As a Family Law Attorney in the Jacksonville area I am consistently asked how the courts calculate alimony. This is often a difficult question to answer. In Jacksonville and Florida as a whole there is no specific formula to calculate alimony. Instead, there are factors that Jacksonville courts look to when calculating alimony.
These factors include:
(1) The standard of living established while married.
The modification of alimony is a subject that has gathered much attention recently. Much of this attention can be credited to a Massachusetts man named Steve Hitner. In 1999 Hitner was ordered to pay $865 a week in permanent alimony, however; after September 11, 2001 Hitner’s business crashed and he returned to court to have the payment lowered. The Massachusetts court denied his request for a reduction and even ordered his new wife to help with the payments.
Frustrated, Hitner decided to take action and organize a group called Mass Alimony Reform. Through Hitner’s efforts and those of many others Massachusetts revised the state’s alimony laws on March 1, 2012. The new Massachusetts alimony law does not do away with alimony. To the contrary, alimony is awarded more like child support, with guidelines based on the length of the marriage and the income of the parties. And there is room for exceptions and judicial discretion.
Hitner’s efforts and accomplishments have spawned those by others across the nation. The States of Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut and Oregon are all seeing movement towards similar alimony reform. Florida has a similar organization to that created by Hitner called Florida Alimony Reform.
The Florida legislature is currently dealing with two bills dealing with alimony, and the bills may bring a dramatic change to some of the rules. Most of the changes are coming to long-term marriages — those that last 17 years or longer. The changes are evidently designed to make things more predictable, though the actual effects remain to be seen. The overall thrust of the changes, however, may make it more difficult for the spouse receiving alimony.
One of the changes may be purely rhetorical. Currently, divorce after a long-term marriage may lead to what is called “permanent alimony,” which is exactly what it sounds like: it is designed so one party pays the other on a permanent basis. The changes, however, now refer to permanent alimony as “long-term” alimony, suggesting that courts need to decide the duration of the alimony.
This might be beneficial for parties currently paying alimony but considering retirement. In fact, one of the other changes addresses this problem head on. Imagine you have been divorced for some time and are approaching the age of retirement. You are required to pay a certain amount each month in alimony and are afraid retirement will make you unable to complete this obligation. Under the present law, it is not always possible to lower alimony payments due to a decrease in income from retirement. The new law allows courts to consider retirement as a legal “change of circumstance,” making it easier to reduce alimony payments in such situations.
Florida is a “no fault” divorce state. This means that either spouse may seek a divorce without showing cause for the desired separation. The spouse seeking a divorce has the option to simply claim the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Generally, Jacksonville Florida courts are not concerned with which party played the greater role in causing the divorce.
As a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney, I am often asked how a cheating spouse factors into a divorce in Florida. While adulterous conduct does not factor into the court’s decision to grant a divorce, it can impact other important issues raised in a divorce.
In child custody battles, a court considers the “moral fitness” of a parent seeking custody. Evidence of adulterous conduct can lower a party’s level of “moral fitness,” and decrease his or her chances of receiving custody. However, it is not an absolute bar to child custody. Often times, a larger impact will be whether the adultery had an adverse impact on the child.
Jacksonville Divorce, custody and family disputes are highly emotional and important matters that we at Law Office of David M. Goldman take special pride in handling. Regardless of the circumstances, the break up of any marriage involves many legal issues that cannot be overlooked and must be thoroughly researched and evaluated so that our clients obtain a fair and equitable result upon termination of their marriage.
Our Jacksonville Florida Divorce and Family law Attorneys recognize that a divorce or child custody issues can create stress and cause individuals to take unrealistic positions on various topics. We strive to open lines of communication and help families work through this difficult process while creating an environment that allows children to have a normal healthy lifestyle. Whether you need an uncontested divorce or just enforcement of a previous agreement we are able to help preserve and enforce your rights in Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns County.
If you are considering divorce or have just been filed with divorce papers contact a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney at (904) 685-1200 to schedule a free consultation. Weekend and night appointments are available.
When deciding whether to grant alimony in a divorce case, courts in Jacksonville, Florida consider many factors, including the length of the marriage, the spouses’ employment prospects, the age of each party, their standard of living, their marital contributions, their available income and assets, and the fairness of the situation.
Generally, the shorter you’ve been married, the less likely you will be awarded alimony. Similarly, age is important. If one of the spouses is about to retire, alimony might be more likely.
Jacksonville, Florida courts also consider marital contributions. You might complain that your spouse watched TV all day for twelve years while you worked fifty hours a week. You might think this means your spouse should not be entitled to alimony; however, the court will likely not consider this in granting alimony. Similarly, if your spouse ran up huge credit card debt, he or she may still be entitled to alimony. The court might look more favorably to you, however, if those debts were ran up without your knowledge.
On November 11, 2011 I wrote a blog titled, “Sexual Assault Victim Ordered to Pay Her Attacker Alimony.” In the blog I described how Crystal Harris, a San Diego area resident, was ordered to pay alimony to her ex husband whom was serving time in prison for sexual assault. Worst part about this is that Crystal was the victim of the sexual assault her ex-husband was convicted of.
This case has received a lot of attention from many across the nation, including California lawmakers. For example, Toni Atkins, a Sacramento, California Assemblymember, has introduced legislation to prevent future cases like that of Crystal Harris. The bill, AB 1522, would add violent sex felonies to the list of convictions that disqualify a person from obtaining financial benefits from their ex-spuse in a divorce proceeding.
Atkins stated in a SDGLN.com article,”The current law allowing rapists to demand payment from their spouses in a divorce is unjust.” “Victims of violent sex crimes already suffer physical trauma, fear, and an assault on their privacy and dignity. To require them also to pay their abuser alimony or to give them a share of their pension or household goods is cruel and makes a mockery of the intent behind the laws governing the fair division of assets in a divorce.”
I just recently wrote about the State of Florida and the move for alimony reform. Well, it turns out Florida is not the only state seeking a change in alimony laws. Foxnews.com has posted an article titled, “New Jersey lawmaker looks to update alimony rules after advocacy group claims lifetime punishment.”
The article discusses the issue of permanent/lifetime alimony and it’s outdated and inequitable nature. The article opens with, “Fairness must be put back into divorce court, an advocacy group in New Jersey is arguing, pushing legislation to update what it says are antiquated alimony laws that disproportionately favor the recipients of alimony, regardless of changing circumstances. ‘Lifetime alimony and the family court system in New Jersey are driving real people to the brink,’ Tom Leustek, president and founder of New Jersey Alimony Reform, told FoxNews.com. ‘My own divorce resulted in a lifetime alimony order in 2008. I remember during one of the court hearings, the judge saying to me, ‘It’s not fair, but it’s the law.'”
The issues raised in New Jersey are mirrored by those in Florida. To learn more on alimony reform efforts in Florida see Florida Alimony Reform or contact a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer.
FloridaToday.com has recently posted an article titled, “Times have changed, so should alimony.”
The article tackles the issue of permanent alimony in Florida and its, often considered, archaic reasoning.
Currently, Florida Statute 61.08 reads, “Permanent alimony may be awarded to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage of the parties for a party who lacks the financial ability to meet his or her needs and necessities of life following a dissolution of marriage.”
I stumbled upon an article that I thought was pretty funny earlier the other morning. The article on 923now.radio.com was titled, “Should Russel Brand Ask For Spousal Support?”
As a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, who deals with divorce and spousal support (alimony) constantly, I know that if Brand and Perry’s divorce was in Florida neither party would have a great chance at being awarded alimony.
When deciding whether to grant alimony in a divorce case, Florida courts consider many factors, including the length of the marriage, the spouses’ employment prospects, the age of each party, their standard of living, their marital contributions, their available income and assets, and the fairness of the situation.
Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog