Skilled Family Law Counsel

The pending Florida Alimony Reform Bill was recently revised in the Florida Senate. The original version of the bill was replaced by a committee substitute. The revised bill creates new alimony guidelines. In calculating alimony, the Court is to first calculate the amount of each party’s monthly gross income. Included in a party’s monthly gross income are the actual income that a party earns and the potential income that a party could earn. Additionally, included in a party’s monthly gross income are the actual income that a party earns from nonmarital property and marital assets distributed to that party, as well as potential income that a party could earn from nonmarital property and marital assets distributed to that party. In calculating the difference between the parties’ monthly gross income, the income of the party seeking alimony is be subtracted from the income of the other party. If this is a negative number, the presumptive alimony amount is $0.

The legislation in the Florida Senate creates a presumptive range for the duration that alimony is to be paid and a presumptive range for the amount of alimony that is to be paid. The low end of the presumptive range for the amount of alimony that is to be paid is to be paid is calculated by using the following formula: (0.015 x the years of marriage) x the difference between the monthly gross incomes of the parties. The high end of the presumptive range for the amount of alimony that is to be paid is calculated by using the following formula: (0.020 x the years of marriage) x the difference between the monthly gross incomes of the parties. In calculating the presumptive alimony amount range, twenty (20) years of marriage is used to calculate the low end and the high end for marriages of twenty (20) years or more. If a court establishes the duration of the alimony award at fifty (50%) percent or less of the length of the marriage, the court shall use the actual years of the marriage, up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) years, to calculate the high end of the presumptive alimony amount range. The duration of a marriage is determined from the date of the marriage until the date of the filing of the divorce.

The low end of the presumptive range for the duration that alimony is to be paid is calculated by using the following formula: 0.25 x the years of marriage. The high end of the presumptive range for the duration that alimony is to be paid is calculated by using the following formula: 0.7 5 x the years of marriage.

To speak with a Florida alimony attorney, contact Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. at (561) 363-3400.