We, at Kreutzer Law Offices, handle a full range of Family Law matters including adoption, divorce, alimony issues, separation, premarital agreements, paternity, custody, relocation, and child support.
There is a huge misconception that a spouse’s consent is necessary to obtain a divorce. In the State of Florida, a spouse’s consent is unnecessary to obtain a dissolution of marriage or a divorce. The only necessary elements to obtain a divorce in Florida is that your marriage is irretrievably broken, and you must have been a resident of the State of Florida for at least 6 months before filing your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
The major issues in a Divorce are normally the following:
1. Alimony
2. Child Support
3. Equitably dividing the assets
4. Attorney’s fees
Alimony is a payment that the court orders based on the need of the party for the additional income and the ability to pay of the other spouse. The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage must include a request for alimony. There are various types of alimony including:
1.Permanent alimony
2. Rehabilitative alimony
3. Durational alimony
4. Bridge the gap alimony
5. Temporary alimony
6. Lump sum alimony
There are various facts that the Judge will take into account in determining what type of alimony to award, if any, such as: the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, and the financial resources of the parties. These factors will be discussed with you, and we will come up with a game plan on how to prove with evidence and testimony that alimony is necessary or unnecessary based on the facts of the case.
The Court has the ability to award different types of alimony such as permanent alimony, durational alimony, rehabilitative alimony, bridge the gap alimony, temporary alimony and lump sum alimony. It is very important to note that the length of a party’s marriage can substantially increase one party’s likelihood of receiving or paying alimony.
Every case has different facts, and the Judge has the discretion to weigh the evidence and determine if alimony will be required and what kind of alimony to award. We are well versed on how to present the facts to the Judge in order to prove our position.
Permanent alimony is usually only awarded in long term marriages. According to Florida law, a short-term marriage is any marriage between one to seven years, and under the law with this length of marriage there is no presumption in favor of permanent alimony. An intermediate marriage is any marriage between seven to seventeen years and there is no presumption in favor of or against permanent alimony. A long-term marriage is any marriage of seventeen years or more and in this type of marriage there is a presumption of permanent alimony. There is no guarantee that the Judge will award or not award permanent alimony based on these parameters, however, there is a presumption, and the lawyers at Kreutzer Law Offices will argue for this presumption or against this presumption depending on who we represent.
Rehabilitative alimony is another form of alimony that the Judge has the discretion to award based on the testimony and evidence. This form of alimony pays for education or training so that the spouse who needs the alimony can become self-sufficient after the divorce if finalized. A specific plan for this rehabilitation must be presented to do the judge with testimony and evidence. Therefore, this alimony is only for a period of time as specified in the plan.
Durational alimony is alimony for a short period of time and sometimes a Judge will award this for one half of the term of the marriage. This is for marriages of under seventeen years as those are most often in the permanent alimony category. The court will also take into consideration the other assets of the parties. Therefore, if one party has received substantially more than the other with their cash assets than there may not be a ruling in favor of any alimony.
The last form of alimony is called temporary alimony. Often times a divorce will take a long time and therefore the spouse who earns less and who does not have savings will not be able to pay their monthly bills. Therefore, the Judge may order temporary alimony to be paid. This is money to be paid until the divorce is finalized.
The lawyers at Kreutzer Law Offices will give your case, whether it be for alimony, child support, parental relocation, or other issues all of the attention necessary for you to feel comfortable with the process. Call your Miami Divorce lawyer and Ft. Lauderdale Divorce lawyer today.
