USA – FLORIDA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Elisha D. Roy and Carolyn D. Ware, Sasser, Cestero & Roy
Sasser, Cestero & Roy, P.A. 2041 Vista Parkway Suite 200 West Palm Beach FL 33411 USA Tel: +561 689 4378
Fax: eroy@sasserlaw.com Web: www.sasserlaw.com
Florida family law is truly in an interesting state of flux. While Florida Statutes Chapter 61 gov - erns almost all of family law, the courts rely heavily on the appellate opinions from the Flor - ida Supreme Court and the six District Courts of Appeal across the State. Major changes to alimony/support, parenting and equitable distri - bution that occurred over the past two legisla - tive sessions have yet to really make their way through the appellate courts so that it is possible to know how they will ultimately be applied. It is not uncommon for the decisions of the Appellate Courts or Florida’s Supreme Court to change what might appear to have been the plain mean - ing of a statute. Alimony In 2023, Florida drastically amended its alimony statute, eradicating permanent alimony and cre - ating guidelines for both amounts of alimony and lengths of time for awards. These changes came after decades of fighting among stakeholders in Florida family law, including both the propo - nents and antagonists to alimony. What has yet to become clear is how judges are going to apply and address the statutory changes in practice.
For example, in 2010, the alimony statutes were modified to provide that “permanent alimony” could only be granted to a spouse in a long-term marriage if no other form of alimony was able to provide for the recipient’s needs and neces - sities. Durational alimony, formed also in 2010, was not to exceed the length of a marriage, and, as a result, would answer the need in most cases, so permanent alimony should not be required. However, and almost immediately, the appellate courts issued opinions that, notwith - standing the clear language in the statute, if you were the needy spouse in a long-term marriage, permanent alimony was still the presumption. Now, with permanent alimony completely gone in Florida statutes, will the appellate courts still find a way to “create” permanent alimony? With the new guidelines, in a long-term marriage (in excess of 20 years), a recipient is to be awarded alimony that does not exceed 75% the length of the marriage. The court can exceed that statu - tory amount based on certain circumstances, so practitioners should be looking to see if the appellate courts create another hard and fast rule in this regard, perhaps creating “permanent alimony” once again.
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