Divorce often comes with concerns for alimony; the concerns are for paying alimony and qualifying for alimony. In Florida, divorce and alimony are controlled by statute. Statutes determine the law associated with everything from qualifying for alimony to how the alimony will be paid.
Florida alimony is determined by the court and can awarded in the following ways F.S. 68.01(1):
1. Bridge-the-gap: this is for a term to help the needing party get from married to single life;
Florida family law matters such as divorce, paternity and child custody or time-sharing issues are defined by Florida Statute. The statutes provide a groundwork for cases involving family law matters so that the issues may be properly addressed for spouses and the related children.
In a case involving children, the Florida Court’s now require that a time-sharing plan be developed to outline the schedule the children will be with each parent, according to Florida Statute 61.046(23). The time-sharing schedule must be included in the parenting plan and it shall be as follows:
1) The parents develop and agree to the plan and it must be submitted to the Court for approval; OR
Divorce and custody battles can put a strain on a family, especially the children. Florida divorce and custody laws provide provisions that are designed to make the battle easier on the family by keeping the children in the forefront. To that end, Florida laws have changed in the last few years to include name changes, such as time-sharing instead of custody/visitation and the development of a parenting plan to help parents think through the issues that may arise for the child.
Florida Statute 61.046(14)defines the parenting plan as, “…a document created to govern the relationship between the parents relating to decisions that must be made regarding the minor child and must contain a time-sharing schedule for the parents and child. The issues concerning the minor child may include, but are not limited to, the child’s education, health care, and physical, social, and emotional well-being. In creating the plan, all circumstances between the parents, including their historic relationship, domestic violence, and other factors must be taken into consideration.” The idea is make the parents and the court aware of issues that have existed and may exist in the future while trying to raise a child separately.
Each family is different, so you should speak with a Florida family law attorney regarding your case.
Florida divorce and paternity cases can involve issues regarding parental responsibility. Parental responsibility is the term used to define the actual building of parent/child relationships and parental decision making for children. When both parents are mentally healthy, stable and responsible individuals there is normally not a question of the division of such responsibilities, they will be shared. However, what happens if one parent is absent and remained absent from the child’s life or one parent has a severe drug addiction; will the parents still be required to make decisions together?
Florida Statute 61.046(17) defines shared parental responsibility as both parents having equal share in major decisions involving the children (i.e. school; non-emergency surgeries, etc. If it is not in the best interest of the children for the parents to share these decisions, then Florida Statute 61.046(18) defines sole parental responsibility as a court-ordered relationship in which one parent makes decisions regarding the minor child. This is normally an issue when the Court or parties agree that one parent is more likely to take responsibility for the children and the other party is less likely to be able to engage in such decision making as would be required during the life of the children.
You should speak with a family law attorney about your rights and options regarding matters involving your children when going through a divorce or paternity action.
A Florida divorce must be by the book, meaning that the laws are followed to have a divorce approved by the Court. When filing for a divorce it is important to plead or argue certain facts, like there was a breakdown for the marriage. In fact, the laws surrounding divorce actually require that there be reason for the marriage to end. Simply saying, “I want a divorce,” does not mean that the Court has to or will grant the dissolution of marriage.
Florida Statute 61.052(1) indicates that a divorce can only be granted if the parties show one of two things:
(a) The marriage is irretrievably broken. This means that no matter what the parties have or may try, there is no chance that the marriage can remain intact; or
Florida divorce and paternity cases often revolve around one parent saying they want “sole custody.” However, there is a difference between “sole custody” and parental responsibility in Florida Statutes. Florida divorce statutes define many terms, including parental responsibility.
Shared parental responsibility is defined by Florida Statute 61.046(17) as when both parents have parental rights of the child and share responsibility for the child’s upbringing. This is typical in most cases because both parents have a responsibility to be a parent to the child and to make all life-related decisions for the child, together, regardless of the geographical location of the parents.
If you are going through a divorce or paternity case in Florida, then you should speak with a family law attorney about your rights and options.
Alimony and child support are determined by a number of factors in Florida. Some factors that are considered and used for calculations are income and health insurance, which are defined by Florida Statute 61.046.
Income is used to help determine the ability for a party to pay alimony in Florida. Income is also used to shoe a need for alimony that one party may have, such as being on a fixed income. Child support is actually calculated by using the incomes of both parties to determine what the overall income of the household would be and each parent’s pro rata share of the same. Florida Statute 61.046(8) defines income as, “any form of payment to an individual, regardless of source, including, but not limited to: wages (e.g. hourly or tips), salary, commissions and bonuses, compensation as an independent contractor, worker’s compensation, disability benefits, annuity and retirement benefits, pensions, dividends, interest, royalties, trusts, and any other payments, made by any person, private entity, federal or state government, or any unit of local government.” Basically, any form of payments received by a party.
A Florida divorce involving children or a paternity action will require, by Florida Statute, a determination of child support. Florida child support is based on a few factors, which are defined by Florida Statute. The factors considered in the child support calculation are the incomes of the parties, daycare costs, and health insurance costs. Understanding how Florida Statutes define these factors is key to understanding child support and how it is calculated.
Under Florida Statute 61.046, the Florida legislature established definitions found throughout the statutes involving divorce and child support cases. When calculating child support, the party that pays the health insurance costs actually receives a credit for such. Florida Statute 61.046(7) defines heath insurance as, “coverage under a fee-for-service arrangement, health maintenance organization, or preferred provider organization, and other types of coverage available to either parent, under which medical services could be provided to a dependent child.” This means that a party may have healthcare coverage under any of these types of scenarios, which also covers the children of the parties.
Florida is a “no-fault” divorce state. The idea is that you do not litigate why you are divorcing, but simply litigate a resolution to the divorce (i.e. distribution of assets, child support, alimony, etc.). To that end, Florida Statute 61.044 abolished certain defenses, such as condonation, collusion, recrimination, and laches.
Condonation is the defense that basically says, “You knew I was doing it and you were fine with it at the time.” This is not a defense to divorce because ultimately, it does not matter why the marriage broke-up, just that it’s not getting fixed.
Also, the defense of collusion has been abolished, so the parties cannot have a secret agreement being held over each other. For example, if a party tries to go to court and say, “She told me she would not ask for alimony.” That is not a defense to a request for alimony.
Recrimination, under Florida Statute 61.044 is abolished. Again, when the reason for divorce is not an issue, saying, “Well you also had an affair,” does not really help your legal case for the division of assets.
Laches are also abolished from a divorce defense because laches ultimately gives rise to another being responsible for a debt. However, a marital debt is going to be divided equally and the idea that the other party is responsible is not at issue in Florida.
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney
latter@woodatter.com
Florida laws regarding divorce, alimony and child support are defined in Chapter 61 of Florida Statutes. To file for an action of divorce involving alimony and child support, or simply a dissolution of marriage, you have to file a petition entitled, “In re the marriage of ____, Husband, and ____, Wife,” Florida Statute 61.043. Once you file the petition in the Circuit Court (e.g. Jacksonville is in the Fourth Judicial Circuit), a summons is required so that the other party can be served a copy of the petition. In addition, the statute requires that the petitioner to fill-out and provide to the clerk an anonymous questionnaire for the research purposes.
Once the other party is served with the petition, she/he has 20 days in which to file an Answer with the court, under Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. The answer actually provides a response to each paragraph alleged in the petition. For example, if you file a petition for divorce and a paragraph states, “Wife is in need of alimony and requests either lump sum, rehabilitative or permanent alimony,” then the Husband would answer, unless in agreement with this, that he denies that paragraph. If the other party does not file an answer within the 20 days, then the Petitioner may ask the court to grant everything requested because the other party is in default.
