In 2023 Florida rewrote its alimony statute. The change took effect on July 1, 2023, and it reshaped how support is decided in divorces where one spouse earns far more than the other. Some of what people still believe about Florida alimony, especially the idea of lifetime support after a long marriage, no longer reflects the law. Here is what Florida Statute § 61.08 now says, and what it means for high earners and for the spouses of high earners.
The short version: permanent alimony is gone
Under the current version of Florida Statute § 61.08(1), a court may award temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony. Permanent alimony is no longer on the list. Payments can be periodic, lump sum, or a combination.
The court also cannot reach the question of amount until it makes two threshold findings. Under Florida Statute § 61.08(2), the court must first find that the party seeking alimony has an actual need for it and that the other party has the ability to pay, and the party seeking alimony bears the burden of proving both. While the case is pending, Florida Statute § 61.071 still allows temporary support, and Florida Statute § 61.16 allows the court to order one spouse to contribute to the other's attorney's fees and costs based on need and ability to pay, which matters when one spouse earns most of the family's income.
How marriage length now drives the analysis
Florida Statute § 61.08 sorts marriages into three groups. A short-term marriage lasts less than 10 years, a moderate-term marriage lasts 10 to 20 years, and a long-term marriage lasts 20 years or longer. The length is measured from the date of marriage to the date the petition for dissolution was filed, not to the date of separation or the final hearing.
Those categories control durational alimony. It cannot be awarded after a marriage lasting less than 3 years. An award may not exceed 50 percent of the length of a short-term marriage, 60 percent of the length of a moderate-term marriage, or 75 percent of the length of a long-term marriage. As simple arithmetic, a 16-year marriage could support durational alimony for no more than 9.6 years, and a 24-year marriage for no more than 18 years.
The court can extend the term beyond those limits only under exceptional circumstances, shown by clear and convincing evidence, after applying the statutory factors. The other forms of alimony have their own limits. Bridge-the-gap alimony may not exceed 2 years and cannot be modified in amount or duration. Rehabilitative alimony requires a specific and defined rehabilitative plan and may not exceed 5 years.
The 35 percent cap and why it matters for high earners
The amount of durational alimony is now capped. Under Florida Statute § 61.08(8), it may not exceed the lesser of the receiving spouse's reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference between the parties' net incomes, with net income calculated as it is for child support under Florida Statute § 61.30.
A hypothetical shows how the cap works. If one spouse nets $30,000 a month and the other nets $5,000, the difference is $25,000, and 35 percent of that is $8,750. If the court finds the receiving spouse's reasonable need is lower than $8,750, the lower number controls. For very high earners the 35 percent figure can be large, so the dispute often moves to what the receiving spouse's reasonable need actually is.
Income itself is often the most disputed number. The court considers each party's earning capacity under Florida Statute § 61.08(3), and for a business owner or executive whose pay includes bonuses, distributions, or equity awards, deciding what counts as net income can take as much work as the alimony question itself.
The statute also protects the paying spouse. Under Florida Statute § 61.08(9), an alimony award may not leave the payor with significantly less net income than the net income of the recipient, unless the court makes written findings of exceptional circumstances.
Standard of living and other factors still count
Once need and ability to pay are established, Florida Statute § 61.08(3) lists factors the court considers. Several of them carry particular weight in high-income cases:
- The standard of living established during the marriage and each party's anticipated needs after the divorce
- The duration of the marriage
- Each party's financial resources, including income generated from both nonmarital and marital assets
- Each party's earning capacity, education, vocational skills, and employability
- Each party's contributions to the marriage, including homemaking, child care, and support for the other's education and career
- Responsibilities for the care of the children
Adultery, property division, and the interplay between them
Florida Statute § 61.08(1) allows the court to consider the adultery of either spouse and any resulting economic impact when setting the amount of alimony. Florida remains a no-fault state for the divorce itself, so adultery does not decide whether the marriage ends, but its financial effect can be part of the support analysis.
Property division and alimony are also connected. Because the court considers income generated from the assets each spouse receives, a spouse who leaves the marriage with a large investment portfolio may have less need for support. For a business owner, courts watch for counting the same income twice, once to value the business and again to set alimony.
Retirement, modification, and security
Under Florida Statute § 61.14, a payor's reasonable retirement can be grounds to modify or end alimony. The court considers factors such as the payor's age, health, motivation for retiring, type of work, and the normal retirement age in that line of work, and a payor may file up to 6 months before the planned retirement date. Modification generally requires a substantial change in circumstances, and a supportive relationship involving the recipient can also be grounds to reduce or end alimony. Bridge-the-gap and durational alimony end on the death of either party or the remarriage of the recipient.
Florida Statute § 61.08(4) allows the court to require life insurance, a bond, or other security to protect an alimony award, but only with specific findings that special circumstances warrant it.
Taxes have changed as well. For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payor and is not taxable income to the recipient under federal law, and Florida has no state personal income tax. Talk to your tax adviser about how that affects the trade-offs between support and property in your case.
Agreements and whether the new law applies to you
Alimony can be addressed in a premarital agreement under Florida Statute § 61.079, and many spouses with significant income or assets choose to set the terms in advance. The 2023 changes apply to cases filed or pending on or after July 1, 2023. An existing judgment, especially one based on an agreement that says alimony cannot be modified, may be treated differently, so the answer depends on your paperwork.
Reyes Miller Law Group represents paying and receiving spouses in Florida alimony matters from offices in Coral Gables and Boca Raton. A free consultation is available to review how the current law applies to your marriage and your income.
Questions about your own case?
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. offers a free first consultation, in English or Spanish, for families in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Orange, Hillsborough and Leon counties.
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This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. Full disclaimer.
