Florida Alimony - Temporary Relief

In Florida, alimony is based on “need” and “ability”.   The type of Florida alimony is based on the unique set of circumstances of each case.  One type of Florida alimony is temporary alimony, which means that a Florida judge can award alimony to one spouse while the divorce case is pending. 

A spouse will be entitled to temporary alimony in Florida if he/ she cannot meet her household and living expenses as established during the parties’ Marriage.  The longer the marriage, the more discernable is the need for alimony, in dollars.  If a spouse is not employed at this time, this may give rise to a need for temporary alimony in Florida.  If a spouse is not employable and/ or marketable due to being out of the work force or not having marketable skills such as healthcare (nursing for instance) or IT, then this spouse may initially be entitled to temporary alimony. 

Florida temporary alimony cannot exceed or nearly exhaust the income of the spouse who will be paying temporary alimony.   However, the amount can be in excess of 50% of the paying spouse’s income.   Further, if the parties liquidated assets to support their household, living and lifestyle expenses during their marriage, then the Florida judge may look to those assets for the support of the spouse in need. 

Florida law requires “mandatory disclosure” which is a critical step in determining entitlement to temporarily alimony and how much will need to be paid.  If you are in need of legal advice, please contact my Office, Garth R. Goodman, P.A., either by phone: 727-895-5858 or by email at: garth@goodmanatlaw.com .