Spousal support, or alimony, can be ordered to be paid by one former spouse by the other which can be a tense and challenging issue during a divorce. As a result, it can be helpful for divorcing spouses to be familiar with alimony and spousal support laws in Florida so they know what to expect and can best protect their interests.
Family law covers a broad range of issues and concerns that families and couples may face. Family law resources can also help families and couples work through and resolve the concerns they have. Spousal support can be a contentious issue but it is one that divorcing couples can resolve by agreement or with the help of the family law court. This is true of must family law-related concerns that can be resolved by the couple or with the assistance of the family law court.
The family law court will consider various factors when determining alimony including the standard of living enjoyed by the couple; the length of the marriage; the age of the spouses; the physical and emotional condition of both spouses; financial resources of each of the spouses; the income-earning potential of each of the spouses; the time needed for the non-earning or lower-earning spouse to obtain job training or education to become self-sufficient; and services one spouse provided caring for children and the home.
In addition, there are several different types of alimony that may be available depending on the situation and circumstances including rehabilitative alimony to help a lower-earning or non-earning spouse obtain the education and skills they need; bridge-the-gap alimony to allow a spouse to transition from being married to being single; durational alimony for a set period of time; permanent alimony; and lump sum alimony.
Divorcing couples should be familiar with alimony laws and ensure they have all their alimony questions answered. Knowledge of the alimony process can help divorcing couples better resolve their understandable alimony-related concerns.