Advancing your strongest legal position requires family lawyers who are up to that challenge.

The type and amount of alimony a court may order is based on many factors, including: 

  • The length of the marriage,
  • The standard of living established during the marriage,
  • The age and health of the parties,
  • Whether one spouse contributed homemaking and child rearing duties while the other spouse concentrated on career building,
  • Each spouse’s educational level, vocational skills, and employability,
  • What income each spouse has available to them, including wages and/or investments, and
  • Whether the homemaking spouse has continued responsibilities to minor children that impedes his/her ability to work full time. 

After answering the initial question of whether there is need and ability to pay, all of these factors inform a judge’s consideration of whether alimony should be awarded. 

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ALIMONY?

Alimony can be temporary, only during the duration of the divorce litigation, or for a period of time afterwards, ranging anywhere from a couple of years to the rest of either spouse’s life. These are some of the types of alimony:

  • Temporary Alimony can be ordered while the case is provide support for separated spouses until the case is either mediated or goes to trial.  
  • Bridge-the-Gap alimony can be ordered for legitimate identifiable short-term needs to assist a spouse in transitioning from married to single life.  This type of alimony cannot exceed two years and is most common in marriages lasting less than 3 years. 
  • Rehabilitative alimony may be awarded to assist a party in establishing the capacity for self-support through either redevelopment of previous skills or acquisition of education, training, or work experience necessary to develop employment skills or credentials.
  • Durational alimony is the most common form of alimony and is meant to provide a party with economic assistance for a set period of time.  Your marriage must last longer than three years, in most cases, to receive durational alimony.  
  • Permanent alimony no longer exists in Florida.  It was abolished as of July 1, 2023.  However, in certain exceptional circumstances, generally where either the party receiving alimony cannot support themselves, durational alimony may be extended indefinitely.  

DOES THE LENGTH OF MY MARRIAGE AFFECT ALIMONY?

The short answer to that is yes.  When it comes to an alimony determination, Florida law divides marriages into three categories, segregated only by the length of the marriage. Those categories are short-term, moderate-term, and long-term.

A short-term marriage is a marriage lasting less than 10 years.   If durational alimony is awarded, it cannot exceed 50% of the length of the marriage.  

A moderate-term marriage is one that lasts between 10 and 20 years.  Any durational alimony awarded cannot exceed 60% of the duration of the marriage.

A long-term marriage is one that lasts 20 years or longer.  In these marriages, the maximum amount of time alimony can be paid cannot exceed 75% of the marriage.  

HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT I WILL RECEIVE/PAY PERMANENT ALIMONY?

Not to sound like lawyers, but it depends.  In most cases, both spouses will be required to work full-time jobs so as to maximize their own support.  Once both spouses are working, if there remains a difference in income, alimony may be awarded if one spouse is still unable to pay their reasonable household bills from their income and the other spouse has enough additional income to offset it. The lawyers at Sasso, Guerrero & Henderlite are excellent predictors of which cases justify various types of alimony and they are equally adept at maximizing its award as they are at brainstorming creative solutions to lessen or avoid it.