Do Florida Courts Still Award Alimony in Divorces?
If you are preparing for a divorce in Florida, you may be wondering if you will be able to receive alimony, or if the court might award a regular alimony payment to you, to be paid by your spouse. Do Florida courts still award alimony in divorces? Many states have shifted away from awards of alimony and toward temporary orders of spousal support in particular circumstances. In Florida, however, payments from one spouse to the other are still known as alimony. There has been a significant change in recent years, however, which is that Florida courts no longer award permanent alimony. While people who got divorced in the past and were awarded permanent alimony are not impacted, it means that any new alimony awards will not include permanent alimony.
What types of alimony are available, in that case? And how and when does a Florida court make the determination to award alimony to one of the spouses? Our Port St. Lucie divorce lawyers can explain in more detail.
Court Makes a Determination About Whether Alimony is Appropriate
In order for a Florida court to consider awarding alimony in a divorce, the spouse seeking alimony must request it. Then, under Section 61.08(2), the court must determine whether to award alimony or a form of support, to be paid from one spouse to the other spouse. In making this determination, the court looks at whether the “party seeking support, maintenance, or alimony has an actual need for it and whether the other party has the ability to pay support, maintenance, or alimony.”
The burden of proof is on the spouse seeking alimony. In other words, that spouse seeking alimony must prove that they have an actual need for it and that the other spouse has the ability to pay.
Court Determines Appropriate Form(s) of Alimony
When a divorce court in Florida determines that an alimony award is appropriate, it then looks at a wide range of factors to determine the type (or in some case multiple types) of alimony that are appropriate to award to the spouse seeking it. Those forms of alimony can include:
- Temporary alimony;
- Bridge-the-gap alimony;
- Rehabilitative alimony; or
- Durational alimony.
The court makes the determination based on what is equitable under the circumstances. The first three forms of alimony are all temporary in some form, whereas durational alimony can last for a significant amount of time. The duration of a particular durational alimony award depends on the length of the parties’ marriage — the longer the marriage, the longer the durational alimony award may be.
Contact Our Port St. Lucie Alimony Attorneys to Discuss the Details of Your Case and Your Options
Do you have questions about how alimony works in a Florida divorce, or questions or concerns about other aspects of divorce in the state? One of the experienced Port St. Lucie alimony lawyers at Baginski Brandt & Brandt can answer your questions for you today. Contact our firm for assistance with your divorce and to learn more about the family law services we provide in Florida.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.08.html
