Durational Alimony Under Florida's 2023 Law: Need, Ability to Pay, and Duration
In our latest short video, Adam T. Magill, MBA, CBA, CVA, MAFF, explains how durational alimony is calculated under the alimony statute Florida adopted in 2023.
What changed in 2023
Florida's 2023 alimony law abolished permanent periodic alimony and introduced a formula for durational alimony. Rehabilitative, bridge-the-gap, lump sum, and temporary alimony are still available, but durational alimony is where the biggest change happened. The formula rests on two questions: need and ability to pay.
Step 1: Establish need
Need has to be established before there can be an alimony award. Start with all sources of income available to the spouse seeking alimony, then subtract the historical standard of living during the marriage, adjusted for post-divorce expenses such as health insurance and income taxes. If income minus expenses is a negative number, that establishes a need for alimony. If it is positive, technically there is no need.
Step 2: Ability to pay and the 35% cap
Once need is established, the focus shifts to the paying spouse's after-tax, post-divorce net income. Alimony is the amount of the need, but it cannot exceed 35% of the difference between the two spouses' net incomes.
Example: if the paying spouse nets $10,000 a month after tax and the receiving spouse nets $0, alimony cannot be more than $3,500 ($10,000 difference × 35%). If the need is less than $3,500, alimony is limited to the need.
Step 3: Duration depends on the length of the marriage
Less than 3 years: no durational alimony.
Short-term marriage (under 10 years): up to 50% of the length of the marriage.
Moderate-term marriage (10 to 20 years): up to 60% of the length of the marriage.
Long-term marriage (20 years or more): up to 75% of the length of the marriage.
Retirement
The law also presumes the paying spouse can retire. Retirement is based on Social Security retirement age, or on the normal retirement age in the paying spouse's profession if that is earlier, which has to be proven. For most people, retirement will be considered to be at Social Security retirement age.
Getting the numbers right
A correct alimony number depends on establishing the right need and the right post-divorce net incomes for the 35% calculation. You can try the numbers yourself with our free Florida alimony and child support calculator, visit collaborate-florida.com for collaborative divorce and mediation, and subscribe to Adam's YouTube channel for new videos.
This post and video provide general information only and are not legal, tax, or investment advice. Cover photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.
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