When a marriage is being dissolved through the divorce process, there are many legal issues that need to be addressed. One of those issues is how alimony should work. A court will consider alimony when one party of the marriage needs financial assistance following the divorce. When a court requires alimony to be paid, this simply means that the other party is ordered to pay a certain amount to meet that financial need.
The court considers many factors when deciding the need for alimony. Florida statute 61.08(2) lists out several factors that the court can consider, which are:
(a) The standard of living established during the marriage.
(b) The duration of the marriage.
(c) The age and the physical and emotional condition of each party.
(d) The financial resources of each party, including the nonmarital and the marital assets and liabilities distributed to each.
(e) The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties and, when applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable such party to find appropriate employment.
(f) The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party.
(g) The responsibilities each party will have with regard to any minor children they have in common.
(h) The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a nontaxable, nondeductible payment.
(i) All sources of income available to either party, including income available to either party through investments of any asset held by that party.
(j) Any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.
For the purposes of subsection (b) listed above, a marriage can be classified under three categories based on its duration:
- Short-Term Marriage – less than 7 years
- Moderate-Term Marriage – between 7 and 17 years
- Long-Term Marriage – 17 years or greater
If a judge finds that, based on all these factors, alimony should be paid, the next step is to determine exactly what kind of alimony is required. As per Florida statute 61.08(5-8), there are four distinct types:
- Bridge-the-Gap:
- Used to aid one of the parties in transitioning from being married to being single
- May not exceed 2 years
- Terminates upon the death of either party, or when the party receiving alimony is remarried within the 2-year period
- Rehabilitative:
- Used to aid one of the parties in establishing self-support, such as paying for work experience or credential training
- The rehabilitative plan must be specific
- Terminates upon completion of the plan, noncompliance with the plan, or a substantial change in circumstances
- Permanent:
- Used to provide life-long assistance to one of the parties who lacks the financial ability to meet necessities of life
- The shorter the length of the marriage, the more evidence required to prove that permanent alimony is necessary
- Terminates upon the death of either party, or when the party receiving alimony is remarried
- Durational:
- Used to provide economic assistance to one of the parties for a set period of time
- Awarded when permanent alimony is inappropriate
- Amount of alimony may be modified if circumstances change
- Length of alimony cannot be changed, unless there are “exceptional circumstances,” and cannot exceed the length of the marriage
As an example, suppose Susan and Jeff are seeking a divorce. Jeff has a master’s degree and Susan has a high school education. Additionally, they have both been married for about 4 years. If Susan’s attorney requests the judge to impose alimony on Jeff, the judge will examine the factors listed in Florida statute 61.08 and then determine what type of alimony may be appropriate.
In this case, the judge may find that permanent alimony is an inappropriate choice due to the short length of the marriage. However, due to Susan’s lack of higher education, the judge may consider implementing a rehabilitative alimony to fund work training for Susan so that she can establish self-support. If Susan already has a job, then the judge may instead consider bridge-the-gap alimony so she can transition to a single lifestyle.
Determining what type of alimony is appropriate can be a difficult process without knowing everything that needs to be taken into consideration. If you are considering a divorce or have been served with divorce papers, you will need a seasoned family law attorney to help you make sure alimony is determined fairly. Call the family law attorneys at Hendry & Parker, P.A., located in downtown Dunedin, at (727) 205-5555 today for a free case review.
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