During your marriage, you may have felt comfortable in the way the finances were handled. Your spouse may have earned more money than you, or you may not have generated an income of your own at all due to caring for the children or other circumstances. While this arrangement may not have presented any issues while you and your spouse remained married, you may feel anxious about your financial situation now that you face divorce.
Because many individuals can struggle with financial burdens after divorce, alimony can often help a lower-earning spouse handle the new situation. If you feel like spousal support could help your circumstances, you may wish to understand the different types of support possible in Florida.
Types of alimony
The type of alimony potentially awarded to you can hinge significantly on the specific details of your marriage, life and divorce. However, if the court deems spousal support appropriate, you could end up with any one of the five types, which include:
- Lump-sum alimony – With this type, you receive a single lump-sum payment of either cash or property to act as your spousal support.
- Durational alimony – Durational alimony allows you to receive support payments on a monthly or semi-monthly basis for a specific amount of time. The duration of the payments will again depend on your particular circumstances.
- Rehabilitative alimony – This type of alimony also only lasts a limited time. Rehabilitative support typically gets awarded for individuals who will need financial assistance as they work to gain financial independence.
- Bridge-the-gap alimony – The intention of this type of support is to help you transition from married life to single life more easily. You could use this money to get a car, find a new residence or take care of similar actions needed to move forward as an unmarried individual.
- Permanent alimony – Many individuals often think of permanent alimony when they think of spousal support. This type of support allows you to receive payments on a regular basis until your death or the death of your ex-spouse.
Creating an agreement
If you and your spouse can get along well-enough to come to terms, you can create a spousal support agreement together. This way you can both discuss your needs and desires and compromise to come to agreeable terms. However, if you cannot come to terms on your own, the court may issue an alimony order.
Because you undoubtedly want to obtain the terms that you feel best suit your circumstances, you may wish to discuss your predicament with an experienced attorney, who could help you understand the best methods for approaching your case.
