A court can award temporary alimony to the party seeking an annulment. However, it is imperative that the party show a need for such support and the ability of the other party to pay. The court will allow temporary alimony where the fact of marriage is established prima facie and one spouse has the means to live and to litigate, while the other is destitute. Even if there is a question as to whether the parties have a valid marriage, based on allegations of a prior marriage by one of the parties to…continue reading →
Periodic payments of alimony will terminate upon the death of the party responsible for making such payments. However, both parties are free to enter into an agreement that payments will continue after the obligor's death. Parties to a marital settlement agreement can allow for alimony payments to continue. Though, such a provision, that the obligation dies with the obligor is implicit in an alimony agreement, unless it is overcome by an express indication to the contrary. continue reading →
In this case, the appellate court found that the trial court erred in requiring that the former husband, James Lathrop, maintain a life insurance policy in order to secure alimony payments. The appellate court stated that "in the absence of special circumstances, a spouse cannot be required to maintain life insurance for the purpose of securing an alimony obligation." There must be a showing of sufficient findings of special circumstances to support such a requirement for life insurance. Here, no special circumstances was establish that would justify requiring James Lathrop to maintain a life…continue reading →
If the relationship is considered to be a supportive relationship, it can impact one’s alimony obligation. When we speak of supportive relationships, we are referring to situations where the alimony recipient is cohabitating with another person who he or she is not related to and such relationship provides economic support equivalent to a marriage. A supportive relationship does exist where the alimony recipient cohabitates with a person whom he or she is related to by blood or marriage. Further, there is no supportive relationship where it is a nonrelative and there is…continue reading →
When deciding on whether or not to award alimony, Florida courts must first determine whether one spouse has a need and the other has the ability to pay. Courts want to ensure that alimony payments are as fair as possible to both parties. A court will look at several factors when determining a spouse’s need for alimony. It will examine the requesting spouse’s earning ability, age, health, education, duration of the marriage, living standard during the marriage, and the assets of the both parties. When looking to a spouse’s ability to pay, a…continue reading →
You wish to receive temporary alimony during the divorce proceeding. However, such an award is not a right. The decision to grant temporary alimony rest with the trial court. The trial court has the discretion to grant temporary alimony and also, the discretion to define the proper amount. Trial courts tend to have the very broadest of discretion when it comes to temporary alimony awards, so much so that appellate courts are hesitant to hinder a trial court’s decision except under the most compelling situations. If the trial court’s ruling is based on…continue reading →
On September 10, 2015, Senator Lee filed Senate Bill 250. If passed, the bill would considerably change Florida’s established child time-sharing statutes. This bill proposes a legal presumption of 50/50 timesharing and proposes significantly reduced alimony awards as well as accelerated terminations. Currently, there is no other state that has such a 50/50 time sharing presumption. Below is a link to Senator Lee’s bill for you to draw your own conclusion on whether this bill will benefit Florida. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/0250continue reading →
