Recently there has been a movement afoot in Florida to reform the current alimony laws. In 2013 Governor Rick Scott refused to sign a law that would reform alimony as we know it in Florida. The originators of that bill decided not to re-introduce the law for 2014, but do expect a new version to be introduced in 2015. One …
Remarriage After Divorce – How Will It Affect Me?
Remarriage After Divorce Many times after a divorce people move on to other relationships. Some of these result in second (or third, or….) marriages. Often people do not realize how a new marriage will affect the settlement achieved in the dissolution of their prior marriage. Things that need to be considered are alimony or spousal support, location of the new …
Modification of Alimony In Forida
Modification of Alimony In other articles we have talked about the criteria for alimony awards and the different types of alimony available under Florida law. Now we will discuss how an alimony award can be modified – in which circumstances and the criteria that must be met. The Florida statutes dictate when a modification of alimony may be considered. (Interestingly, …
Alimony Criteria – Part 3
Alimony Criteria In the last few weeks we have been discussing various aspects of alimony in Florida. We talked about the various types of alimony (temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, permanent and lump sum) and we began discussing the criteria for awarding alimony. The Florida statutes set out 10 criteria to consider in an award for alimony. We have talked about …
Modification of Child Support
The obligation to pay child support is a fact of post-divorce life in Florida. In a divorce proceeding, the courts will put an Order of Child Support in place to ensure the children are taken care of financially. This obligation cannot be waived or contracted around, unlike other some other rights and obligations. Another fact of life is that sometimes, …
Florida Prenuptial Agreements – What’s Covered
There was a time in the not too distant past (50’s, 60’s and 70’s) when the mention of a premarital or prenuptial agreement raised an eyebrow or two. It conjured up visions of celebrity marriages, May- December romances and sugar daddies (not the candy!). In today’s world the view of premarital agreements has changed greatly. Now it may be a …
Gray Divorce – a Rising Trend
Over the last decade there has been an increase in the number of older, long-married couples seeking a divorce. Twenty years ago about 1 in 10 couples over 50 would seek divorce. Now that number has more than doubled; more than 1 in 4 couples over 50 are divorcing. The New York Times has dubbed it “The 37 Year Itch” …
Alimony Awards: What Are The Criteria?
In our last post on alimony we listed the statutory criteria in Florida for determining whether alimony awards are appropriate. We continue this discussion. Keep in mind that whether alimony awards occur or not first and foremost depends on whether there is a need for support of one spouse and an ability to pay on the part of the other …
Getting Divorced: A “Simple” Thing?
You and your spouse have decided that you no longer want to be married. You think that getting divorced will be simple, because you pretty much already agree on everything. While that agreement certainly helps smooth the process, it may not be as simple as you may think. Many people think – often mistakenly – that a “do-it-yourself” divorce will …
Alimony in Florida
Alimony is the payment of money from one divorcing spouse to another, made after the separation or divorce. The concept of alimony has been around at least since the time of the ancient Babylonians, so it is nothing new. The purpose of alimony is for support and maintenance of a former (or soon-to-be former) spouse. Alimony is separate from child …