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How Long Do You Have to Pay Alimony in Florida?

When a marriage ends, many legal aspects need to be checked off to officially dissolve the union, and alimony is often one.

Before we begin to look at payment duration, let’s look at a definition. Merriam-Webster says alimony is: “An allowance made to one spouse by the other for support pending or after legal separation or divorce.” Alimony is also known as “spousal support,” and it’s a common point of family law in Jacksonville, FL.

In Florida, alimony payments are usually ordered in the case of the dissolution of long-term marriages of generally more than 12 years. Short-term marriages, of three years, for example, are not generally covered by alimony payment orders. As you can see, the length of the marriage is the main determining factor in the eyes of the court. However, there are no set alimony guidelines in Florida, and in each case, the judge must consider many determining factors when deciding upon alimony.

Having said that, if alimony is ordered, there are five different types awarded by courts of family law in Jacksonville, FL. The types are:

  • Temporary
  • Rehabilitative
  • Bridge-the-Gap
  • Durational
  • Permanent

Each of these types has a different duration attached to them, and the type you are paying will be put in place by a judge with a payment period stated. There is no standard duration for alimony payments, so you need to keep paying until an order is put in place to end the payments.

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