Category Archives: Alimony

Alimony may be modified if the recipient spouse lives in a supportive relationship with another person to whom the recipient is not related.

Factors to be considered in determining the existence of a supportive relationship are listed in F.S. 61.14(1)(b)1.

For example, whether or not the recipient spouse resides with the other person, how long they have resided together, the extent to which they have pooled their assets, and the extent to which they have supported each other are some of the factors to consider in determining alimony modification.

When the recipient spouse is found to be in a “supportive relationship,” the court is still entitled to consider the recipient spouse’s needs.

Once the living arrangement has been established, the recipient has the burden of proof to show that the need for support still exists.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Alimony Payments Lawyer Tampa Bay – Gary S. Dolgin

Modifications of alimony generally require:

(1) a substantial change of circumstances;

(2) that was not contemplated at the time of the final judgment; and

(3) that is sufficient, material, involuntary, and permanent in nature.

An award of permanent periodic alimony generally is subject to modification if a substantial, permanent, involuntary, and unanticipated change of circumstances occurs.

Not all changes in circumstances, however, will support a modification of alimony. For example, the clean hands doctrine prevents a court from relieving a former spouse of his or her obligation to pay alimony to the other spouse when the decrease in the former spouse’s financial ability to pay has been brought about by his or her voluntary acts.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Tampa Spousal Support Lawyer – Gary S. Dolgin

Alimony awards are based on several criteria but are ultimately governed by a two-pronged test: the need of the receiving spouse and the ability to pay of the paying spouse.

The standard of living established during the marriage is the most important independent factor.

The threshold question of ability to pay should be determined before any of the other factors are considered.

If a spouse does not have the ability to pay, it matters little to what lifestyle a party has become accustomed or what the party’s physical or mental condition is.

The ability to pay must be established before need.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Tampa Alimony Attorney – Gary S. Dolgin

The trial court may order one party to pay a reasonable amount of medical insurance premiums for the other as part of an alimony award, provided it is not an open-ended obligation.

Without specific pleadings requesting that health insurance be provided by the payor spouse, it is error for the court to order a payor to maintain health insurance through employment, or to pay the spouse in lieu of maintaining it.

A party formerly covered by a spouse’s group health insurance plan may elect, under specified conditions (i.e., at least 20 employees, limited duration, etc.) to continue coverage.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Tampa Alimony Attorney – Gary S. Dolgin

Assets awarded to the parties as equitable distribution may be considered as a source of income from which alimony may be paid. This includes pension and retirement benefits.

Retirement accounts distributed to the parties should be considered income for the purpose of determining alimony where the court can reasonably conclude that the principal of the retirement account will not be invaded for the purpose of support.

Military retirement benefits can be awarded only if the parties were married for at least 10 years while one spouse was in the military.

Division of retirement benefits generally is part of equitable distribution and not awarding of alimony, but the amount of the distribution may be considered in determining alimony.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Alimony Attorney Tampa – Gary S. Dolgin

F.S. 61.08(3) allows the court “to the extent necessary to protect an award of alimony,” to order any party ordered to pay alimony “to purchase or maintain a life insurance policy or a bond, or to otherwise secure such alimony award with any other assets which may be suitable for that purpose.”

Life insurance to secure alimony may not be ordered, however, unless specifically requested by a party.

Courts have summarized the law applicable to life insurance in divorce proceedings as follows: An order requiring a spouse to obtain a life insurance policy as security for an alimony award must be supported by record evidence, and the order must include findings as to the cost of insurance, the payor’s ability to afford the insurance and any special circumstances justifying the need for the policy.

The amount of the life insurance policy must be related to the extent of the obligation being secured.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Alimony Modification Lawyer Tampa – Gary S. Dolgin

Under F.S. 61.08(1), adultery may be a factor in awarding alimony.

Other marital misconduct, such as spouse abuse, may be considered under F.S. 61.08(2)(j). The effect of marital misconduct is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Courts have held that only misconduct that depletes marital finances is relevant to a determination of alimony. As one court stated, even reprehensible conduct by one party does not justify alimony unless it has caused depletion of the marital finances.

Recently, the same court stated, “the law is clear that absent a showing of related depletion of marital assets, a party’s adulterous misconduct is not a valid reason to award a greater share of those marital assets to the innocent spouse or to deny the adulterous spouse alimony.”

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Durational Alimony Tampa Attorney – Gary S. Dolgin

The contributions to the marriage do not need to be in terms of income or property.

The value of services for rearing children and running the household, or for contributing to the spouse’s career or a business, should also be considered.

Each party is a partner to a marriage and thus “each partner is entitled to a fair share of the fruits of their combined industry, whether performed in the office, the factory, the fields or the home.” Neff v. Neff, 386 So.2d 318, 319 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980).

The expert testimony of an economist, however, may be needed to establish the value of other contributions.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Divorce Attorney Tampa Alimony Expert – Gary S. Dolgin

As a general rule, permanent periodic alimony is an amount of money that must be paid regularly until the judgment is modified, or until either party dies or the receiving spouse remarries.

Courts have defined permanent alimony as “an allowance for the support and maintenance of a spouse during his or her lifetime. Its purpose is to provide nourishment, sustenance and the necessities of life to a former spouse who has neither the resources nor ability to be self-sustaining.”

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Alimony Payments Lawyer Tampa Bay – Gary S. Dolgin

When determining alimony, the court must consider the “earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties and, when applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable such party to find appropriate employment.

Generally speaking, the time required for a spouse to receive training or education is more important in determining a need for rehabilitative alimony.

If a party is capable of becoming self-supporting, rehabilitative rather than permanent alimony is appropriate.

When a party who could be self-supporting is awarded sole parental responsibility of his or her minor children, however, a decision by that party to maintain parental duties full-time, instead of outside employment, may justify permanent alimony.

If, after the rehabilitation period, the recipient spouse will still be unable to earn sufficient income to maintain the marital standard of living, permanent alimony should be awarded.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Tampa Spousal Support Lawyer – Gary S. Dolgin