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Advocating For You Regarding Alimony

For many people, divorce brings financial uncertainty. You may worry about how your family will support two households on the same incomes that supported one before the split. The court will likely ask this same question and will determine if alimony may play a part in your divorce.

At the Law Office of Pamela M. Gordon P.A., we focus on family law and will fight for your financial future. Whether you think you deserve alimony from your spouse or you are wondering whether you will need to pay alimony, we will help you understand the factors that go into a judge’s decision on this issue. Our founder, attorney Pamela M. Gordon, has over 23 years of experience and is ready to help you through this difficult time.

Factors For Considering Alimony

The court does not look at alimony by itself, but rather as part of the broader financial issues involved in your divorce, including property division and child support payments. The best way to determine if your divorce may involve alimony payments is to discuss the matter with Ms. Gordon. She will look at your family’s entire financial picture and review the factors a court would consider for applying alimony. Those factors include:

  • The age, health and mental well-being of each spouse and how those facts could affect earning capacity
  • Each spouse’s economic situation, including nonmarital assets and assets from property division
  • Each spouse’s contributions to the marriage, including financial, child-rearing and homemaking
  • The need for either spouse to receive education or career training in order to find a job
  • The length of the marriage

Types Of Alimony In Florida

Many people think all alimony is permanent, but that is only one type among several in Florida. Alimony can come in many forms, including:

  • Durational alimony – The judge awards this over a set period of time, which never exceeds the length of the marriage. It is common with short- or moderate-term marriages.
  • Permanent alimony – Most often, a judge applies this to moderate- or long-term marriages where one spouse does not have the means to achieve living standards set in the marriage. It can be modified later if the recipient starts receiving support in a new relationship.
  • Temporary alimony – This type of alimony is unique in that it only applies during the divorce process and ends upon the divorce becoming final.
  • Rehabilitative alimony – If a spouse needs assistance in becoming self-supporting through further education or job training, this type of alimony can help the spouse through that process and usually ends once the recipient finds a job or completes their education.
  • Bridge-the-gap alimony – These payments are meant to help the recipient transition from marriage to being single. They cover the costs of establishing a new household in the short-term, for a maximum of two years.

Durational, permanent and bridge-the-gap alimony will all end if the recipient dies or remarries and will also end if the paying spouse dies.

As you can see, alimony can serve many purposes, but financial stability is at the heart of all of them. At the Law Office of Pamela M. Gordon P.A., our lawyer will look out for your financial stability and fight for an outcome that will help you move forward.

Discuss Your Financial Future

We assist clients throughout Florida from our office in Hollywood. Schedule your initial conference by calling 954-416-2535 or contacting us online.