Alimony - Who Gets it and How Long Does it Last?

Alimony is support paid by one spouse to another for support. The purpose of alimony is to assist a spouse in his or her support after the marriage has ended. It is paid in a situation where one spouse cannot support herself (or himself) AND when this inability to support herself arose during the marriage or existed prior to the marriage. For example, a disabled spouse who has been married for even a few years, will frequently be eligible for alimony, even if the marriage is of fairly short duration IF the other spouse is able to pay alimony.

There are four types of alimony in Florida.

#1: Rehabilitative alimony is payable when a spouse needs to complete a rehabilitative plan to become self supporting. [for example if a spouse was a teacher or a nurse and needs courses to become recertified, this might be a case for rehabilitative alimony.

#2: Bridge-the-gap alimony is alimony for a short term to help a spouse get back on his feet, when he has been out of the workforce for a period of time.

#3: Purational alimony was recently approved by Florida's legislature. This is probably because Florida courts have been very strict about allowing rehabilitative plans, but sometimes a spouse needs alimony for a certain amount of time; durational alimony is limited to a short term, no more than two years.

#4: Permanent Periodic Alimony: is alimony that lasts until the receiving spouse remarries HOWEVER, is is important to note that courts can reduce or eliminate permanent periodic alimony if the receiving spouse is in a supportive relationship with a companion who assists in payment of the receiving spouse's expenses. Permanent periodic alimony is usually limited to long term or medium term marriages as these are defined by Florida statute. However, under special circumstances the Court may allow permanent periodic alimony after a shorter term marriage (for example in the case of a disabled recieving spouse.)

What factors does the Court consider in determining whether and how much alimony to award:

The duration of the marriage (alimony is more likely in a medium or long term marriage.)

Contribution of each of the parties to the marriage [The Court values child rearing and homemaking as well as career pursuits and building of wealth.

The age of the parties and their physical and emotional health.

The financial resources of each party, including both assets and income

[Non-marital assets as well as marital assets are taken into account, but the overriding factor is disparity in income between the spouse seeking alimony and the spouse who is to pay alimony.]

Standard of living of the parties during the marriage. [Neither party should go from comfort and properity to misfortune and poverty because of a divorce.]

Time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to resume a career.

Other factors necessary to do equity between the parties.

If you are contemplating divorce, you should take your attorney your work history, and if possible the record of earnings provided annually by the Social Security administration for both you and your spouse. Either a man or a woman may apply for and receive alimony. Additionally, you should determine your health status (particularly if your health insurance will be lost or disrupted by your dissolution of marriage.) If you are diagnosed with a chronic or debilitating illness prior to your divorce, you may be able to delay the divorce to get needed medical care OR you may be able to obtain insurance coverage as part of your alimony award. If you interrupted your education for your marriage and/or child-rearing, these are facts you want to mention to your attorney. If you moved from place to place as a result of your spouse's career pursuits, this is an important fact. Lifestyle (standard of living) issues include whether you took regular vacations, how often you purchased new cars, how often you ate out, did you shop at WalMart or Macy's or thrift shops for your clothing and your childen's clothing. The most important information to bring your attorney is evidence of your income and your spouse's income. [Your last several tax returns would be the best evidence.]