Alimony is paid from one spouse (ex-spouse) to the other in cases of divorce or legal separation. For one spouse to receive marital support payments there must be a court order and the payments must be for support purposes, not part of a property agreement or another type of settlement agreement. Generally, alimony payments are for a specific period of time or for an indefinite amount of time. A specific period of time or a one-time payment is considered a lump sum alimony payment schedule. If the period of alimony is indefinite, this is a periodic alimony payment agreement. Both types of payment schedules may be modified or terminated, by either party, by means of a motion to the court.

Consequently, there are situations where an ex-spouse may wish to modify his or her support payment amount or duration. The individual (usually the payor) may make a motion to the court for consideration; the motion must provide the court with reasons for the modification or termination. The modification or termination situations may vary; an example may be a negative change in circumstances, which causes an inability to pay. Some ex-spouses may also elect to make higher periodic payments in the event that he or she is not able to pay as much in the future. This option protects both parties.

Rehabilitative Alimony

The court may also order a specific period of alimony known as rehabilitative alimony. Rehabilitative alimony is most commonly used when one spouse has been financially dependent on the other spouse. The dependent spouse has often lost career opportunities due to the marriage or has contributed to the household in ways other than participating in the traditional workforce. Examples may be of one spouse supporting the other while he or she advances his or her education or working in the home while the other spouse enhances his or her career and earning capacity. It is a period of time intended to help the dependent spouse get on his or her feet, began working and become able to support him or herself. The limited amount of time alimony is paid to the formerly dependent spouse is intended to encourage him or her to acquire job skills, training or education to help them become financially independent and successful in the workforce.

Alimony Trusts

Another option for alimony payment is to set up an alimony trust. This may be a good option for an ex-spouse who is not able to manage alimony payments on his or her own. Inability to pay may be due to incapacity or an individual’s incapability to make payments, for whatever reason. The trust makes payments to the spouse and is generally funded by income producing property. According to federal statute, in order to have an alimony trust the payor (individual making alimony payments) and payee (individual receiving alimony payments) must be divorced or legally separated and the trust payments must not be for child support. The trust may be created for the purpose of alimony payments or it may be an existing trust, not created for alimony purposes, that is later used for alimony payments when the marriage has ended.

Anndrew M Smith

P.S. If you are currently going through a divorce, alimony battle, trying to determine custody for your children I can help you.  You can reach me at 561-961-4665.

P.P.S.  Be on the look out for my next blog in a couple of days.

If you are getting divorced in the state of Florida, the courts follow a rigid guideline in the equitable distribution of all marital property. What does that really mean? Simply put, all assets and liabilities determined to be “marital,” or shared between both husband and wife while married, are assessed and then distributed evenly to both parties after the dissolution proceeding. But this begs the question: What about my non-marital assets, or assets that will not be factored into the court’s equitable distribution analysis? Because Florida distinguishes between marital and non-marital assets, if a wife believes that some piece of property she acquired before marriage should not be considered in the distribution of marital property, it is her obligation to show the court why that asset is a non-marital.

Florida courts generally presume that all assets and liabilities incurred after the exact date you get married are marital for purposes of equitable distribution in a dissolution of marriage proceeding. However, if you are a spouse with the premarital property and feel your husband is not entitled to share in that asset, look to the example mentioned above, you can defeat this presumption by a showing of why the assets and liabilities are non-marital. Because the division of assets and liabilities is one of the major concerns when couples are going through a divorce, it is a great idea to draft a list of all assets and liabilities and label them either marital or non-marital before the dissolution proceeding begins – this could save you a lot of time later on. To help you and the courts decided categorization, the Florida Legislature has enacted a statute that creates a list of assets and liabilities that are considered marital or non-marital.

Martial assets and liabilities include: (1) assets and liabilities incurred during marriage, either individually or both spouses; (2) increased value and appreciation of non-martial assets due to the efforts of either party during the marriage or because marital funds contributed to that increased value; (3) gifts one spouse gives to the other during that marriage; and (4) all vested and non-vested benefits, rights, and funds that came due during the marriage (including retirement, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance plans). It is also presumed that all real and personal property held as tenants by the entirety is marital, regardless of whether the property was purchased before or during marriage.

Nonmarital assets and liabilities include the following: (1) assets and liabilities incurred before you got married; (2) assets acquired individually by either spouse by non-interspousal gift, bequest, devise, or descent, or any exchange for these assets; (3) all income received from non-marital assets during the marriage unless that income was used or relied on by the spouses as a marital asset; (4) assets excluded based on a valid written agreement made by the parties (think: pre-nuptial agreement!); and (5) liabilities incurred by one spouse as a result of the other’s forgery or unauthorized signature of that spouse’s name.

In Florida, all assets obtained during marriage will be considered marital until the date the parties enter into a valid separation agreement (that may include a different date to consider) or the date a petition for dissolution of marriage is filed with the court. If you are in the beginning stages of a divorce, consult with an attorney to know what your rights are in regards to your marital and non-marital property.

Andrew M Smith

P.S. If you are currently going through a divorce, alimony battle, trying to determine custody for your children I can help you.  I specialize in Family Law, and have a proven track record of helping local South Florida Families resolve their legal issues.  You can reach me at 561-961-4665.

P.P.S.  Be on the look out for my next blog in a couple of days.

Many couples going through divorce find solace in playing the blame game—“I am getting a divorce because my spouse did this, that, and the other!” But just how far can that get you? In Florida, it probably won’t get you that far, and placing blame on your spouse, who is a party to your divorce proceeding, simply may not be relevant. That is because in cities like Boca Raton, Florida, and in the state of Florida in general, divorces are based on a “no fault” premise. The Florida legislature, like in many states through the country, has essentially made the “fault” inquiry during a divorce proceeding obsolete because it allows either party to seek divorce without a showing of cause. In Florida, the magic words to plead in your petition for divorce are that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Pleading “my husband cheated on me (adultery)” will likely get you nowhere!

That being said, conduct such as adultery, which may in fact “cause” one party to initiate a divorce, can impact other determinations raised during the divorce proceeding itself. Easily stated, fault may not be grounds for divorce in Florida, but it may be relevant to other determinations the court may be forced to make. Specifically, in Florida, one party’s adultery may have significant implications for divorces that include child custody battles, equitable division of marital assets, and distribution of alimony.

In child custody battles throughout Florida, before the court determines which parent should obtain custody of the child, the court must consider the “moral fitness” of a parent and what is in “the child’s best interests.” For this step, the court may consider both parent’s sexual conduct and whether the conduct had or is reasonably likely to have an adverse impact on the child. If adultery or marital misconduct is likely to have an negative effect on a child’s best interests, that court may take it into consideration when making its decision.

Please notice the limitations of this standard, however. While the court is allowed to consider a party’s adultery or marital misconduct, such conduct will not necessarily establish that a parent is unfit to obtain custody. While other factors may be considered, and the determination of custody is within the sole discretion of the court, the scales may tip against an adulterer if adultery has a negative effect on the child. But even if the court determines that a parent’s adultery has had an adverse effect on the child, other factors, such as, cruelty, neglect and parental unfitness exhibited by the other parent may be present to tip scales back in favor of award of custody to the adulterous parent.

As Florida’s case law makes emphatically clear, what is in “the child’s best interests” is an extremely fact-sensitive inquiry. If the court does decide to base its decision to award child custody to one parent and not the other due to a party’s marital misconduct or adultery, that finding must be thoroughly explained on the record. If you are going through a divorce due to your spouse’s marital misconduct, and you believe that it has negatively affected your child, remember, the best advice would be to consult you divorce lawyer to discuss how to properly obtain custody

Andrew M Smith

P.S. If you are currently going through a divorce, alimony battle, trying to determine custody for your children I can help you.  I specialize in Family Law, and have a proven track record of helping local South Florida Families resolve their legal issues.  You can reach me at 561-961-4665.

P.P.S.  Be on the look out for my next blog in a couple of days.