DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
Uncontested: The distribution of property in a divorce in Florida is covered by Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes. Rather than a community property state, such as California, Florida has adopted what is known as Equitable Distribution. Under the Equitable Distribution scheme, marital property is fairly divided between the parties, which usually means negotiation and compromise by both parties. Some couples agree on property settlements, child custody, and other post-divorce arrangements before or soon after the original petition for dissolution of marriage is filed. They then enter into a "Marital Settlement Agreement", which is signed by both parties, that is presented to the court. In such an uncontested case, a divorce can become final in a matter of a few weeks.
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center. Miami-Dade County, Florida
Child Support: Under Florida law, each of the parents has the obligation to support the child(ren). If the arrangement or parenting agreement of the parties is such that one parent has primary custody of the child(ren) and the other (non residential parent) has the child(ren) for less than 20% of the time, the child support would be determined by the Court using the Florida Child Support Guidelines ("Guidelines"), which is based upon the income shares of each of the parents. However, if the arrangement or parenting plan is such that both of the parents have the child(ren) for more than 20% of the time, then the Court would determine the obligation for child support under the Guidelines based upon the Gross-up method, which accounts for the fact that each of the parents is spending more money maintaining a separate household for the child(ren).
ALIMONY
Alimony
in Florida is discretionary with the Court, including the actual entitlement to it, as well as the duration and the amounts of the payments. There are various types of alimony including temporary alimony, bridge the gap alimony, rehabilitative alimony, durational alimony
, and
permanent alimony
.
The Judge makes the determination regarding whether alimony is required based upon what is fair under the circumstances, but in determining entitlement to alimony, there are general rules that apply. As as example, permanent alimony is more commonly awarded after a
long-term marriage
, which is defined under Florida Statutes as 17 years or longer. While a judge could order it with a marriage of only seven to 10 years, a compelling reason to do so would have to exist.
Short-term marriages
are those of less than seven years -- and permanent alimony is only ordered in those cases when there are extraordinary circumstances.
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