The Florida legislature recently revised the Florida Child Support Act, Florida Stat. 08/61 The new law came into force on July 1, 2023. It introduces wide-ranging changes to various aspects of maintenance, including the criteria for change. The most significant change is the abolition of alimony in favor of a formula-based system that sets the maximum duration of alimony and caps the amount of alimony. Attorneys and other financial advisors in Florida should consider these new child support rules when assisting clients with their estate plans.
forms of maintenance
Historically, there have been four types of child support in Florida: enduring child support, enduring child support, rehabilitation payments, and bridging payments. While permanent upkeep is now a thing of the past, the other three forms still exist. To determine what is reasonable, the court must consider a long list of factors, including the length of the marriage, the parties’ income and earning capacity, standard of living, and the anticipated “living needs and necessities of each party.” after the divorce. In appropriate circumstances, the court may award more than one type of maintenance.
Under the new law, permanent maintenance can only be granted in marriages of three years or more. Bridging maintenance remains in place in a very short marriage, but can only be granted for up to two years.
How long is the maintenance?
The law limits the length of time that permanent maintenance can be granted based on a percentage of the length of the marriage. In the case of a short-term marriage (less than 10 years), the maintenance period does not exceed 50% of the marriage period; In a medium-term marriage (10-20 years), the maintenance period does not exceed 60% of the marriage period. and in the case of a long-term marriage (20 years or more), the alimony is no more than 75% of the length of the marriage. The caps can only be extended in “extraordinary circumstances” based on certain factors set out in the Articles of Incorporation.
Determination of the amount of maintenance
The new law stipulates that the amount of perpetual support to be granted will correspond to the amount of the recipient’s “reasonable need”. However, the law limits the amount of alimony to 35% of the difference between the net incomes of the parties. The law does not specify how the court should decide what is “reasonable”.
Net income is defined with reference to the Florida Stat. 61.30(2) and (3), the statute governing how income for child support purposes is calculated. It contains a detailed listing of what can and cannot be included in gross income. It includes income in all forms, including taxable and non-taxable income.
Under the old law, income could be attributed to a spouse who is unemployed, works part-time, or chooses low-income work. Under the new law, the court is required to attribute income to a spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed based on their recent work history, professional qualifications and the prevailing income level in the community.
Factors to consider
As in the previous law, there are a number of factors in the new law that the court may consider in determining the “proper form or forms” of alimony. The court must consider all relevant factors when making its decision.
It’s also important to note that in some cases, the new law only provides guesswork and not absolute values. In most steps of the analysis, the parties have an opportunity to convince the court why applying these presumptions would be unfair or unjust.
Jodi Furr Colton is a partner at Brinkley Morgan
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