Ocala Divorce Lawyer Blog

There have been recent changes to Florida Statute §61.08, significantly affecting Florida alimony laws. This bill was signed into law over the summer and will not apply to all pending divorces.

The changes apply to all alimony awards entered on or after July 1, 2010. The updated statute cannot be used as the basis for a modification of an alimony award determined before July 1 2010. The changes bring some clarity to what has long been a very murky area of family law. The updated statute provides Judges additional guidance in making alimony award determinations and actually provide some bright-line rules. The first step is still a factual determination as to the financial status of the couple involved, focusing on the party's need for alimony and the other's party's ability to pay alimony.

Prior to the recent changes, a court had the authority to consider a number of factors as it determined whether alimony should be granted, and if so, in what amount. Those factors included:

a) The standard of living enjoyed by the couple;

b) The duration of the marriage;

c) Age and physical and mental condition of the parties;

d) The financial resources of each party;

e) Earning capacity, as well as education, skills and employability of the parties;

f) Contributions by the parties to the marriage;

g) Any other factors the court determines are relevant to an equitable alimony arrangement.

Under the new statute, there are now three additional factors for a judge to consider when making an alimony award in Florida:

a) The responsibilities each party will have with regard to any minor children they have in common.

b) The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a nontaxable, nondeductible payment.

c) All sources of income available to either party, including income available to either party through investments of any asset held by that party.

Under the new alimony statute, marriages are divided into three categories of duration and more concrete time frames are provided for categorizing a marriage's duration. The new law lengthens the amount of time the marriage must last before permanent alimony becomes a strong claim.

a) Short-term: less than seven years of marriage;

b) Moderate: between seven and 17 years;

c) Long-term: more than 17 years of marriage.

Continue reading "New Changes to Alimony Statute in Florida Divorce" »

Divorce in Florida, especially alimony and child support have been changed when House Bill 907 was signed into law yesterday. This bill was merely waiting for the signature of the Governor, as it had passed the House and the Senate.

Florida's alimony laws have been under consideration for change for some time. The statute which previously guided our Judges on issues of alimony was ambiguous at best, because it lacked clear definitions of "duration" for the award of alimony or types to be considered. It was basically a case-by-case analysis with the aid of case law. Lawyers knew what to do with very short term marriages and long-term marriages but everything else was a "best guess." The new law gives the Court more guidance as far as length of marriage and other factors to consider. The following have been codified by this bill:

1. Adds "durational" alimony or alimony for a set period of "short" or "moderate" period of time.

2. Adds specific guidelines for length of marriage, and defines various types of alimony. Allows for award of more than one type of alimony; and revises factors to be considered in whether to award alimony or maintenance

3. Adds tax consequences and child care responsibilities as factors the court should consider when awarding alimony.

4. Recognizes "bridge-the-gap" short-term alimony so that those in the 5th District Court of Appeal (which includes Ocala, Inverness, Bushnell) will finally have access to this type of support.

A big change on the child support side of the bill was that it added back the 25% of daycare that was taken away. So now instead of getting a 75% credit for paying daycare, the parent that is paying it gets 100% credit, Also, another HUGE change was that "substantial Parenting Time" was reduced from 40% time-sharing (or 147 overnights) down to 20% time sharing (73 overnights). Hopefully, this will mean less fighting over that "mid-week overnight."

If you are thinking about divorce, please call us to talk your case. Visit our website or call the office to schedule your low-cost consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation, all of which is credited back to your account if we accept your case.

A retainer fee is a form of pre-payment, like a "savings account" with your lawyer, against which the lawyer will bill when handling your case. This advanced fee ensures that the attorney will provide the specified legal services on behalf of the client. Think of it as a down payment on the services the attorney provides. The funds, which are usually non-refundable in most family law cases, and are then place in the attorney's or law firm's business account where they have access to it to pay any upcoming services that are rendered on behalf of the client. If the fees go above the retainer amount, the client must pay that amount. The retainer fee is just an initial estimate and is often based on the complexity of the case. If there are more complex issues involved, then naturally the higher the retainer amount. Additional fees beyond the retainer are often required when a matter must go to court.

Before accepting to pay a retainer fee, get the fee, terms and conditions in writing. The most widely used forms of advance payment are "the general (or traditional) retainer", "the special (or specific) retainer," the "flat fee retainer," or "the nonrefundable retainer." Before you hire a lawyer for your divorce or family law matter, make sure you have read, reviewed and understood the Retainer Agreement the attorney has given you. You are signing a binding contract between you and your lawyer. You should be clear on what you will be billed for - such as phone calls, emails, letters and other communications. You should ask all questions before you sign the agreement.

You should be sure that you will be receiving monthly statements showing you (the client) how your retainer funds are being used. The billing statement should be clear and easy to understand and show what work was performed and by whom. If you have any questions about your billing statement, you should always contact the attorney immediately, as sometimes mistakes are made.

If you are going through a divorce or family law matter, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation, all of which is credited back to your account if we accept your case.

There has been much litigation in Florida about whether retiring is a material and significant change in circumstances to warrant a downward modification of permanent alimony. There is binding case law from the Florida Supreme Court that says that a payor spouse can retire, and can modify permanent alimony, as long as it does not put the recipient spouse in the peril of poverty. The Florida Supreme Court in Pimm v. Pimm, 601 So.2d 534,1992 held that husband's retirement was change of circumstance that could be considered together with other relevant factors and applicable law upon petition to modify. However, the Court in Pimm also held that a trial court should consider that even at age of sixty-five or later, a payor spouse should not be permitted to unilaterally choose voluntary retirement if this choice places the receiving spouse in peril of poverty. Thus, the court should consider the needs of the receiving spouse and the impact a termination or reduction of alimony would have on him or her.

What does this mean? Sometimes it means that retiring is delayed because of an Alimony obligation. Should people have to work past the age of retirement because of an obligation to pay another person support? Is this fair? Should someone have to continue to work well into his/her 70s or 80s? Shouldn't a person be allowed to retire? On the other hand, should someone be allowed to retire in order to escape the necessity of paying alimony?

As recently as this past month, courts around the county are grappling with this issue as people are living longer lives - often into their 80s. Below is a link to a good article from Boston that deals with what our Florida Supreme Court dealt with in Pimm: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/10/divorce_may_mean_retiring_is_delayed/

If you are involved in a Family Law or Divorce case and want more information, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation, all of which is credited back to your account if we accept your case.