Florida has long recognized the right of a divorced party to receive alimony pursuant to a divorce. Usually it will be paid to the former wife, but in some cases the former husband may be the recipient.
Section 61.08, Florida Statutes, provides that alimony must be “rehabilitative or permanent in nature”; it can be primarily awarded to divorce to allow a person to obtain education or training or perhaps counseling to the end that he can support himself and no longer in need of alimony.
But permanent alimony is usually given and owed until the former wife remarries or dies. (Through parentheses, the continuation of alimony can be guaranteed after the person having the obligation dies; it can become an obligation of his estate!) Normally, the consideration of permanent alimony is permanent, when the marriage was long-term and the previous spouse. He is unlikely to be satisfied in the near or distant future. For example, a former wife who was a homemaker, without a career, married for twenty or thirty years while the husband pursued education and career.
The statute provides for several criteria to determine the amount and duration of alimony, including the respective needs and income of the parties and the standard of living to which the spouse is accustomed.
Often a divorced woman, the recipient of ongoing alimony, will make her husband move in without marriage, perhaps to ensure the continuation of alimony or social security or pension benefits that could end in marriage.
In 2004, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals wrote in Reno v Reno that “cohabitation may justify the elimination of alimony based on how the new living situation impacts the recipient’s economic situation and the continuing need for alimony. SALARY”.
In the meantime, the state Legislature has amended the statute to provide, Article 61.14 (1)(b) (1) that the court may reduce or terminate alimony if the wife has entered after the divorce. a supportive relationship “with the new man”. The first rule to be assessed by the Court is whether the relationship is supportive between or
It follows the statute states of affairs to be held by the Court, that is to say, the conduct of the parties themselves in such a way as to testify to a continuing supportive relationship, with the exception of the period of time that the recipient resides with the other person, to the extent that the persons fund their assets or income or otherwise exhibit mutual financial independence, including to what extent. The recipient of the salary or another person performed services for the other.
In Raul Zeballos v Albab Zeballos, decided in March. In 2007, the Fourth District Court had a case before it where the former awarded Mrs. Zeballos permanent alimony; after the children are emancipated, $1,000.00 per month. Raul was moved by the reduction or termination of alimony on the grounds that his former wife had been living with the Campo Lord for five years. The former wife had no income other than alimony, and was not employed, and it appeared that Mr. Camp was paying some or all of his bills. The trial court reduced the alimony to $350.00 per month; The appeals court further reduced the alimony to $1.00 per month.
The court’s intent is legislative: there are relationships that provide financial support equivalent to marriage and that it would be unfair to allow the ex-wife to use it.
The moral of this story is that if you are the recipient of alimony, do not allow your new partner to support you. If you pay alimony, check carefully if your spouse is having an affair with a new partner who pays the bills.
Both of these circumstances can have a major impact on money!
