Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
What are the different types of alimony in Florida? Alimony is discussed in Fla. Stat. Chp. 61.08, and generally there is bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, permanent and lump sum alimony. Which type the court will award depends on factors in each case such as the length of the marriage, the age of each party, the health of each party and more. Durational alimony was an issue in the case Pringle v. Pringle, 3D21-754 (Fla. 3d DCA January 19, 2022).
The parties’ marriage lasted for four years and nine months by the time a petition for divorce was filed. Per the Florida Statutes, this was a short-term marriage since it lasted less than 7 years. The trial court awarded the former wife five years of durational alimony in the amount of $500.00 per month. The court’s order also equitably distributed assets, awarding the marital home to the former husband and making him responsible for “all expenses of the home”, but failed to explicitly determine responsibility for the mortgage associated with the home. The former husband appealed on both issues.
The appellate court first reversed on the length of the alimony award, holding “Section 61.08(7), Florida Statutes (2021), explicitly states that the duration of the award ‘may not exceed the length of the marriage.’ Because of the strict statutory requirement, we reverse the award for the sole purpose of limiting the award to the exact length of the marriage, four years and nine months.” Turning to the mortgage issue, the appellate court held “Additionally, the Husband argues that the trial court failed to equitably divide the mortgage on the marital residence. In the order on appeal, the trial court states that the only marital debt consists of the Wife’s student loans, failing to mention the mortgage. The trial court awarded the Husband ‘exclusive use and possession of the Marital Home and [to] maintain all the expenses of the Home.’ A quitclaim deed was issued by the Wife, which transfers title but does not affect the mortgage. [internal citation omitted]. We find that the language of the order is too vague for this Court to assume that the mortgage is included in the Husband’s expenses to maintain the home.”
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