Four bills and a decade of emotional wrangling later, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new law in Florida that overhauls the state's child support laws and, among other things, eliminates so-called permanent child support.
DeSantis signed the new measure, SB 1416, on Friday, a year after vetoing a similar bill that would have also eliminated permanent alimony while introducing a formula for the amount of alimony based on the length of the marriage.
SB 1416 is the fourth such bill in the last decade that sought to eliminate permanent alimony. In addition to the 2022 version, which DeSantis vetoed last year, former Gov. Rick Scott vetoed two other bills.
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Florida's new alimony law went into effect Saturday and not only eliminates permanent alimony, but also sets a five-year limit on so-called rehabilitative alimony, allows alimony payers to seek modifications under certain conditions and more. Here's what you need to know.
Florida SB 1416 ends permanent maintenance
The first section of SB 1416 introduces new language into Florida Statutes 61.08 that describes alimony as “temporary” and clearly refers to its previous permanent nature.
It will allow judges to reduce or stop maintenance or care payments after considering a number of factors, including the “age and health” of the payer, the usual retirement age in their profession, the “economic impact” that a reduction in maintenance would have on the payee, and the payer's “motivation for retirement and likelihood of returning to work”.
The state currently recognizes four types of maintenance: temporary maintenance, bridging maintenance, rehabilitation maintenance (currently limited to five years), and temporary maintenance.
The party claiming maintenance must provide the burden of proof
The second section of SB 1416 states that parties seeking support, maintenance, or alimony now bear the burden of proving their need for support and the other party's ability to pay.
What is permanent maintenance?
Permanent alimony, as the name suggests, is a permanent form of alimony that is paid until the spouse receiving the benefit dies, remarries, or enters into a supporting relationship.
Before the new law went into effect on Saturday, Florida was one of only seven other states that allowed permanent alimony. Other states that allow it include Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia.
SB 1416 adds new considerations to child support claims
Florida's SB 1416 adds several new considerations that courts must now take into account when deciding whether or not to award alimony. Courts must provide findings of fact for the type of alimony awarded and use those findings as the basis for the duration of any compensation.
It codifies many aspects of the law, including the burden of proof, the payer's ability to pay, and outlines special circumstances that must be met to obtain maintenance under a life insurance policy.
The new bill also requires courts to consider post-divorce needs and necessities, including lifestyle during the marriage, mental health, permanent or temporary mental health conditions of a party, the party's ability to acquire skills or education that contribute to supporting themselves, the economic impact of adultery, and more.
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Temporary maintenance
The new law limits the duration of maintenance to three years or less. The duration depends, with certain exceptions, on the length of the marriage and may not exceed the reasonable needs of the maintenance recipient or 35 percent of the difference between the net incomes of the spouses (whichever is less).
Changes to pensions
Former spouses who pay alimony now have the opportunity to request a modification of their alimony arrangements upon retirement.
What happens to existing maintenance agreements?
Republican Senator Joe Gruters of Sarasota, who introduced the bill in the Senate, said the new law would have no unconstitutional impact on existing child support agreements.
“So what you can do now is, according to case law, codify all of these laws and make them the law. So we're basically solidifying it. So from a retroactive perspective, that's not the case, because if something was changeable before, it's still changeable. If it's an immutable agreement, you still can't change that agreement,” Gruters told a Senate committee in April.
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