New Divorce Laws in Florida

At The Orlando Law Group, we certainly understand the stress, confusion and emotions that come with a divorce, particularly one that has alimony payments and child custody arrangements.

Unfortunately, many of the laws guiding Florida courts for decades have been upended this month. For more than a decade, there has been an effort to substantially overhaul these laws. Both Governors Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott have vetoed similar legislation in the past.

This year, however, the laws passed and this month, a slew of new laws took effect in Florida dealing with alimony and child custody.

While not retroactive, any new petitions for divorce will have these new laws apply.

If you are already divorced, these new laws could affect you too as there are new standards to petition the courts for a modification of your divorce agreement.

The big one that could see substantial changes in your agreement is the end of permanent alimony for any new divorces. For those receiving or paying permanent alimony, that could change in the future with new restrictions on retirement, outside support and other aspects.

If you are filing for divorce soon, alimony will be based on the length of your marriage and other factors, but it will now be required to end at some point.

As to custody arrangements, the court now takes the stance that co-parenting – a 50/50 split – is best for the child unless either side proves that not to be the case.

Keep in mind as with any new law, there will be court challenges and other actions to fix any issues with the law, so this could change.

But if you have a divorce agreement from a Florida court, it is imperative you reach out to The Orlando Law Group soon to review and see what your options are and how this new law might affect you.

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