Miami Alimony and Spousal Support Lawyer

Florida alimony starts with two questions: does one spouse have an actual need for support, and can the other spouse pay it? If both answers are yes, the court may award temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony under Section 61.08, Florida Statutes. Permanent alimony is not available in cases pending or filed on or after July 1, 2023.

Alimony help whether you need support or may have to pay it

Alimony, also called spousal support, can shape your finances for years after a divorce. If you stepped back from your career to raise children, you may need support while you rebuild. If you earn more, you may worry about an award that exceeds what you can actually pay. Arturo R. Alfonso represents spouses on either side.

As a Miami alimony attorney with 30 years of experience, Arturo handles:

• Requests for temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony
• Responses to alimony requests that go beyond what the evidence or the statute supports
• Negotiating and reviewing alimony terms in marital settlement agreements
• Petitions to modify or end alimony after the divorce

Alimony is one part of Arturo’s family law practice in Miami, which also includes divorce, time-sharing, child support, and prenuptial agreements.

Types of alimony in Florida after the 2023 reform

Under Section 61.08(1), Florida Statutes, the court may grant alimony to either spouse in the form of temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony, or a combination of these forms, paid periodically, in a lump sum, or both.

• Temporary alimony supports a spouse while the divorce is pending. Section 61.071 allows a spouse to request it in the petition or by motion.
• Bridge-the-gap alimony covers legitimate, identifiable short-term needs during the move from married to single life. It may not exceed 2 years, ends if either spouse dies or the recipient remarries, and cannot be modified in amount or duration.
• Rehabilitative alimony helps a spouse become self-supporting through education, training, work experience, or redeveloping previous skills or credentials. The order must include a specific and defined rehabilitative plan, and the award may not exceed 5 years.
• Durational alimony provides economic assistance for a set period of time. It cannot be awarded after a marriage lasting less than 3 years, and it ends if either spouse dies or the recipient remarries.

What happened to permanent alimony?

Florida’s 2023 alimony law (SB 1416, chapter 2023-315, effective July 1, 2023) removed the provision that authorized permanent alimony. Section 61.08(11) applies the current rules to all initial petitions pending or filed on or after July 1, 2023. The law did not automatically cancel permanent awards in older judgments, but either spouse can still ask the court to modify an existing award under Section 61.14. Our Q&A on how alimony works in Florida walks through the reform.

How Florida courts decide alimony

Every alimony claim starts with need and ability to pay. Under Section 61.08(2), the court must first decide whether the spouse seeking alimony has an actual need for it and whether the other spouse has the ability to pay. The spouse seeking alimony must prove both.

If both are established, Section 61.08(3) requires the court to consider all relevant factors in deciding the proper form or forms of alimony, including:

• The duration of the marriage
• The standard of living during the marriage and each spouse’s needs after the divorce
• Each spouse’s age and physical, mental, and emotional condition
• Each spouse’s resources and income, including income from marital and nonmarital assets
• Earning capacity, education, vocational skills, and employability
• Contributions to the marriage, including homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other spouse
• Responsibilities for the couple’s minor children, with special consideration for a child with a disability
• Any other factor necessary for equity and justice, such as a supportive relationship or a reasonable retirement

Adultery can also matter: Section 61.08(1)(a) allows the court to consider the adultery of either spouse and any resulting economic impact in deciding the amount of alimony, if any. For paying spouses, Section 61.08(9) provides that an award may not leave the payer with significantly less net income than the recipient unless the court makes written findings of exceptional circumstances.

Property division is a separate issue. Florida divides marital assets and debts through equitable distribution under Section 61.075, beginning with the premise that the distribution should be equal (see is Florida a community property state?). What each spouse receives still matters, because the court weighs each spouse’s resources and the income their assets generate.

Marriage length, time limits, and the amount cap

Section 61.08(5) sets rebuttable presumptions based on the length of the marriage, measured from the date of marriage to the date the divorce petition is filed:

• Short-term marriage: less than 10 years
• Moderate-term marriage: between 10 and 20 years
• Long-term marriage: 20 years or longer

Under Section 61.08(8)(b), durational alimony may not exceed 50 percent of the length of a short-term marriage, 60 percent of the length of a moderate-term marriage, or 75 percent of the length of a long-term marriage. The court may extend the term only under exceptional circumstances proven by clear and convincing evidence, considering the recipient’s age, employability, financial resources, any disability, and care of a disabled child the spouses share.

The amount is limited too. Under Section 61.08(8)(c), durational alimony is the recipient’s reasonable need or an amount up to 35 percent of the difference between the spouses’ net incomes, whichever is less. Marriages shorter than 3 years are not shut out: the statute sets no minimum marriage length for bridge-the-gap or rehabilitative alimony. For more on these limits, see how long you have to be married to get alimony in Florida.

Modifying or ending alimony

Alimony does not change on its own. Section 61.14(1)(a) allows either spouse to ask the court to increase or decrease alimony when the circumstances or financial ability of either spouse changes, and the court may make the change retroactive to the date the modification petition was filed. For rehabilitative alimony and the amount of durational alimony, Section 61.08 ties modification to a substantial change in circumstances, and bridge-the-gap alimony cannot be modified. A paying spouse may seek a reduction even while behind on payments (Section 61.14(4)).

Section 61.14 also covers two situations:

• A supportive relationship. The court must reduce or terminate alimony on specific written findings that the recipient has been in a supportive relationship with someone not related by blood or marriage. The paying spouse must prove the relationship, and the burden then shifts to the recipient to show why support should continue. Factors include living together, pooled finances, and holding themselves out as a married couple. A conjugal relationship is not required.
• Retirement. The court may reduce or terminate alimony if the paying spouse has reached normal retirement age as defined by the Social Security Administration, or the customary retirement age for his or her profession, and has retired or taken demonstrative and measurable efforts or actions to retire. The payer must show the retirement reduces his or her ability to pay; if so, the burden shifts to the recipient. A payer may file up to 6 months before retiring.

For more detail, read can alimony be modified in Florida?

Settling alimony by agreement or mediation

A judge does not have to decide your alimony. Spouses can agree on whether alimony will be paid, how much, for how long, and in what form, and Section 61.14 recognizes agreements for payments for, or instead of, alimony. Under Section 61.14(7), changing an alimony amount set by agreement takes the same proof as changing one ordered by a judge, so it pays to get the terms right before you sign.

Florida courts may refer all or part of a case to mediation under Section 44.102, and the Eleventh Judicial Circuit offers mediation as a court service. Arturo can negotiate for you, prepare you for mediation, and review any proposed agreement.

Documents to gather for your alimony case

Under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, each spouse in a case involving alimony must serve a financial affidavit (Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c)) along with supporting records. Start gathering:

• Federal and state income tax returns, with W-2, 1099, and K-1 forms
• Recent pay stubs and records of any other income
• Bank, brokerage, and retirement account statements
• Credit card statements and loan documents
• Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
• For a modification case, your final judgment, any settlement agreement, and records showing what has changed

The court may also order one spouse to contribute to the other’s attorney’s fees and costs after considering the financial resources of both parties (Section 61.16).

Alimony cases in Miami-Dade County

In Miami-Dade, divorce and alimony cases are heard by the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which handles dissolution of marriage and modification proceedings at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 NW 1st Avenue. Filings go through the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. Arturo’s office is at 7821 Coral Way, Suite 125, and he works with clients in English and Spanish. Se habla español.

If you have been searching for an alimony lawyer near me, whether you need support or have been asked to pay it, call Arturo R. Alfonso, P.A. at (305) 266-9584 or request a free consultation.