Alimony Statutory
Florida’s New Alimony Rules in a Nut Shell and
Key Arguments for and Against a Spousal Support Award
The State of Florida made major changes in alimony rules that were effective July 1, 2023. These changes are highly beneficial to the payor spouse (person who would be paying alimony) and detrimental to the payee spouse (person who would be receiving alimony). The new alimony statute:
- Completely eliminated permanent alimony;
- Decreased the amount of money that the Court can order to be paid;
- Limited the duration of time permissible for durational[1] and rehabilitative[2] alimony;
- Mandated (as opposed to permitting it at the Court’s discretion) the reduction or termination of alimony upon the finding of the payee spouse being in a supportative relationship;
- Codified case law that the Court may reduce or terminate alimony based upon the payor’s reasonable retirement;
- Codified case law that the payee spouse has the burden of proving that he or she had a financial need and the other spouse had the ability to pay; and
- Required special circumstances to secure alimony with life insurance or a bond.
Let’s talk money to show the differences in amounts and lengths of time for alimony awards now compared to before the 2023 statutory change so you can see the impact:
New Alimony Law (Post July 2023): Marriages less than ten years are defined as short term marriages, between 10 and less than 20 years are moderate term marriages and 20 years or more are long term marriages. Durational alimony may not be awarded in marriages less than 3 years. An award of durational alimony may not exceed 50 percent of the length of a short term marriage (that is at least 3 years), 60 percent of the length of a moderate term marriage and 75% of the length of a long term marriage. The amount of durational alimony shall not exceed 35 percent of the difference between the parties’ net incomes or the reasonable need of the spouse requesting alimony, whichever is less.
Prior Alimony Law (Pre July 2023): Marriages less than 7 years were defined as short term marriages, between 7 years and less than 17 years were moderate term marriages and 17 years or greater were long term marriages. The amount of durational alimony absent extraordinary circumstances could not exceed 50 of the difference between the parties’ net incomes or the reasonable need of the spouse requesting alimony, whichever is less. Long term marriages were generally considered for permanent alimony. Durational alimony was generally considered for short and moderate term marriages and could not exceed the length of the marriage except under exceptional circumstances.
Practical example with simple math, wife earns $50,000 and husband earns $790,000 a year net and they have been married for 15 years. Under the old law, absent exceptional circumstances, the worst day in court for the Wife would be no alimony and the best day in court for the wife would be $370,000 a year net for 15 years. Under the new law, absent exceptional circumstances, the worst day in court for the wife would be no alimony and the best day for the wife would be $244,000 a year for 9 years.
The Court clearly has wide discretion to render the final alimony award. The Court considers the following to rule on a spousal support request: (a) The duration of the marriage. (b) The standard of living established during the marriage and the anticipated needs and necessities of life for each party after the entry of the final judgment. (c) The age, physical, mental, and emotional condition of each party. (d) The resources and income of each party. (e) The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties. (f) Contributions to the marriage such as homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party. (g) Child care responsibilities. (h) Other relevant factors unique to the family.
Key elements if you are the spouse seeking to not pay spousal support or minimize an alimony award: If your spouse is not working or not working up to potential, retain a vocational evaluator to evaluate your spouse to be used for alimony calculation purposes. Your spouse will need to produce a financial affidavit that you should carefully review to determine whether there are inflated or otherwise unreasonable expenses. Your spouse cannot obtain alimony beyond a reasonable need. If after your own reasonable expenses, even though you may earn more than your spouse, you may not have the ability to pay. Even if your spouse has a need, if you do not have the ability to pay, there can be no spousal support award. The court may consider the adultery of your spouse if applicable and any resulting economic impact in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded. If your spouse is in a supportative relationship, that support can be used to decrease or deny an alimony award. If your spouse requests a court hearing for a temporary alimony award, but does not also timely produce specific financial documentation that is mandatory under Florida law, disclose this matter to the Judge for the Court to deny that the hearing even takes place.
Key elements if you are the spouse seeking to maximize an alimony award: If your spouse owns a business, retain a forensic accountant that is respected by your particular Judge who can investigate your spouse’s actual income and business assets. Each party in an alimony case shall produce a financial affidavit. Carefully review your spouse’s financial affidavit to determine whether there are inflated or otherwise unreasonable expenses to ensure that there is an accurate accounting for your spouse’s ability to pay. Create an accounting of all non-income contributions that you made to the marriage such as caring for the house, children and sacrifices you may have made to help your spouse advance his or her career. The court may also consider the adultery of your spouse and any resulting economic impact in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded. Since divorce cases can take time and you may need instant financial relief, you should file a request for temporary alimony while the case is pending and then file specific financial documentation required for a temporary spousal support court hearing.
If your case is in Broward County or Palm Beach County, Florida, call Rebekah Brown Wiseman, Esq. at 954-563-1331 or go to calendly.com/browardfamilylaw/consultation to schedule a free consultation for more information. Attorney Wiseman can conduct an initial consultation by telephone and has an office located in the greater Fort Lauderdale area of Wilton Manors for in-person meetings.
[1] Durational alimony is standard type of alimony to provide a spouse with economic assistance for a set time
[2] Rehabilitative alimony is a type of alimony to fund a divorcing spouse’s plan to regain financial independence such as going back to school to finalize a degree or going to classes to be re-certified in a field after being away for years