The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/SB 1416
INTRODUCER: Fiscal Policy Committee and Senator Gruters
SUBJECT: Dissolution of Marriage
DATE: April 4, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Bond Yeatman FP Fav/CS
2. Bond Twogood RC Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Technical Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1416 amends laws related to dissolution of marriage. Changes to alimony applicable to
any final judgment entered on or after July 1, 2023 include:
Permanent (lifetime) alimony is eliminated, leaving bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and
durational forms of alimony.
Rehabilitative alimony is limited to 5 years.
Durational alimony may not be awarded for a marriage of less than 3 years. The term of an
award is limited based on the duration of the marriage, with certain exceptions, and may not
exceed the lesser of the obligee’s reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference between the
parties’ net incomes.
A court must make specific written findings if it requires an obligor to purchase life
insurance to secure the award of alimony.
A court must reduce or terminate an award of alimony if it makes specific written findings
that a supportive relationship exists. The bill places the burden on the obligor to prove by a
preponderance of the evidence that such a relationship exists. Once proven, the burden shifts
to the obligee to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the court should not reduce or
terminate alimony.
Current case law allows for modification or termination of alimony upon “reasonable
retirement,” a loosely-defined court-created concept. The bill codifies standards and procedures
related to retirement of a party in a dissolution of marriage case. If the obligor seeks to retire, the
obligor may apply for modification of the alimony award no sooner than 6 months prior to the
BILL: CS/SB 1416 Page 2
planned retirement. The bill provides a number of factors the court must consider in determining
whether to modify or terminate alimony.
The bill provides that a parent moving to a residence within 50 miles of the primary residence of
a child is a substantial change in circumstances. For a modification of parenting plan and time-
sharing schedule, the bill eliminates a requirement that a party shows that a change in
circumstance was unanticipated.
The bill will have no fiscal impact on state government.
The bill is effective July 1, 2023, and the provisions related to an award of alimony apply to all
initial petitions for dissolution of marriage or support unconnected with dissolution of marriage
pending or filed on or after July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Alimony
Alimony is a court-ordered allowance that one spouse pays to the other spouse for maintenance
and support while they are separated, while they are involved in a matrimonial lawsuit, or after
they are divorced.1 Alimony may be agreed to by the parties or awarded by the court after an
evidentiary hearing.
Calculation of the Amount of Alimony
There is no fixed formula for alimony. Alimony is based on both financial need and the ability to
pay.2 After making an initial determination to award alimony, the court must consider ten factors
in determining the amount of alimony:
The standard of living established during the marriage.
The length of marriage.
Ages and physical and emotional condition of the parties.
Financial resources of the parties.
Earning capacity, education level, vocational skill, and employability of the parties.
Marital contributions, including homemaking, child care, and education and career building
of the other party.
Responsibilities of each party towards minor children.
Tax treatment and consequences of alimony awards.
All sources of income.
Any other factor that advances equity and justice.3
The court may also consider adultery by either spouse in a decision to award alimony.4 That
consideration is dependent upon the circumstances of each particular case. Absent a showing of a
related depletion of marital assets, a party’s adulterous misconduct is not a valid reason to award
1
Alimony, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019).
2
Section 61.08(2), F.S.
3
Section 61.08(2)(a)-(j), F.S.
4
Section 61.08(1), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1416 Page 3
a greater share of those marital assets to the innocent spouse or to deny the adulterous spouse
alimony. Furthermore, despite evidence of adultery, need and ability to pay remain the primary
considerations in awarding alimony.5
To protect an alimony award, the court may order an obligor to maintain a life insurance policy.6
A court making the requirement must first make specific findings regarding the availability and
cost of insurance, the obligor’s ability to pay, and the special circumstances that warrant the
requirement for security of the obligation.7 The special circumstances required to support an
order mandating life insurance include “a spouse potentially left in dire financial straits after the
death of the obligor spouse due to age, ill health and/or lack of employment skills, obligor spouse
in poor health, minors living at home, supported spouse with limited earning capacity, obligor
spouse in arrears on support obligations, and cases where the obligor spouse agreed on the record
to secure an award with a life insurance policy.”8
An award of alimony may not result in the obligor with significantly less net income than the net
income of the obligee absent exceptional circumstances.9 What qualifies as exceptional
circumstances is undefined.
Types of Alimony
For purposes of determining the appropriate type of alimony to award, marriages are classified
by term or length of marriage, based on the time from the date of marriage to the date the
dissolution of marriage action is filed:
Short-term means less than 7 years.
Moderate-term means greater than 7 years but less than 17 years.
Long-term means greater than 17 years.10
The length of the marriage does not include time spent cohabitating prior to marriage.11
Florida law recognizes four forms of alimony: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, and
permanent periodic alimony.12
Bridge-the-gap alimony:13
Is designed to assist a party in his or her transition from being married to being single.
May be awarded in a marriage of any term.
Cannot exceed 2 years in duration.
5
Williamson v. Williamson, 367 So. 2d 1016, 1019 (Fla.1979); Noah v. Noah, 491 So. 2d 1124, 1127 (Fla. 1986); Keyser v.
Keyser, 204 So. 3d 159, 161 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016).
6
Section 61.08(3), F.S.
7
O’Neill v. O’Neill, 305 So. 3d 551, 554 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).
8
Kotlarz v. Kotlarz, 21 So. 3d 892, 893 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009).
9
Section 61.08(9), F.S.; Rabadan v. Rabadan, 322 So. 3d 660 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021).
10
Section 61.08(4), F.S. This triad was first enacted in 2010. Ch. 2010-199, Laws of Fla.
11
Taylor v. Davis, 324 So. 3d 570 (Fla. 1st DCA 2021) (couple cohabitated for 24 years prior to 3 year marriage, court
denied an award of permanent alimony because it was a short-term marriage).
12
Section 61.08(1), F.S.
13
Section 61.08(5), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1416 Page 4
May not be modified.
Terminates upon death or remarriage.
Rehabilitative alimony:14
Is designed to assist a party in establishing the capacity for self-support through either the
redevelopment of previous skills or credentials; or the acquisition of education, training, or
work experience necessary to develop appropriate employment skills or credentials.
May be awarded in a marriage of any term.
Can be of any duration.
May be modified based upon a substantial change in circumstances, upon noncompliance
with the rehabilitative plan, or upon completion of the rehabilitative plan.
Does not automatically terminate upon remarriage.
Durational alimony:15
Is designed to provide a party with economic assistance for a set period of time.
May be awarded following a marriage of short or moderate duration, or following a marriage
of long duration if there is no ongoing need for support on a permanent basis.
May not exceed the length of the marriage.
May be modified as to amount, based upon a substantial change in circumstances; but the
length may not be modified except under exceptional circumstances.
Terminates upon the death of either party or upon the remarriage of the party receiving
alimony.
Permanent alimony:16
Is designed to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the
marriage of the parties for a party who lacks the financial ability to meet his or her needs and
necessities of life following a dissolution of marriage.
May be awarded only after a finding that no other form of alimony is fair and reasonable
under the circumstances of the parties, following a marriage of:
o Long duration, if such an award is appropriate upon consideration of the ten factors by a
preponderance of the evidence;
o Moderate duration, if such an award is appropriate based upon clear and convincing
evidence after consideration of the 10 factors; or
o Short duration, if there are written findings of exceptional circumstances.
Is not for a fixed period of time.
May be modified or terminated based upon a substantial change in circumstances, including
retirement of the obligor or upon the existence of a supportive relationship benefiting the
obligee.
Terminates upon the death of either party or upon the remarriage of the party receiving
alimony.
14
Section 61.08(6), F.S.
15
Section 61.08(7), F.S.
16
Section 61.08(8), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1416 Page 5
Modification or Termination of Alimony - In General
Where allowed, either party may seek modification (up to termination) of an alimony award on
the grounds of a substantial change in circumstances.17 To obtain a modification of alimony, the
party seeking modification must allege, and the trial court must find, that:
There has been a substantial change in circumstances.
The change was not contemplated at the time of the final judgment of dissolution.
The change is sufficient, material, permanent, and involuntary.18
The mere existence of a substantial change in circumstances does not automatically lead to a
modification or termination of alimony, it merely opens up the question of the appropriate
amount of alimony based on the new situation and on the normal equitable factors, namely need
and ability to pay. The court may modify support retroactively to the date of the filing of the
motion.19 If the parties to a dissolution of marriage settled the case and have designated alimony
as non-modifiable in the marital settlement agreement, the court may not thereafter modify the
alimony.20
Modification Based on a Supportive Relationship
To avoid termination of an alimony award because of remarriage, it was once common for an
obligee former spouse to simply “live with” someone else in a committed but non-marital
arrangement. Today, the existence of a supportive relationship between the obligee and a third
party may be a substantial change in circumstances that warrants a modification (up to
termination) of alimony. To modify alimony on an assertion of cohabitation between the obligee
and a third party, the court must find:
The existence of a supportive relationship between the obligee and a third party; and
That the obligee lives with the third party.
To determine whether a relationship is supportive, the court will examine:
The extent to which the obligee and the third party hold themselves out as a married couple;
The length of time that the third party has resided with the obligee;
Whether the obligee and the third party have jointly purchased property;
The extent to which the obligee and third party commingle financial assets; and
The extent to which one of the parties supports the other party.21
The burden is on the obligor to show by a preponderance of evidence that a supportive
relationship exists.22
17
Section 61.14(1)(a), F.S
18
Golson v. Golson, 207 So. 3d 321, 325 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016); Tanner v. Tanner, 2021 WL 4877772 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2021).
19
Section 61.14(1)(a), F.S.
20
Dills v. Perez, 330 So.3d 989, 990 (Fla. 5th DCA 2021) (“[P]arties to a marital dissolution are free to enter into contractual
agreements that include provisions no court of law could impose.”).
21
Section 61.14(b), F.S.
22
Section 61.14(1)(b)1., F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1416 Page 6
Modification of Alimony Based on Retirement
Retirement of a party in a pending dissolution of marriage case falls within the “need and ability
to pay” framework. Voluntary retirement may qualify as a substantial change in circumstances
which warrants a modification or termination of an existing alimony award. It is an exception to
the general rule that a substantial change in circumstances must result from an involuntary
action.
Retirement, whether related to an initial award of alimony or as a substantial change in
circumstances for modification, is not addressed in statute. In deciding whether to modify or
terminate alimony based on retirement of the obligor, the courts look to whether the retirement is
reasonable. There are no fixed standards for reasonable. The leading case in this area ruled:
In determining whether a voluntary retirement is reasonable, the court must
consider the payor’s age, health, and motivation for retirement, as well as
the type of work the payor performs and the age at which others engaged in
that line of work normally retire. . . . [A] payor spouse should not be
permitted to unilaterally choose voluntary retirement if this choice places
the receiving spouse in peril of poverty. Thus, the court should consider the
needs of the receiving spouse and the impact a termination or reduction of
alimony would have on him or her. In assessing those needs, the court
should consider any assets which the receiving spouse has accumulated or
received since the final judgment as well as any income generated by those
assets.23
Social Security Retirement Age
The original Social Security Act of 1935 set the age for receiving full retirement benefits at 65. 24
Citing improvements in the health of older people and increases in average life expectancy as
primary reasons for increasing the normal retirement age, Congress has increased the age for full
retirement. On the effective date of this bill, the full retirement age for Social Security purposes
will be 66 years and 6 months of age. It will increase gradually in the future until it reaches 67
years of age on January 1, 2027.25
The minimum age for claiming Social Security retirement benefits is 62. Benefits are reduced
when a person elects to take early benefits.26 The act increasing the age for full benefits did not
change the minimum age for claiming benefits.
Timesharing with Minor Children
Determination of a time-sharing schedule for minor children is of vital importance to the children
and their parents. Time-sharing also affects the calculation of child support.
23
Pimm v. Pimm, 601 So. 2d 534, 537 (Fla. 1992).
24
U.S. Social Security Administration, Social Security Fact Sheet: Increase in Retirement Age,
https://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/IncRetAge.html (last viewed Mar. 18, 2023).
25
U.S. Social Security Administration, Retirement Benefits,
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html (last viewed Mar. 18, 2023).
26
Id.
BILL: CS/SB 1416