Permanent Alimony in Florida
Governor Rick Scott vetoed a 2016 bill that would have established a set formula to determine the amount and length of time a person would receive alimony.
If the law had passed, Florida divorce attorneys would have had a predictable formula to utilize when advising divorcing husbands and wives on how much alimony they could expect to pay or to receive and for how long. In addition, the alimony reform bill did away with permanent alimony in Florida eliminating this issue for Florida divorce attorneys. Florida divorce attorneys currently must engage in strategic legal battles to establish alimony such as hiring forensic accountants and rehabilitation experts. The forensic accountant is an expert that Florida divorce attorneys utilize to establish what the lifestyle was during the marriage and what the income really is and should be for both spouses.
Alternatively, a forensic accountant helps Florida divorce attorneys to minimize a spouse’s income thereby minimizing the alimony that spouse may have to pay. A rehabilitation expert helps Florida divorce attorneys opposing alimony to show the judge that the spouse who is seeking alimony really can work and earn income and doesn’t merit the amount or any alimony. Florida divorce attorneys can also utilize a rehabilitation expert to show that a spouse is not employable and thus should receive more alimony and for a longer duration.
The reason Governor Scott vetoed the bill was because of a provision inserted in the alimony bill that basically required the court to presume that timeshare with a divorcing couple’s children should be 50/50. Florida divorce attorneys currently can argue that the Court should utilize the current standard – “best interest of children” when fashioning a timeshare schedule. Currently many judges in Florida will award 50/50 timeshare if both the divorcing husband and divorcing wife can and intend to spend quality time with their child. However, many times a spouse only seeks 50/50 timeshare in order to increase the amount of child support they will receive or decrease the amount of child support they will have to pay. Once a plan is in place it is very difficult if not impossible for Florida divorce attorneys to change the plan even if one of the spouses does not exercise the timeshare in the Plan that they argued to obtain.
If you are a divorcing spouse call 305.672.5007 Filler Rodriguez, LLP Florida divorce attorneys to help you navigate the complicated issues involving divorce alimony and timesharing and permanent alimony in Florida.
