If Florida, there’s more than just one type of spousal support award that judges can make. Bridge-the-gap, lifetime and rehabilitative alimony are just some of the many options that the court has to choose from. There are many different factors that judges take into account when deciding how much support to award a spouse. The length of the marriage is one key factor.
There are laws on the books in many states that aid judges in making decisions as to what type of alimony to award.
A marriage that lasted five or fewer years is generally considered to be a short-term one. Judges typically award alimony for only 50% of the length of a recipient’s marriage in such cases. The court may take into account a spouse’s health, financial need and outside obligations when deciding how long an award should last.
Marriages that lasted between 10 and 20 years are generally thought of as more long-term ones. The alimony awards that judges make in these types of cases are generally based on how much evidence a spouse produces to show how much they need their ex’s financial support. Judges often order a spouse to pay alimony up to 60 or 70% of the length of a marriage in instances in which they were together for as long as 10 or more years.
Alimony awards are generally intended to last the longest in instances in which a marriage lasted 20 years or more. It’s in these cases that a Fort Myers judge may order for a spouse to pay their ex alimony up until remarriage, retirement age or indefinitely.
The length of a marriage is just one of many different factors that impact how much spousal support that a family law judge may award in a Fort Myers divorce case. An alimony attorney can aid you in building the evidence necessary to justify why you should receive spousal support.
