No matter whether you have already committed to filing for divorce or you are merely considering it, it’s likely that you have thought about whether you will be entitled to alimony payments, otherwise known as spousal support, as part of your divorce settlement. If you have not thought about this until now, it’s probably time that you conduct research so that you have a good understanding of whether you’ll be entitled to alimony.
Generally, alimony tends to be awarded for a limited amount of time to the spouse who earns less. If you are wondering whether you will be awarded alimony, you should look to the laws here in Florida.
Florida’s alimony laws
In Florida, a decision is made on alimony after the marital assets have been distributed between spouses. In an ideal scenario, both spouses will be able to come to an amicable agreement between themselves on what is a fair outcome to the situation.
If spouses are unable or unwilling to come to an agreement between themselves, the decision will be in the hands of the family law court. The judge will take into account the parties’ prior standard of living, the length of the marriage, the age of each spouse and the potential income of both spouses given their parental responsibilities and skills. The amount and the income-earning capacity of the marital assets awarded to each spouse will also be taken into account.
If you are going through a divorce and you want to ensure that you get the alimony payments that you deserve, it’s important that you take early action and enact a carefully planned strategy.
