Our Florida Alimony Attorneys are often asked about the specific types of Florida alimony that are available for parties to seek during their divorce. Further, question concerning alimony have only risen after the Florida legislature attempted to eliminate permanent alimony last year. Anyone that was following news of the bill noticed that Governor Rick Scott vetoed the bill. Obviously, this was no great surprise to our Tampa divorce attorneys based on the Governor’s prior actions regarding family law issues. Florida Statute Section 61.08 provides the four types of alimony.
Florida law currently provides for four potential types of alimony. The court evaluates and determines which form of alimony is appropriate for the case based on the factors identified in Florida Statute 61.08. In our Florida Alimony Attorney blog, we discuss these factors greater and at length in another blog article, we would invite you to check out those factors as it’s necessary to determine which form of alimony would likely be awarded in your case based on those factors.
First, it’s necessary to discuss what is called bridge the gap alimony. This alimony is intended to assist a party in transitioning from married life to single life. The easiest way to think of it is this is the money necessary for people in a short-term capacity to break away from having two incomes to split the expenses out to now only having one income to pay for their entire expenses. This alimony generally does not last long and again it’s solely intended to assist with that transition from married to single life.
Secondly, the court will consider what is deemed rehabilitative alimony. This alimony is intended to establish or reestablish one’s capability and capacity to self-support themselves. This is easiest to think about a situation where an individual upon getting married quit practicing in their profession. Now that a divorce has occurred, the court will award this rehabilitative alimony to permit someone to reenter the working world in their prior occupation. This alimony may assist folks in retraining or renewing any sort of license or training that is required for their particular field.
Thirdly, it’s necessary for the court to consider what is called durational alimony. Durational alimony is simply intended to provide economic assistance for a set period of time. For example, a party could be awarded durational alimony for ten (10) years to be paid monthly. As you could imagine, there’s not a tremendous amount to discuss about durational alimony.
Lastly and arguably most controversial, there is permanent alimony. Permanent alimony is exactly what it sounds like, it’s alimony that is paid to an individual until they either die or the party receiving the alimony remarries in most instances. This is the form of alimony that the Florida Legislature was attempting to eliminate yet was vetoed by Governor Rick Scott.
If you have questions concerning alimony or your Tampa divorce, contact the Tampa divorce attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We’ve handled hundreds of family law matters in the Tampa Bay area and look forward to working with you to ensure you and your children’s rights are protected. If you like to contact one of our Tampa family law attorneys immediately, please use the “Contact Us Now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. We appreciate you taking the time and checking out our Tampa Divorce Attorney blog and look forward to working with you in the future.