What Is a Wife Entitled To In a Divorce Settlement in Florida?
When a couple decides to divorce in Florida, many spouses enter the process with various misconceptions surrounding what they are legally “entitled” to receive out of the divorce based on their gender. A common question Sean Smallwood, Orlando divorce attorney, commonly receives is specifically what a wife is entitled to in a divorce in Florida. However, the first and most important thing to understand is that Florida’s divorce laws are strictly gender-neutral, and decisions in a divorce made by courts are not based on gender roles.
Divorce courts throughout Florida do not award assets or spousal support based on whether the requesting person is a husband or a wife. Instead, they base their decisions on financial roles in the relationship, including looking at who is considered to be the “breadwinner” and who is considered to be “economically dependent.” While historical trends and misconceptions often placed wives in the dependent role of most marriages, modern statutes focus entirely on financial data, marriage duration, and the needs of the children, if there were any during the marriage. As the perception of gender roles has changed over time, many women in society can be the main income earners and men the dependents in marriages.
Furthermore, Florida’s divorce laws and procedures have undergone a massive overhaul with new legislation that became effective July 1, 2023, which significantly changed entitlements regarding alimony and how long a spouse can receive it after a divorce is finalized.
Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets
Florida is considered to be an equitable distribution state, which means that marital assets are divided equally. However, dividing assets equally does not mean they are going to be split 50/50. The court will start with the premise that the distribution of marital assets should be equal unless there is a justification documented with evidence for an unequal split.
What Counts as Marital Property?
Many spouses who are going through the Florida divorce process are shocked when they are told that almost every dollar or asset that was gained during a marriage is considered to be marital property under Florida law. This is true regardless of whose name is on an account or who technically owns the asset.
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Income: Money that is earned by either spouse from the day of marriage until the day the divorce is filed is marital income.
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Retirement Accounts: Contributions to 401(k)s or IRAs that were made during the marriage are typically subject to division in a divorce.
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Business Interests: If a spouse owns a business, the increase in its value during the time the two people were married may be considered a marital asset if the increase in value came from marital effort or funds.
Conversely, assets that were acquired before the marriage typically remain separate property during a divorce, as long as they were not commingled with marital funds.
Alimony and the 2023 Divorce Law Changes in Florida
The most significant recent legislative changes to what a spouse is entitled to in a divorce involve alimony. As of July 1, 2023, Florida has officially eliminated permanent periodic alimony and has replaced it with a more formulaic system that is based strictly on the length of the marriage.
New Marriage Duration Categories in Florida
The new divorce statute in Florida categorizes marriages into three distinct terms to determine if a spouse is eligible for alimony after a divorce:
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Short-Term Marriage: Less than 10 years.
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Moderate-Term Marriage: 10 to 20 years.
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Long-Term Marriage: 20 years or longer.
Caps on Durational Alimony
Durational alimony is now the primary form of long-term spousal support in Florida, but it comes with strict statutory caps on how long a spouse can receive it. The new law states that the length of alimony payments cannot exceed a specific percentage of the length of the marriage:
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Short-Term: Alimony cannot exceed 50% of the length of the marriage.
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Moderate-Term: Alimony cannot exceed 60% of the length of the marriage.
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Long-Term: Alimony cannot exceed 75% of the length of the marriage.
The 35% Income Cap
Alongside the new alimony caps, there is also a hard cap on the amount of alimony that can be awarded to a spouse in a divorce. The law states that durational alimony cannot exceed 35% of the difference between the parties’ total net incomes. This new regulation provides a clear mathematical ceiling for divorce negotiations and was implemented to prevent spousal maintenance awards that would leave the paying spouse with significantly less income than the spouse receiving alimony.
Child Support and Custody
Unlike alimony, child support is not an entitlement of a specific parent in a divorce but a right that belongs to the child. While alimony can be negotiated and has caps, that is not the case with child support and custody arrangements. The main purpose of child support and custody agreements is to make sure the child’s needs are being met in both homes.
The “50/50 Custody” Misconception
A common myth is that if parents share 50/50 custody, neither of them has to pay child support. In Florida, this is not true, as family courts use an “Income Shares Model” that considers various factors before determining a custody schedule, such as:
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The total incomes of both parents.
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The percentage of time-sharing (overnights) each parent has.
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Costs for health insurance and daycare.
Even with equal custody time, if there is a significant disparity in income (such as one parent earns $250,000 and the other earns $40,000), the higher earner will likely still be required to pay child support to maintain the child’s standard of living in both homes.
Attorney’s Fees and Litigation Costs
For a spouse who has little to no income compared to their partner, Florida law provides a mechanism to level the playing field when it comes to paying for attorney’s fees and litigation costs. A dependent spouse may be entitled to request that the higher-earning spouse contribute financially to their attorney’s fees. This request is often based on two primary factors:
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Need: The requesting spouse’s demonstrated financial need for assistance to the court.
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Ability to Pay: The other spouse’s financial ability to cover those costs without being significantly impacted.
Being able to request payment for attorneys’ fees is in place so that a stay-at-home parent or lower-earning spouse is not legally disadvantaged simply because they cannot afford high-priced legal representation.
Conclusion
In Florida, a wife is entitled to the same things a husband is. This commonly includes an equitable share of marital assets, potential alimony based on strict new duration formulas and legislation, and financial support for children. While the law no longer defaults to favoring women when determining custody or alimony in Florida, it provides many protections for the lower-earning spouse to make sure there is equitable distribution of financial assets after the marriage ends.
Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce attorney for the law firm Sean Smallwood, Orlando Divorce & Family Law P.A. where he represents clients in all areas of family law and divorce. 100% of the practice is devoted to family law. As an attorney in Orlando, he has helped many families with a wide variety of family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, and many other issues.