When you get a divorce, you will likely go from two incomes to one or from one income to no income. That doesn’t mean that your expenses are going to go down at all. Instead, you will have normal expenses plus legal fees and other expenses associated with the divorce to think about. There are some cases in which you might qualify for alimony. Finding out if you qualify for this spousal support is crucial if you think that you will need financial help to get your new life started.
One main point that we want you to understand is that you must be legally married in order to qualify for alimony. You can’t be in a common law marriage and be awarded alimony. If you meet that requirement, we can help you to explore other Florida alimony laws.
In Florida, there are several different types and frequencies of alimony that might be awarded to one spouse. These include permanent alimony, rehabilitative alimony, lump sum alimony or periodic payment alimony. In some cases, you might receive a lump sum of money and then periodic payments.
When trying to determine alimony payments, the court considers how long the marriage lasted, any adultery, the standard of living that was established, the earning capacity of you and your spouse, the income each party has available and the contribution of each person to the marriage. Other factors, such as the need to care for children, can also be considered. We can help you to learn about each of these factors so that you can figure out how they might affect your case.
