The Florida estimated child support amounts per the guidelines lists out a number for each total income of the parents. It’s as though the state of Florida is saying, “This is what it costs to raise a child at your income.” Anyone who has actually had children will look at that number and say, “kids…
Whether you’re divorcing and were never married Florida state law controls how child support works in Naples, Florida. Florida Statute Section 61.13(1) allows the court to enter child support orders and provides some guidelines of what child support orders must include. The statue immediately instructs that the courts have the power to award child support…
After an order for alimony is entered by the court, it is enforceable by Florida courts. It does not matter whether the order was temporary or final. If an order was entered by the court with due notice given to the obligor, it must be followed pursuant to the details contained within the order. There…
Temporary alimony is an award of alimony that is made before the end of a divorce and and after the filing of the petition of dissolution. Temporary alimony can always be modified for whatever reason the court decides. Temporary alimony is extinguished however when the alimony award is made in the final judgment for divorce.…
In the old days of Florida’s past, proof of adultery both allowed for a divorce and barred the adulterer from ever requesting alimony. Presumably, the courts exercised broad discretion back then and punished adulterers by denying them marital assets and custody of their children (they just didn’t write it into the statute) Today, Florida is…
Your divorce starts in whatever county court the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. If you and your spouse live in Naples, Florida, you will almost always be filing in the Collier County Courthouse. If you’ve filed your divorce in Collier County or any other county, you are still welcome to file your case in another…
When calculating alimony the courts first test is to compare the party’s need with the other party’s ability to pay. Both of these amounts are largely determined by the parties’ incomes. When one of the parties has a drastic change in income during the divorce proceedings (and this happens all the time) the other party will…
Elderly or grey divorces are becoming more and more common. Age can be a factor in Florida divorces insofar as it impacts alimony. Obviously, it is more likely for an older person to qualify for statutorily mandated permanent maintenance because it is more likely that an older person has been in a 17+ year marriage. Age…
The primary factor that Florida courts consider in determining the length of an alimony award is the length of the marriage. “For purposes of determining alimony, there is a rebuttable presumption that a short-term marriage is a marriage having a duration of less than 7 years, a moderate-term marriage is a marriage having a duration…
There are a series of tests to determine if alimony should be awarded in a Florida divorce and, if awarded, what should the amount of alimony be. The first test is to determine if the parties have the same incomes and assets. While this test is not in the statute, it’s the common practice of…
