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Proposed Changes to Florida’s Alimony Law – Divorce Alimony Presumptive Amount and Duration

The Florida House of Representatives is considering major changes to Florida’s alimony law in 2015.  Proposed legislation was recently filed in February 2015 and is now making its way through committee.  If it is passed, it may be effective and become law as soon as October 1, 2015.

One of the major changes in the proposed new law is the establishment of a presumptive amount and duration for alimony that the court should award.  On reading the proposed legislation, the presumptive amount is not really an amount as much as a range. The proposed law sets a presumptive floor and a presumptive ceiling for alimony payments. The floor and ceiling are derived from low and high multipliers, which increase based on length of the marriage.

Nearly as important as the amount of alimony payments is the duration that alimony must be paid. The new law establishes a presumptive range for the duration of alimony payments. The minimum and maximum duration for alimony payments is based on the length of the marriage.

Different rules apply at the margins.  The alimony recipient in a short term marriage of two years or less must prove special facts in order to receive alimony.  For marriages of 20 years or more, 20 years is used in calculating the low end and high end.

It is important to note that the presumptive range for amount and duration of alimony is subject to deviation by the court.  It is also important to note that this legislation may change before it is passed or may never even become law.  In 2013, the legislature put a lot of effort into alimony reform, but the governor vetoed the legislation.

Call DeVoe Law Firm at 407-284-1620 if you are interested in establishing or modifying alimony in your family law case.

Dear Reader, keep checking our blog.  We intend to write more as information becomes available.

-Michael DeVoe, Esq.

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