Leave it to the Florida Legislature.
The much anticipated bill to revise our alimony statute, which would have established a formula for determining alimony, and would have ended permanent alimony as we know it, is dead for now. The Florida Senate refused to take up the House of Representative’s version, due to a dispute over a proposed change in the custody statute, calling for a presumption of 50/50 time-sharing. The Senate version included this change; the House version did not include a presumption for 50/50 time-sharing. An alimony reform bill passed through the Florida Legislature two years ago with the presumption of 50/50 time-sharing. It was vetoed by Governor Rick Scott. Alimony reform will surely come up again. The Family Law Section of the Florida Bar supports changes to the alimony statute, but not the presumption for 50/50 time-sharing. We will keep a close eye on these proposed changes in the future.
** UPDATE ** See “Alimony Reform Bill Passed in Florida, Now Before The Governor“