Florida’s New Alimony Law: Types, Duration, and Modifications

Florida’s new alimony law, signed in 2023 and codified at Florida Statute 61.08, ended permanent alimony for any divorce petition filed on or after July 1, 2023.¹ In its place, courts can award four capped forms of spousal support, and no award can exceed 35% of the difference between the spouses’ net incomes. Duration is now tied to how long the marriage lasted. The changes affect both sides of the equation: paying spouses have a ceiling, and receiving spouses have a clock.

The Four Forms of Alimony That Remain

Permanent alimony is gone. What a Florida court can still award falls into four categories.

Temporary alimony keeps a lower-earning spouse afloat while the divorce is pending. Either spouse can request it in the initial petition or by separate motion, and the court awards a reasonable amount if the request is well-founded.² It ends automatically when the court enters the final judgment. The same statute allows the court to order “suit money” to help cover legal fees during the case.

Bridge-the-gap alimony covers short-term, identifiable needs as a spouse moves from married to single life. It cannot last longer than two years, and once ordered, it is fixed. Neither the amount nor the duration can be modified later.¹

Rehabilitative alimony funds a specific plan to help a spouse become self-supporting through education, training, or work experience. The requesting spouse must present a defined rehabilitative plan, and the award cannot exceed five years. Unlike bridge-the-gap, it can be modified or ended early if the recipient completes the plan ahead of schedule or fails to follow it.¹

Durational alimony is the closest replacement for the old permanent alimony. It provides financial support for a set period, and both its length and its dollar amount are subject to hard statutory caps.

How Long Durational Alimony Can Last

The maximum length of durational alimony depends on how long the marriage lasted, measured from the wedding date to the date the divorce petition was filed.¹

Short-term marriage, under 10 years: award capped at 50% of the marriage length. A 6-year marriage caps at 3 years.
Moderate-term marriage, 10 to 20 years: award capped at 60% of the marriage length. A 15-year marriage caps at 9 years.
Long-term marriage, 20 years or more: award capped at 75% of the marriage length. A 24-year marriage caps at 18 years.

Marriages that lasted fewer than three years are generally ineligible for durational alimony at all.¹

How Much a Court Can Award

Durational alimony cannot exceed the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 35% of the difference between the parties’ net incomes.¹ Net income is calculated using the same formula that applies to child support under Florida Statute 61.30.

The math is straightforward once the net income figures are set. If the paying spouse earns $10,000 per month net and the receiving spouse earns $3,000 per month net, the gap is $7,000. The maximum monthly award is 35% of that gap, or $2,450. That ceiling holds even if the recipient can document a greater need. The 35% cap is a hard limit, not a starting point for negotiation.

How a Court Decides Whether to Award Alimony at All

Before the caps ever come into play, the court has to answer two threshold questions: does the requesting spouse actually need support, and can the other spouse afford to pay it? If either answer is no, the analysis ends there. The judge must put the reasoning in writing either way.¹

When need and ability to pay are both established, the court weighs the statutory factors to set the form and amount:³

The duration of the marriage.
The standard of living established during the marriage and each spouse’s anticipated needs afterward.
The age and physical, mental, and emotional condition of each spouse, including any disability affecting earning ability or ability to pay.
Each spouse’s income and financial resources, including income generated from marital and separate assets.
Earning capacity, education level, job skills, and employability, including whether a spouse can realistically become self-supporting before the award ends.
Contributions to the marriage, including homemaking, childcare, and supporting the other spouse’s education or career.
Parenting responsibilities for minor children, with special weight given to caring for a child with a disability.
Any other factor the court finds relevant, which must be specifically identified in the written findings.

Adultery can factor in too. The court can consider either spouse’s adultery and its economic impact on the marriage when setting an amount.¹ Adultery alone does not bar an award, but if marital funds were spent on an affair or the affair caused financial harm, a judge can weigh that against the spouse who strayed.

Changing or Ending an Award After Divorce

With one exception, alimony orders can be revisited. Bridge-the-gap alimony is fixed. Every other form can be modified or terminated when circumstances change significantly after the original order, so long as the change is substantial, involuntary, and not anticipated at the time of the divorce.¹ A layoff qualifies. Quitting a job to reduce income does not.

Durational alimony has an extra restriction. A court can adjust the monthly amount, but it generally cannot extend the duration beyond the original term absent exceptional circumstances, and the duration can never exceed the length of the marriage.¹

Retirement

Retirement does not automatically end alimony, but the paying spouse can petition for a reduction or termination. The court looks at whether the retirement is reasonable given the spouse’s age, health, occupation, and the customary retirement age for the field. A paying spouse can file the petition up to six months before the anticipated retirement date, so the court can evaluate the situation before income actually drops.³

Supportive Relationships

If the receiving spouse enters into what the law calls a “supportive relationship,” the paying spouse can ask the court to reduce or eliminate the obligation. This is broader than simple cohabitation. The paying spouse must show the recipient is in a relationship providing financial benefits that resemble a marriage. Courts look at whether the couple lives together, pools finances, shares household expenses, or holds themselves out as a couple. The label the couple uses matters less than the economic reality.

What the New Law Does to Existing Orders

If your divorce was finalized before July 1, 2023, your existing order stays in effect as written. The new law does not automatically rewrite pre-existing alimony orders, and permanent alimony awarded before the effective date does not disappear.¹

But the new provisions can matter when someone later seeks a modification. The retirement and supportive relationship rules, in particular, may be used as grounds to petition for a change to an older award. Someone paying permanent alimony from a 2015 divorce can still file for modification or termination based on a reasonable retirement, and the court evaluates that petition under the current framework. The paying spouse must file the petition and demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances. The new law alone is not a trigger.

Taxes on Alimony Under the New Law

Every award under the reformed statute falls under the post-2018 federal tax rule: alimony is not deductible by the paying spouse and is not taxable income for the receiving spouse.⁴ Because Florida’s new law applies to divorces filed on or after July 1, 2023, no award under Statute 61.08 in its current form generates a deduction for the payer.

This matters for settlement math. Post-2018 alimony is after-tax money for the paying spouse, so the same dollar figure costs more than it would have under the old rules. Couples negotiating a marital settlement agreement should account for that when deciding what monthly number is actually realistic under the 35% cap.

1
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 61.08 – Alimony
2
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 61.071 – Alimony Pendente Lite; Suit Money
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 61.08 – Alimony
4
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance