Articles Posted in Alimony

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When you meet with your Broward divorce lawyer, he or she will explain to you that there is a four point analysis for the marital and family law judge to award alimony. First, the starting point is to determine the need of one spouse and the ability to pay of the other spouse. Next, it is important to determine how long you will need alimony and what type of alimony you should request. Divorce attorneys in Fort Lauderdale will explain to you the differences between permanent periodic, rehabilitative, bridge the gap, lump sum, temporary and nominal alimony. Next, the recipient spouse must have a need for alimony based upon the standard of living established during the marriage in order for the Broward marital and family law judge to determine the amount of alimony that should be awarded. Finally, the court must consider and make findings of fact relative to the factors enumerated in Florida Statute, 61.08 in awarding or denying alimony. For the purposes of this blog, I will discuss bridge the gap alimony.

Bride the gap alimony is typically awarded during a Broward divorce to fulfill a specific and limited purpose of meeting short term financial difficulties as a result of the transition from married to single life. Unlike rehabilitative alimony, bride the gap alimony is for a shorter duration of time. Your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer will explain to you that bridge the gap alimony is typically awarded during a short term marriage of one to three years. However, there are no presumptions for or against this type of alimony.

There is no direct reference to bridge the gap alimony under Chapter 61, Florida Statutes. Rather, this form of alimony is recognized in many of the appellate districts in Florida. In the First, Third and Fourth districts, bridge the gap alimony is fully modifiable short term periodic payments. On the other hand, in the Second district, bridge the gap alimony is considered lump sum alimony payable in installments, is non-modifiable and generally does not terminate upon death or remmarriage.

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In Vigo v. Vigo, the Florida marital and family law court awarded the wife permanent periodic alimony in the amount of $5,500 per month. The Third District Court of Appeals, located south of Broward County, reversed the Florida Divorce Judge Maxine Cohen Lando’s decision to award the wife permanent periodic alimony because under Florida law, the wife is not a candidate for permanent periodic alimony.

Permanent periodic alimony is generally reserved for long term marriages, or for marriages where a major inequity is created by the dissolution. This type of alimony is used to maintain the lifestyle that the parties were accustomed to during the duration of the marriage. When determining whether permanent periodic alimony is appropriate, the court also considers the need of the party requesting alimony and the ability of the party who is obligated to pay.

In this case, need turned on whether the Wife would be able to work after the divorce. During the seven and one half year marriage, the Wife worked for three and a half years as a housekeeper and for one year operating her own used car business. In 2005, when she stopped working, the Husband supported her. The evidence on record reflected that the Wife had “serious chronic health problems;” however, the appellate court found that she lived a rather active lifestyle, attending church for three hours at a time, shopping, taking her dog to the park for two hours a day, and visiting the beauty salon. The appellate court found that her ailments would not prevent her from obtaining a sedentary job.

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What happens if the Fort Lauderdale divorce judge has ordered you to make alimony or child support payments and you no longer can pay the amount? Do not neglect your payment obligation. Go back to the Broward County divorce court and file a petition for a downward modification of your child support and/or alimony. Whether you are paying child support or temporary, rehabilitative or permanent alimony, if you stop making payments, the marital and family law judge in Fort Lauderdale may hold you in contempt of court which means you could end up behind bars at the Broward County jail.

With the economy the way it is today, a number of spouses are finding it exceedingly difficult to make their payments. If you are the payor spouse and you are making less money than you were at the time of your support determination, you may have legal grounds to petition the court for a downward modification. If you are the receiving spouse it is wise to draft a new agreement with your ex detailing the percentage of downward modification and the length of time this modification will be in effect. Both parties should consult their attorneys and come up with a modification agreement so that the children and the parents are financially stable.

The statutory grounds for modification of alimony are found in section 61.14(1) of the Florida Statutes. When the parties enter into an agreement or the court orders alimony payments, and sometime later the financial ability or the circumstances change then either spouse may request the court for modification of alimony or child support payments. The party who petitions for a change in alimony must show that a substantial change has occurred. Showing a reduction in the payor’s income alone will not justify modification. The change must be involuntary and there must be no other funds in the payor spouse’s possession that could be used to keep current with the alimony obligation

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In Bengisu v. Bengisu, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a Florida divorce court’s decision awarding the Wife temporary child support and alimony. The Wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage with two minor children in the Florida divorce Court. Subsequent to filing for dissolution of marriage, the Wife also filed a motion seeking temporary child support and alimony. The Broward County divorce court awarded the Wife temporary support in the amount of $5,500 per month, and the Husband appealed.

At a hearing on the motion for temporary child support and alimony, the court looked at the parties’ financial affidavits as well as heard their direct testimony. The Wife’s financial affidavit listed that she was unemployed, had monthly expenses of $11,898.00 and a net worth of $744,123.00. The Husband’s financial affidavit listed he was a lawyer employed as a solo practitioner, that he had a net monthly income of $2,585.00, total monthly expenses of $4,886.58 and a monthly deficit of $2,720.29. He listed a net worth of $322,230.00.

In her direct testimony, the Wife told the court that the household expenses were $12,600 per month, that her Husband was responsible for all of the bills and that throughout the marriage the couple accrued no debt to pay their monthly expenses. Additionally, the Wife explained that her Husband left his solo practice to work for a law firm for four months leading up to the divorce and, while there, his salary was $85,000. Additionally, the Wife’s accountant testified that based on the financials she needed $5,500.00 per month during the pendency of the divorce and that he believed the Husband’s tax returns did not accurately reflect the Husband’s real income. The Husband testified that the reason the couple did not have any debt was because his parents had helped pay for their household expenses, but were no longer in a position to continue to provide this assistance. At the conclusion of the hearing the trial court awarded the Wife $5,500 per month in temporary support.

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Prior to filing for your divorce in Broward County, Florida, your divorce lawyer may want to hire a private investigator to catch your spouse cheating on you. If it is discovered that your spouse has cheated on you, this is a factor that the Fort Lauderdale divorce court may consider in awarding your alimony. However, hiring a private investigator to help your divorce lawyer find out if your spouse is cheating on you at a restaurant or hotel in Hollywood, Weston, Pembroke Pines or Cooper City, Florida with a paramour may become expensive.

GPS, or global position system tracking, is a useful tool that may be used to catch your spouse cheating. GPS systems cost less than $1,000.00 for certain models. During your dissolution of marriage case, a party that owns a car can may be able to conceal a GPS system in a glove compartment or other hiding place legally.

Electronic toll information has now become a thing of the past because of the fact that GPS information is more detailed. Last year, 88 percent of divorce lawyer reported an increase in using electronic information such as GPS and toll-pass date and computer records.

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida divorce Judge Arthur Birken ruled that Palm Beach Circuit Judge David French should not have to pay his former wife $3,400.00 a month in permanent alimony because she has been living with another man for nearly 20 years. Judge Birken also ordered the former wife to repay $151,000.00 that she received in alimony since August 2006.

Judge David French was divorced from his former wife in 1988. In 2006, Judge French requested that his alimony obligation be abated after the Florida Legislature enacted Florida Statute 61.14(b) which permits modification or termination of alimony to recipients living in a supportive relationship. The trial court denied this request in August 2006.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s August 2006 ruling and found that the former wife was in a supportive relationship and should not continue to receive alimony from Judge French

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