Boca Raton Alimony Lawyer
Applying Florida divorce laws governing spousal support
Alimony may be awarded to either spouse if the court determines that support can permit a more equal distribution of the divorcing parties’ resources. The Law Offices of Schwartz | White effectively advises clients on this important matter in cases involving the pursuit of and challenges to spousal support. When appropriate, we also seek a maintenance award to support a spouse until the conclusion of the divorce, this in known as temporary support. Our Boca Raton alimony lawyers have more than 50 years of combined experience negotiating settlements and arguing for the court to issue fair temporary and permanent alimony awards.
Factors the court considers in spousal support decisions
When deciding whether and how much spousal support or maintenance to award, the family law court considers various factors, including:
- The standard of living during the marriage
- The marriage’s duration
- The age and physical and emotional condition of each spouse
- The financial resources of each spouse, including their non-marital and marital property and liabilities
- The time necessary for either spouse to acquire sufficient education or training necessary to secure appropriate employment
- The contribution each spouse made to the marriage, including income, homemaking, childcare and support for the education and career of the other spouse
- All sources of income available to each spouse
- Any other factor relevant to equity and justice between the parties
Types of spousal support
Under Florida Statute §61.08, the court may grant alimony to either spouse. The type of support depends on its purpose. Permanent alimony that provides lifetime financial support to a partner is usually ordered in cases involving lengthy marriages or when one spouse is unlikely to find appropriate employment even if given the opportunity to receive education and training. For example, if the individual has a disability or is older, the court may award permanent alimony. Rehabilitative alimony is typically awarded for a definite time and may finance a spouse’s education and training to promote future independence. Support may involve a lump-sum payment, periodic payments or a combination of the two. Florida has five different types of alimony including bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, permanent periodic and lump-sum alimony. Contact our office for a thorough explanation of the different types of alimony available in Florida and how they may apply in your case.
Spousal maintenance (temporary support) in Florida
A court may order maintenance during the pendency of the divorce proceedings. This is called temporary support. A temporary support award does not affect the final ruling on the matter in the final decree, meaning that a spouse who receives financial support prior to finalization of the dissolution may be denied alimony, and yet a spouse who receives nothing during the dissolution proceeding may agree to or be awarded support in the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
Tax implications of spousal support
The Law Offices of Schwartz | White can assist with the tax implications of spousal support awards by providing access to and employing the use of forensic accountants. Generally speaking, in most circumstances, the payor is permitted by the IRS to deduct the amount of alimony from income, whereas the recipient must report the support as taxable income.
Alimony Facts
Will there be an alimony award?
The answer to this question depends on the response to four questions.
Does the spouse requesting alimony actually need it?
The person seeking alimony must prove that he or she needs alimony, but need alone is not enough to receive an alimony award.
Is the spouse being asked to pay alimony (the payor) able to pay?
Even if the requesting spouse proves that he or she needs alimony, it cannot be awarded if the other spouse does not have the ability to pay support.
How long should the recipient spouse receive alimony?
If the spouse asking for alimony proves he or she needs alimony and the court finds that the other spouse is able to pay alimony, then the court will consider a number of factors to decide how long the alimony award should last. Those factors include the length of the marriage and the requesting spouse’s current income and future earning ability.
What types of alimony are there and how does the court decide which type is appropriate?
Florida has bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, permanent, and lump-sum alimony – or a combination, depending upon the facts of the case. Bridge-the-gap alimony can only be awarded for up to two years. The purpose of rehabilitative alimony is to help the requesting spouse become self-sufficient through training or education and requires a detailed training or educational plan. Durational alimony is awarded where permanent alimony is not needed and cannot be awarded for an amount of time longer than the length of the marriage. Lump-sum alimony is infrequently awarded and only where necessary for support in unusual circumstances or where necessary for use as an equalizing payment.
Florida courts do not routinely award permanent alimony
Florida courts can only award permanent alimony after making findings of fact that no other form of alimony is fair and reasonable. Before awarding permanent alimony, the court must first determine that rehabilitative alimony, bridge-the-gap alimony, durational alimony, lump-sum alimony or some combination of the four will not provide the spouse with the ability to become self-sufficient. Permanent alimony awards are almost always only made in long-term marriages where the incomes of the two spouses are very disparate.
Permanent alimony can be modified
Courts may reduce or terminate a permanent alimony award based upon substantial changes in the circumstances of either the payor or the recipient spouse, including retirement, the existence of a supportive relationship, an increase in the income (and decreased need) of a recipient spouse or a reduction in the income of the payor spouse. Permanent alimony terminates automatically if the recipient spouse remarries.
Florida courts cannot order permanent non-modifiable alimony
Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, parties agree to non-modifiable alimony. If they do agree, in writing, then the court cannot modify the alimony obligation. This is the only circumstance under which the courts cannot modify alimony. Furthermore, the court does not have the authority to order permanent non-modifiable alimony
Facts About HB 231/SB 718
HB 231/SB 718 abolishes permanent alimony
Although Florida courts do not routinely award permanent alimony and trial courts must make a specific finding that “no other form of alimony is fair and reasonable under the circumstances of the parties”, this bill completely eliminates permanent alimony awards which are to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage for the spouse who lacks the financial ability to meet those needs following a divorce. Eliminating permanent alimony would cause devastating effects on spouses who sacrificed their careers to support their families through raising children, caring for the home or otherwise performing the duties of a traditional marriage, or on ill or disabled spouses who are unable to work and will never be able to support themselves.
HB 231/SB 718 includes a defined alimony amount based on a formula that averages the incomes of both spouses
Current Florida statutes require the courts to base the amount of an alimony award on 10 factors, including the needs and necessities of life as established during the parties’ marriage. A formula would eliminate the discretion the courts need to properly address the relevant factors. The vast majority of states, including Florida, require the courts to consider factors on a case-by-case basis.
HB 231/SB 718 limits virtually all alimony awards to 50 percent of the length of the marriage
The courts currently have the discretion to determine the length of an alimony award based upon factors provided in Florida statutes. Making it nearly impossible for the courts to award alimony for longer than half the length of marriage circumstances would detrimentally affect many recipient spouses who, due to decisions made by both parties during the marriage, are unable to become self-supporting at any point in the future and who will end up living in poverty or seeking the state’s assistance.
As written, HB 231/SB 718 will open the floodgates of new court filings
The proposed legislation creates the ability to file for a modification based on the new law alone, without requiring any change in financial circumstances. In fiscal year 2011-2012, more than 202,606 cases were reopened for modification or other reasons. If this bill becomes law, current alimony payors will be able to change their alimony obligations (court-imposed or agreed to) based solely on the statutory changes. This would cause a rash of filings by alimony payors. Litigation would increase significantly, overwhelming Florida’s already overburdened family court system. Plus, this bill would significantly impair the concept of the sanctity of contracts, by allowing parties who negotiated and entered into contracts in which they agreed to pay support to return to court to undo those agreements based upon the new law, ignoring how those changes would affect the support recipients, and the circumstances under which the provisions of the contract were determined and agreed to. By extension, if these contracts between spouses are allowed to be modified, it is conceivable that other bills affecting consumer law contracts will follow.
HB 231/SB 718 provides guidelines for bifurcation, or entering a judgment of marriage dissolution, but reserving jurisdiction to determine other matters such as property division or child support at a later date
Once the marriage is dissolved, there may be no incentive for one party or both parties to resolve the remaining aspects of the case and cause significant delay. Splitting the process can cause unresolved parental responsibility issues for minor children, overcrowded court dockets, added attorney’s fees and costs and significantly may impact the availability of health and life insurance and result in the loss of asset protection.
Learn more about how our Boca Raton alimony lawyers can help you win a just alimony award
To learn more about spousal support decisions in the Palm Beach County courts, call the Law Offices of Schwartz | White at 561-391-9943 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. Our Boca Raton alimony lawyers serve all of South Florida, conveniently located off I-95 in the Bank of America Building. Free parking is available.
