ALIMONY

Alimony

Alimony
There are various types of alimony that you may be entitled to receive or may be obligated to pay depending upon the specific facts of your case. Pursuant to Florida law, alimony is primarily based upon the need of one party to receive alimony and the ability of the other party to pay for it. A long term marriage is defined as one having a duration of 17 years or greater. A short term marriage is defined as one having a duration of less than 7 years. A moderate term marriage is defined as one having duration greater than 7 years but less than 17 years. These various statutory definitions for the length of a marriage are crucial to determine what type of alimony you may be entitled to receive or be obligated to pay. There are no guidelines established by the courts to determine the amount of alimony to be awarded in a specific case. Therefore, the court, after considering all of the specific statutory factors, has discretion to determine the appropriate amount of alimony to be awarded.
Alimony Concept - Attorney in Saint Petersburg, FL
Temporary Alimony The court can award temporary alimony but the statute provides no specific guidelines, thus the court has great discretion whether to award temporary alimony and the amount thereof. This form of alimony is also based on the standard of need of one party to receive temporary alimony and the ability of the other to pay. Temporary alimony is very important to insure that the spouse in need of can provide for his/her basic needs and necessities while the divorce case is pending.
Rehabilitative Alimony can be awarded by the court to assist a party in becoming self-supporting through redeveloping prior skills or the acquisition of new skills, be it through training, education or work experience. A specific rehabilitation plan must be presented to and approved by the court before rehabilitative alimony will be awarded. The recipient spouse is awarded rehabilitative alimony for a reasonable period of time to allow him/her to develop new skills or employment potential or redevelop prior ones. The basis of rehabilitative alimony is a presumption that a recipient has a potential for self-support that was either not developed or was not totally lost during the marriage.
Durational Alimony may be awarded by the court when permanent periodic alimony is inappropriate. The purpose of durational alimony is to provide a party with financial assistance for a set period of time following a marriage of short or moderate duration or, at times, after a marriage of long duration if there is no ongoing need for financial support on a permanent basis. An award of durational alimony terminates upon the death of either party or upon the remarriage of the party receiving durational alimony. As with permanent alimony, durational alimony may be modified or terminated by the court based upon a substantial change in circumstances. An important distinction is that the length of an award of durational alimony may not be modified except under exceptional circumstances and it can never exceed the length of the marriage.
Permanent Alimony is typically awarded for marriages in the long term classification. Permanent alimony may be awarded to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage for a party who lacks the financial ability to provide for their basic needs and necessities of life following a dissolution of their marriage. Permanent alimony is normally paid on a monthly basis until either the death of either party or the remarriage of the receiving spouse. Permanent alimony may be modified by the court based upon a substantial change in circumstances. There are also provisions in the law for a possible modification or termination of alimony based upon the recipient spouse being involved in a cohabitative relationship with another individual.
The court can award Bridge-the-Gap Alimony to assist a party by providing support to allow him/her to make a transition from being married to being single. This form of alimony is intended to assist the recipient with short term needs and cannot exceed 2 years in duration. Bridge-the-gap alimony payments can either be made on a monthly basis or in some cases in a lump sum amount. The award of bridge-the-gap alimony terminates on the death of either party or remarriage of the recipient. Bridge-the-gap alimony may not be modified in either the amount or duration.
My law practice is conveniently located at 7011 Central Avenue, Suite B, St. Petersburg, Florida. For a free initial consultation, please call my office at 727-321-5370
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