Florida Law Reform 2023 – A Brief Overview of Key Changes to Alimony and Time-Sharing

By Mary Zogg

On June 30, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Florida family law reform bills, which changed alimony, codified and clarified some existing rules, and made equal timesharing a legal presumption.  The reforms apply to all pending petitions for which no final judgment has been entered before July 1, 2023.  Below is a brief synopsis of the changes introduced by this new legislation: 

Presumption of Equal Timeshare:

The new law creates a presumption that equal timesharing is in the best interests of the child.  Many judges already consider equal timesharing as the starting point; however, this law now makes it a legal presumption.  In other words, those seeking majority timeshare will have this presumption to overcome, creating a higher burden for them in a litigated case.  However, it may work to avoid litigation of regular timeshare by creating this as the legal presumption, potentially deterring folks from litigating the issue. 

The law now requires several specific findings as to the best interests of the child.  Historically, the courts could reference that parental responsibility and timeshare were in the best interests of the child, casually referencing its consideration of the best interests factors.  The courts are now required to make specific findings as to their consideration of these factors.  This will permit appellate courts to competently review the judgments of the trial courts as to these factors. 

Elimination of Permanent Alimony: 

• There have always been types of alimony.  These have included temporary (alimony that is put in place after the filing and goes until a final judgment or subsequent order of the court is entered), bridge-the-gap (support intended to help bridge the gap of time from a married couple living together to two single households), rehabilitative (support for a time period of a highly specific plan for education or other certification to reenter the workforce and becoming self-supporting), durational (for a period of time) and permanent periodic alimony (support subsequent to typically long term marriages – with exceptions of course – that is meant to keep you in the lifestyle for which you have become accustomed). The new legislation abolishes permanent periodic alimony.

Lengths of marriages:

• Short term was less than 7 years; it is now less than 10 years.
• Moderate term was less than 17 years; it is now less than 20 years.
• Long term was more than 17 years; it is now more than 20 years.

We got some math:

• There is still leeway under the law.  The first question of need and ability to pay remain the first consideration.  However, under the new law, there are specific findings the court must make in its final judgment.
• Durational alimony now has caps on the duration of the marriage and for the amount of alimony that may be awarded. 
  • The duration of alimony cannot exceed 50% of a short-term marriage, 60% of a moderate-term marriage, or 75% of a long-term marriage, absent exceptions. 
  •  The amount of alimony is capped at 35% of the difference in the parties’ net incomes or the recipient’s need, whichever is less. 

Consideration of Adultery: 

• The courts have been permitted to consider adultery when determining the amount of alimony to be awarded.  The new law emphasized adultery’s economic impact when considering the amount of alimony to be awarded. 

Factors for Determining Alimony: 

• There are multiple factors in determining alimony.  The revisions took the emphasis off the standard of living (allowing it remains a factor for consideration) and removed factors that are no longer available given the recent changes in the tax code. 

Alimony Modification:

Two major areas of change – supportive relationship and retirement:

Supportive relationships continue to be a basis upon which alimony may be terminated or modified.  Under the new law, the courts are required to terminate or modify an alimony award if they find evidence of a supportive relationship.  This removes the court’s discretion.

The burden is on the payor to prove that a supportive relationship exists or has existed in the 365 days before the filing of the petition. If the payor proves that a supportive relationship exists or has recently existed, the burden shifts to the recipient to prove that the court should not deny or reduce an initial award support.

Retirement  continues to be a basis upon which alimony may be terminated or modified.  The new law defines retirement age by referencing Social Security Administration normal retirement age or the customary retirement age within a particular profession.  The retiree has to prove that his or her retirement reduces their ability to pay support.  If he or she proves this, then the recipient has to prove that support should not be reduced or terminated.   It provides factors in making determinations of voluntary retirement, such as the age, health and nature and type of work performed by the retiree, the customary age of retirement in their profession, their motivation or likelihood of returning to work, the needs of the retiree and the ability of the recipient to contribute to their own basic needs, the economic impact on the recipient in the event of termination or reduction of the alimony, and consideration of all assets, social security and retirement benefits.

Relocation and modification: The statute did not change the substance of the relocation statute; however, it made a parent’s relocation a substantial change of circumstances in order to request a modification of the timeshare schedule.  In recent history, there was controlling caselaw that held that relocation, in and of itself, was not a substantial change in circumstances upon which you could base a request for modification.  Relocation is a move of more than 50 miles from where you were situated at the time of the entry of the final judgment or order.  This is a long distance for children to travel multiple times a week when exercising an equal timeshare schedule.  When a parent lives a substantial distance away and exercises timeshare under a long distance timeshare schedule, if he or she were to relocate closer to the child(ren) timeshare should be reconsidered.  With this new law, these timeshare schedules can be modified upon a parent’s relocation; but, as always that change in the timeshare must be in the child(ren)’s best interests. 

Standard for modification:

In order to modify under the prior law, there has to be evidence or a substantial, material and unanticipated change of circumstances since the entry of the final judgment. The new law removed unanticipated; therefore, the change in circumstance need only be substantial and material.