How do you determine how much alimony you are entitled to or how much alimony you may have to pay? In the state of Florida, alimony is based on the need and ability to pay. According to the Florida State Legislature, the person who is requesting alimony must have a need and the person who you are asking to pay that alimony must have the ability to pay alimony to satisfy that need.
How do you figure out the needed ability to pay? In Florida, as part of a divorce, you are going to fill out what they call financial affidavit. As part of that financial affidavit, you are going to list all of your income and your expenses. That is going to help determine whether you have a need for alimony. So if you have a deficit at the end of your financial audit, that would be considered your need. When you are filling out your financial affidavit for the person who you are requesting alimony from and they have a surplus at the end of the month, that would show that they have the ability to pay.
There are many types of alimony in Florida. How long you have been married is going to influence the types of alimony that you may be able to receive. If you have been married 17 years or longer, you are entitled to what they call permanent alimony. It sounds like alimony for life, but it is up to the time that someone retires at reasonable retirement age. Reports have determined that people do have the right to retire as long as it is not going to leave the other spouse destitute for not paying alimony.
