In an proceeding for divorce the court may grant alimony to either party, which may be rehabilitative. or permanent in nature. The award of alimony is discretionary with the court. Spousal support requires two separate determinations by the court (1) entitlement and (2) (amount). The primary factors for the court to consider in determining entitlement are the need of the recipient spouse, ability of the payor spouse and the standard of living established during the marriage.

Unlike child support there are no alimony guidelines in Florida. Whether or not to award alimony is up to the sound discretion of the court subject to certain criteria as set out in Florida law.

Types of Alimony Awards:

• Rehabilitative Alimony.
• Rehabilitative Bridge–the–Gap Alimony.
• Durational Alimony.
• Permanent Periodic Alimony.
• Lump Sum Alimony.
• Nominal Alimony.

Rehabilitative alimony is intended to provide assistance to a spouse while he or she regains the ability for self support which may have been interrupted by the marriage. The party seeking rehabilitative alimony has the burden concerning the workability of a retraining plan to make the party self supporting Rehabilitative bridge–the–gap alimony is an award for a specific short duration to assist the spouse with the transition from a married state to a single state. The award can be ordered as a periodic payment or a as lump sum.

Durational alimony was recently created by the Florida legislature, becoming effective on July 1, 2010. Durational awards are for assistance after a short term marriage (less than 7 years) or a moderate term (7–17 years of marriage). The length of a durational alimony award cannot be greater than the length of the marriage.

Permanent period alimony is alimony for support paid until the remarriage of the payee spouse or the death of either party. Permanent period alimony is acceptable to the payee spouse and deductible to the payor spouse. Permanent periodic alimony is presumed to be proper in long term marriages and is rarely awarded in a short term marriage.

Lump–Sum alimony is granted if an award of permanent periodic alimony is justified. Such award must be from sufficient liquid assets from the payor spouse and lump–sum alimony can be a vehicle to effectuate an equitable distribution as well.

Nominal alimony may be awarded when the court determines that alimony is warranted but due to insufficient resources at the time of trial, it cannot award sufficient alimony to meet the needs of the recipient spouse. When the court awards nominal alimony it will reserve jurisdiction for the court to later modify the amount of alimony should the financial circumstances of the payor spouse improve. The payee spouse must file a modification proceeding to modify the nominal award of alimony.

Please call our office at 561-833-2772 for a free consultation or contact us online.