Getting through a divorce can be difficult on a Florida resident. If they were dependent on their ex for financial support throughout the marriage, getting by after a divorce can also be challenging. For some individuals, starting over outside of ended marriages can take financial assistance from the very people they sought to disassociated from.
Alimony is the payment of money between ex-spouses. It transfers from one party to the other for the financial benefit of the recipient. It is intended to help the recipient survive after their divorce, but readers should know that alimony is a diverse area of divorce and family law. They can take their questions about it to their trusted divorce attorneys.
Fact #1: The availability of alimony may be dependent on the property settlement
In Florida, before a court will entertain a request for alimony, it must first divide the distribute the property shared by the parties. Florida follows equitable distribution procedures for property division, which means the parties receive as fair share of their marital property, as opposed to an equal share. Before a court will decide if a party should receive alimony it will look at how the parties’ property should be balanced and distributed to each of them.
Fact #2: Alimony is available to both husbands and wives
Traditional notions of family and gender roles may suggest that alimony is a legal construct intended to benefit women. Historically, women stayed home to care for married couples’ children while men worked outside of their homes for incomes. Today, though, men and women have careers and professional lives; anyone can seek alimony from their spouse when they go through a divorce.
Fact #3: There are different forms of payment for Florida alimony
Many alimony agreements are structured so that the recipients receive alimony money once per month. Courts can, however, order alimony to be paid as lump sums or one-time payments. Alimony payments can las for varying durations and can be ordered to achieve different ends for recipients. An alimony order is a unique legal decision that will be based on the factors the divorce and the needs of the recipient.
No part of this blog should be read as legal or financial device. All readers are encouraged to find and work with divorce and family law attorneys that they know and trust for their important legal needs.