Lump Sum Alimony

Welcome to Florida, where the things that people rant and rave about on the Internet become the law of the land.  For example, last year, a law went into effect whereby couples may no longer include permanent alimony as a provision of marital settlement agreements, nor may judges order it in divorce trials.  The law went into effect after years of public debate, where participants on online discussion boards worked each other into a frenzy about the prospect of someone who is capable of working getting an alimony check from her ex-husband for the rest of her life.  Never mind that most permanent alimony awards came from mediation and almost all involved elderly couples.  Furthermore, when courts decide about alimony, they set it for the shortest possible duration, and unless the recipient spouse is already drawing Social Security because of his or her age or disability, they impute income to the recipient spouse, essentially requiring him or her to return to the workforce.  In fact, the most common type of alimony award is in solido alimony, sometimes called lump sum alimony.  If you and your ex-spouse are involved in a disagreement about lump sum alimony, contact a Boca Raton alimony lawyer.

Sometimes Alimony and Equitable Distribution Are More Alike Than Different

When one spouse keeps a valuable marital asset, such as a house or a family business, after a divorce, it does not mean that the other spouse walks away empty-handed.  Instead, the spouse that keeps the asset compensates the other spouse for part of the asset’s value.  This scenario can arise as one of the terms of a marital settlement agreement, or the award of the asset to one spouse and of a portion of its value to the other spouse can be the result of a judge’s decision at trial.  Because Florida is an equitable distribution state instead of a community property state, the amount of money that the asset-keeping spouse must pay is not always exactly half of the value of the asset; it could be less or more.

Sometimes money that one spouse pays the other to buy out his or her share of a marital asset is called an equalizing payment, but sometimes it is called in solido alimony.  Even though, in everyday speech, we often refer to in solido alimony as lump sum alimony, it is not always a lump sum.  The thing that makes it in solido is that its total value is set during mediation or at trial and cannot change.  In some cases, it is possible to make the payment in installments.  Somehow, buying your ex-spouse out of a marital asset causes less outrage on the Internet than paying alimony.

Contact Schwartz | White About Lump Sum Alimony

A South Florida family law attorney can help you if your ex-spouse has agreed to compensate you for a share of a valuable marital asset, but getting your ex to pay is harder than you expected.  Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4865283388683545631&q=divorce+church&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2014&as_yhi=2024