📍 Understanding Alimony in Florida

Alimony is a court-ordered financial support paid by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. Its primary goal is to reduce the financial disparity between spouses and help the lower-earning spouse maintain a standard of living similar to that enjoyed during the marriage.

Florida law recognizes several types of alimony:

• Temporary (pendente lite): Provided during divorce proceedings.
• Bridge-the-gap alimony: Short-term aid to transition to single life.
• Rehabilitative alimony: Helps a spouse gain skills or education for financial independence.
• Durational alimony: Time-limited support based on the length of the marriage.
• Permanent alimony: Awarded in long-term marriages when one spouse is unlikely to achieve financial self-sufficiency.

Understanding the type of alimony relevant to your situation is crucial before using a spousal support calculator.

📂 Key Alimony Criteria Considered by Florida Courts

Courts analyze several critical criteria when awarding alimony:

• Length of the marriage.
• Financial need of the recipient spouse.
• Ability of the paying spouse to provide support.
• Contributions made during the marriage.
• Future earning potential and self-sufficiency.
• Tax impacts, especially post-2018, when alimony is no longer tax-deductible for the payer under federal law.

These criteria are also reflected in calculators such as the Kaufman alimony guidelines calculator and AAML alimony calculator.