F.S. 61.08: The Four Types of Florida Alimony and How Long Each Can Last

Florida rewrote its alimony statute in 2023. The amendments to Fla. Stat. § 61.08 took effect on July 1, 2023, and they apply to every petition for dissolution of marriage filed or pending on that date. Permanent alimony no longer exists. In its place, the statute recognizes four forms of support: temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative and durational. Each has its own purpose, its own outer time limit and its own rules on modification.

For spouses filing in the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, the practical questions are simple. Will alimony be awarded at all? Which type? For how many months or years? And how much? This page walks through each type under § 61.08, with worked examples so you can estimate where your own case is likely to land. For an overview of how our firm handles these claims, see our Miami alimony practice page.

The Threshold Question: Need and Ability to Pay

Before a Miami judge reaches the type or length of an award, § 61.08(2) requires a specific factual finding on two points: whether the requesting spouse has an actual need for alimony, and whether the other spouse has the ability to pay it. The burden rests on the party asking for support, and the standard is a preponderance of the evidence. If either finding fails, the inquiry ends and no alimony is awarded.

Need is measured against the standard of living established during the marriage, adjusted for the reality that two households cost more than one. Ability to pay is measured by net income after taxes and mandatory deductions, plus available assets. Both figures come from the sworn financial affidavits the parties must exchange under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285 within 45 days of service of the petition. Spouses with gross annual income under $50,000 file the short form (Form 12.902(b)); those at or above $50,000 file the long form (Form 12.902(c)). Getting these affidavits right, and testing the other side's numbers through subpoenas and depositions, is the core of alimony litigation. Our page on the Miami divorce discovery process explains how that work is done.

The Statutory Factors Under § 61.08(3)

Once need and ability to pay are established, the court must consider the factors in § 61.08(3) in setting the type, amount and length of the award. Those factors are:

• Duration of the marriage. Measured from the date of marriage to the date the petition for dissolution is filed, not the date of separation and not the date of the final judgment.
• Standard of living during the marriage and the anticipated needs and necessities of life for each party after the divorce.
• Age, physical, mental and emotional condition of each party, including whether any disability is permanent or temporary.
• Resources and income of each party, including income from both marital and nonmarital assets.
• Earning capacity, education, vocational skills and employability, and where relevant the ability of either party to obtain the skills or education needed to become self-supporting.
• Contributions to the marriage, including homemaking, child care, education and career building for the other spouse.
• Responsibilities for minor children, with particular attention to children who have a mental or physical disability.
• Any other factor necessary for equity and justice between the parties.

Separately, § 61.08(1)(b) permits the court to consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances of it in determining the amount of alimony. In practice, Miami judges give adultery weight mainly where marital funds were spent on the affair.

How Marriage Length Is Classified

The length categories in § 61.08(4) drive the durational alimony caps discussed below, so they deserve precise attention:

Timing of the filing matters. A couple married on September 1, 2014, who files on August 15, 2024, has a short-term marriage of nine years and eleven months. If the same couple files on September 2, 2024, the marriage is moderate-term. That two-week difference raises the maximum durational award from 50 percent to 60 percent of the marriage length. Spouses who are separated but not yet ready to file sometimes have strategic reasons to wait or to move quickly, and the options for that interim period are covered on our page about legal separation alternatives in Florida.

Type One: Temporary Alimony

Temporary alimony, also called alimony pendente lite, is support paid while the divorce case is pending. It is authorized by Fla. Stat. § 61.071 and referenced in § 61.08. Its purpose is to keep the lower-earning spouse housed, fed and able to pay counsel until the final judgment is entered.

How long it lasts: Temporary alimony begins when the court orders it, often at a motion hearing a few weeks after filing, and ends automatically when the final judgment of dissolution is entered. A contested Miami-Dade divorce commonly takes 9 to 18 months, so temporary support can run for a significant period.

Practical points: Temporary alimony does not count against the caps on the final award. A judge who orders 12 months of temporary support during the case can still award the full durational term afterward. Temporary orders are also modifiable at any time during the case upon a showing of changed circumstances. Because the court makes these decisions on affidavits and limited testimony, the quality of the initial financial affidavit has outsized effect on the interim award.

Type Two: Bridge-the-Gap Alimony

Bridge-the-gap alimony under § 61.08(6) is meant to help a spouse make the transition from married to single life. It addresses identifiable, short-term needs: a security deposit and first months of rent, replacing a car that stayed with the other spouse, covering expenses until the marital home sells or until a new job starts.

How long it lasts: Two years is the absolute ceiling. Section 61.08(6) states the award may not exceed two years. Many Miami awards are shorter, often 6 to 18 months, matched to the specific transitional need the court identifies.

Modification: None. The statute provides that bridge-the-gap alimony is not modifiable in amount or duration. The award terminates on the death of either party or the remarriage of the recipient, but it cannot be increased, decreased, extended or shortened for any other reason. This finality cuts both ways. A recipient who finds work early keeps the full award; a payor who loses a job cannot reduce it.

Example: A couple married for four years divorces in Miami. The wife earns $42,000 and the husband $110,000. She will need to move out of the marital condominium once it sells and will have to cover a deposit, moving costs and furniture. The court could order $1,500 per month for 12 months as bridge-the-gap alimony, a total of $18,000, without any finding about her long-term earning capacity.

Type Three: Rehabilitative Alimony

Rehabilitative alimony under § 61.08(7) exists to help a spouse acquire or refresh the education, training or work experience needed to become self-supporting. The statute is specific: the award must be tied to a specific and defined rehabilitative plan, and that plan must be included as part of any order awarding this type of support.

How long it lasts: The 2023 amendments capped rehabilitative alimony at five years. Section 61.08(7)(c) states the award may not exceed that period. Before the amendments, there was no fixed ceiling.

Modification: Rehabilitative alimony is modifiable. Under § 61.08(7)(d), the court may modify or terminate it upon a substantial change in circumstances, upon the recipient's noncompliance with the rehabilitative plan, or upon completion of the plan ahead of schedule. A recipient who abandons a nursing program in the second semester should expect the payor to file a supplemental petition under § 61.14 to terminate the award.

What a plan must contain: Judges in the Miami-Dade Family Division expect the plan to name the program or credential, the institution, the projected completion date, the tuition and fees, and the anticipated income at the end. Vague goals such as "return to the workforce" are routinely rejected. A vocational evaluator's report is often the best evidence in support of, or in opposition to, a proposed plan.

Example: A spouse who left a career as a paralegal 11 years ago to raise children proposes to complete a two-year associate degree in nursing at Miami Dade College, followed by NCLEX licensure, with a projected starting salary of $70,000. The plan shows tuition of $9,000 per year and living expenses of $4,200 per month during the program. The court could award $2,800 per month for 30 months as rehabilitative alimony, then transition to a durational award or end support entirely.

Type Four: Durational Alimony

Durational alimony under § 61.08(8) provides economic assistance for a set period following a marriage of moderate or long duration, or following a short-term marriage where there is no ongoing need for support on a permanent basis. Since the elimination of permanent alimony, durational alimony is the type awarded in most contested Miami cases involving marriages of ten years or more.

Minimum marriage length

Section 61.08(8)(a) prohibits durational alimony for a marriage lasting less than three years. A spouse married for two years and eleven months at filing is limited to bridge-the-gap or rehabilitative alimony.

Maximum length by category

Section 61.08(8)(b) ties the maximum term to the length of the marriage:

The percentages are ceilings, not entitlements. A court may award a shorter term based on the § 61.08(3) factors.

Exceeding the cap: exceptional circumstances

Section 61.08(8)(c) allows the court to extend the term beyond these caps only upon clear and convincing evidence of exceptional circumstances. The statute directs the court to weigh four things: the extent to which the recipient's age and employability limit the ability to become self-supporting; the extent to which the recipient's available financial resources limit self-support; the extent to which the recipient is mentally or physically disabled; and the extent to which the recipient is the caregiver of a mentally or physically disabled child common to the parties. Clear and convincing evidence is a higher standard than the preponderance standard that governs the rest of the alimony inquiry, and extensions remain uncommon.

How the amount is calculated

Section 61.08(8)(d) sets the amount at the recipient's reasonable need, or 35 percent of the difference between the parties' net incomes, whichever is less. This formula is new and it operates as a hard cap.

Worked example: A Miami couple married on January 15, 2011, files for divorce on March 1, 2024. The marriage lasted 13 years and roughly six weeks, placing it in the moderate-term category. The husband's net monthly income is $9,000; the wife's is $3,500. The difference is $5,500, and 35 percent of that figure is $1,925. If the wife proves a reasonable monthly need of $2,400 after accounting for her own income, the award is capped at $1,925. If her proven need is $1,600, the award is $1,600. The maximum term is 60 percent of 13.1 years, or about 7 years and 10 months.

Section 61.08(9) adds a further guardrail: an alimony award may not leave the payor with significantly less net income than the recipient unless the court makes written findings of exceptional circumstances.

Modification of durational alimony

The amount of durational alimony can be modified upon a substantial change in circumstances under § 61.14. The length generally cannot be modified except upon the same exceptional-circumstances showing required to exceed the cap in the first place. Two statutory events deserve mention:

• Supportive relationship. Under § 61.08(10), the court must reduce or terminate alimony if the payor proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the recipient has entered a supportive relationship, one in which the recipient and another person live together and share finances in a manner resembling marriage. Once the payor makes that showing, the burden shifts to the recipient to prove the award should continue.
• Retirement. Under § 61.14(1)(c), a payor who has reached the normal retirement age under the Social Security Act, or the customary retirement age for the payor's profession, may petition to reduce or terminate alimony. The petition may be filed up to six months before the anticipated retirement date, and the court considers factors including the payor's age and health, the motivation for retiring and the recipient's ability to absorb the loss.

Lump Sum, Periodic Payments and Security

Section 61.08 permits any of these awards to be paid periodically, in a lump sum, or in a combination of both. Lump-sum payment is common in bridge-the-gap awards and in negotiated settlements where the payor has liquid assets and both parties want finality. The court may also order the payor to purchase or maintain a life insurance policy or bond to secure the award, provided it makes specific findings about the recipient's need for that protection and the cost to the payor. When a former spouse stops paying, the recipient's remedies include contempt, income deduction orders and judgment liens, which we address on our page about enforcing a Florida divorce judgment.

Summary Table: Duration and Modification by Type

Procedure in Miami-Dade Family Court

Alimony is requested in the petition for dissolution or the counterpetition. A spouse who omits the claim risks waiving it, because the court cannot award relief that was never pleaded. After service, both parties have 45 days to complete mandatory disclosure under Rule 12.285, including the financial affidavit, three years of tax returns, and recent pay stubs and account statements. Temporary alimony motions are typically heard by the assigned Family Division judge at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center on short notice. Most divisions require mediation before a contested final hearing, and alimony is frequently resolved there once both sides have run the § 61.08(8) math. If the case proceeds to trial, the judge must make written findings on need, ability to pay and each relevant factor, and an award that omits those findings is vulnerable on appeal to the Third District Court of Appeal.

You can contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin by phone at 786-522-1411 or by email at [email protected].