House Bill 455 Involving Alimony in Florida is Now with the Judiciary Committee

The House Bill 455 on Alimony is now in the Judiciary Committee after a favorable vote of 6 yes and 4 no.  This proposed bill addresses the following:

•  Provides factors to assist a court in awarding temporary alimony during dissolution proceedings.
•  Repeals the current categorization of post-dissolution alimony awards as bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent and creates one form of post-dissolution alimony.
•  Limits judicial discretion in awarding post-dissolution alimony by establishing a formula to determine a presumptive range for the amount and duration of the alimony award, effectively ending permanent alimony.
•  Provides factors to assist a court in determining a post-dissolution alimony award within the presumptive range.
•  Authorizes a court to deviate from the presumptive range if the resulting alimony award would be inappropriate or inequitable.
•  Revises procedures to initiate payment of alimony awards through the clerk of court depository.
•  Provides that certain changes in actual income, or, an obligor’s retirement after reaching the retirement age for social security or the obligor’s    profession, constitute a substantial change in circumstances for purposes of modifying or terminating an alimony award.
•  Revises the criteria to determine the existence of a supportive relationship for purposes of modifying or terminating an alimony award, including the consideration of relationships that may have recently ended and repealing the cohabitation requirement.
•  Creates a rebuttable presumption that modification or termination of alimony is retroactive.
•  Prohibits a party who unreasonably pursues or defends a modification action from recovering attorney’s fees and costs and requiring that such party pay the fees and costs of the prevailing party.

Follow this Bill by tracking it  at the Florida Senate Website.