“My client had been married to her husband for 23 years.
When they got divorced, my client was awarded only $9,000 of bridge-the-gap alimony, i.e., $500 per month for eighteen months, ‘to assist her in her transition from marriage to single life.’
My client claimed that she is currently permanently disabled as a result of bipolar disorder, diagnosed approximately fifteen years before the dissolution, and can no longer obtain meaningful work. Her claim was supported by unrebutted testimony from her physician.
However, the trial court had ruled that my client ‘will be able to regain some type of employability once the stress of the divorce is concluded,’ and therefore awarded her only bridge-the-gap alimony.
My client argued that the trial court should have awarded her additional permanent periodic alimony because she is permanently disabled and will never be able to return to gainful full-time employment.
I represented my client during her appeal and we were successful in having the appellate court reverse the trial court’s decision, and she was awarded nominal permanent alimony.
Nominal permanent alimony will permit the wife to petition the trial court to pursue a future increase in permanent alimony should she continue to be unable to work, and second, it will preserve the jurisdiction of the trial court to revisit the matter as the parties go on with their new lives.
This case is often cited for other litigants in the State of Florida who have a similar situation.”
Gary S. Dolgin, Board Certified Expert In Marital and Family Law
Whether you are the spouse requesting alimony, or the spouse being asked to pay alimony, here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work to help protect your alimony rights.
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.
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