Divorce and Money

If you are reading this blog post you are likely considering divorce or are already in the middle of one. Of course the two hottest topics people think about when considering divorce are money and parental responsibility and time-sharing. We’ll save the child(ren)’s issues for another blog post.

In this post we will begin a discussion about alimony and money. Who has it? Who doesn’t? How will my bills be paid? Who will pay the mortgage? I haven’t worked outside the home in four years so what kind of job can I get to pay the bills? Will I have to move? Who takes care of our joint accounts? Who is going to pay for my credit card? How can I afford the car I’ll need to get back and forth to my job? How much does an attorney cost?

These questions can be overwhelming, and not understanding the answers to these questions can delay or even prohibit divorce decisions for some people. So let’s clear up some of these questions to allow progress.

Alimony: What and When

If you are considering divorce you’ve probably heard about alimony. Alimony is the money a higher-earning spouse pays to a lower-earning (or non-earning) spouse during or after a divorce. The recipient spouse uses this money to support the household in some cases (in a similar lifestyle enjoyed during the marriage) and meet ongoing financial obligations.

Alimony can be complicated. By Florida statute, a judge uses a host of criteria to determine if alimony should be awarded, when it will be awarded and for how long. We will cover those details in an upcoming blog post. In this post, we’ll focus on the five types of alimony in Florida.

It’s important to consider the Florida legislature recently drafted legislation proposing changes to Florida divorce laws, including huge changes to alimony laws. In May of 2013, Governor Rick Scott vetoed that proposed legislation. There is an expectation that subsequent years will bring another round of proposed changes. Pay attention to divorce law changes, and be sure to ask your attorney about the most current information on Florida’s divorce laws.
Florida has five types of alimony, and judges use a variety of guidelines to decide which alimony should be applied in your case. These five types are:

Temporary Alimony

Temporary alimony is money awarded to a spouse during the duration of the divorce process. The higher earning spouse usually provides this alimony to the lower earning spouse (“recipient spouse”) to cover expenses during the divorce process and to try to maintain the “status quo.” Temporary alimony ends either before or when a divorce is final.

Bridge-the-Gap Alimony

Bridge-the-gap alimony is awarded for a short duration of up to two years. The alimony provides temporary support to help ease the transition from married life to single life.

Rehabilitative Alimony

Rehabilitative alimony is alimony that is awarded to the recipient spouse for a specific period of time and for the specific purpose of obtaining education or training necessary to reenter the work force. The recipient spouse submits a plan documenting the amount of money required along with the date the training will be completed.

Permanent Alimony

In a long-term marriage, if there is little chance that the recipient spouse will become self-supporting through training or education to the standard of living enjoyed during the course of the marriage, and their financial needs cannot be met by one of the other types of alimony, the judge may award permanent alimony to the recipient spouse. In these cases, the court must substantiate why other types of alimony do not meet the needs of the recipient spouse.

Durational Alimony

When permanent alimony is not appropriate, a judge may award durational alimony for a marriage of a short or intermediate duration. The maximum time limit for this type of alimony is usually equal to the duration of the marriage.

If you are considering divorce and have questions about alimony, Liliana would be happy to answer those questions during a free, no-obligation meeting. Contact her today by calling 954-389-3337.

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