Video answers from Jacksonville family law attorney A. James Mullaney about alimony issues in Florida family law.
How does alimony affect a Florida child support calculation?
Transcript
In general, alimony will lower the child support you pay because it reduces your income. If you are receiving alimony and child support, the child support you receive will be lower because the alimony you also receive will increase your income which tends to lower you child support. For example, suppose you make $80,000 per year at your job and have $20,000 per year withheld from your pay as federal income tax. Also suppose that you pay $12,000 per year in alimony. Without the alimony payment, your gross income for child support purposes would be $60,000 per year. With the alimony payment, your gross income would be about $48,000 per year. I say "about" because, you will get a refund for the tax you had withheld on the $12,000 in alimony that you paid. Essentially, your employer will withhold taxes based on what they pay you - $80,000 per year, when in reality, you really make $68,000 (what they pay you less what you pay in alimony) - so you have too much tax withheld. The amount that you are refunded by the IRS increases your gross income.
Are my alimony payments tax deductible?
Transcript
**** THE LAW HAS CHANGED. ALIMONY PAYMENT ARE GENERALLY NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE IN FLORIDA ANY MORE *****. Usually, yes, alimony that you pay is tax deductible and alimony that you receive is taxable to you as income. In order for the IRS to consider alimony to be tax deductible, a few conditions need to be met: 1. The person paying the alimony must do so in cash or its equivalent - such as a check or money order. Also, the payment must be received by or on behalf of your spouse or former spouse. 2. The persons paying and receiving alimony cannot live together and must file separate tax returns. 3. The right to receive the alimony must terminate upon the death of the person receiving the alimony. 4. The court order establishing the alimony cannot state that the alimony is non-deductible to the person paying the alimony and non-taxable to the person receiving the alimony. 5. The alimony payments must be made pursuant to a court order. An agreement between the parties - without a judge's signature - is not enough. 6 and lastly, the tax return of the person paying the alimony must include the social security number of the person receiving the alimony. This is so that the IRS can verify that the recipient of the alimony is being taxed on what the person paying is deducting.
Can my alimony payments in Florida be reduced or terminated if my ex is living with someone?
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The short answer is maybe. The key is whether a supportive relationship exists between your ex and the person they are living with. If you are trying to reduce or terminate alimony, the burden of proving this situation is on you - the person paying the alimony. The judge may consider all circumstances surrounding the alleged supportive relationship, but the statute lays out a list of factors to be considered: 1. Whether the couple is holding themselves out as married by using the same last name, mailing address, referring to each other as husband or wife, or any other conduct that suggests a permanent supportive relationship. 2. The length of time they have lived together, 3. The extent to which they have pooled their assets or income, 4. The extent to which one has supported the other, 5. The extent to which one has performed valuable services for the other, 6. The extent to which they have worked together to create or enhance anything of value, 7. Whether they have jointly contributed to the purchase of real property, and 8. Whether either of them has provided support to the children of the other regardless of a legal obligation to do so. It is important to note that the supportive relationship does not need to involve sexual activity. Also, a supportive relationship cannot exist between family members.
My ex is earning more than when we divorced. Can I have my alimony increased?
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The short answer is maybe. In general, in order to justify an increase in alimony, the receiving former spouse must show: 1. a substantial change in circumstances, 2. that the change was not contemplated at the time of the Final Judgment, 3. that the change is sufficient, material, permanent and involuntary. Additionally, the substantial change must bear on either the recipient's need for alimony or the paying spouse's ability to pay. So, essentially, in order for your alimony to increase, there must be an analysis of your need for additional alimony and your ex husband's ability to pay additional alimony. You do not get additional alimony just because he is making more money. You must show an increased need for the additional alimony AND he must have the ability to pay more.
If a former spouse retires, can alimony be modified in Florida?
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The short answer is maybe. In general, in order to justify a reduction of alimony, the paying former spouse must show: 1. a substantial change in circumstances, 2. that the change was not contemplated at the time of the Final Judgment, and 3. that the change is sufficient, material, permanent, and involuntary. Additionally, the substantial change is circumstances must bear on either the recipient's need for alimony or the paying spouse's ability to pay. A good number of retirements are voluntary. In determining whether a voluntary retirement is reasonable, the court must consider the payor's age, health, motivation for retirement, the type of work performed, and the age at which others engaged in the same line of work normally retire. The reasonableness of the retirement is only one factor for the court to consider when deciding whether to lower or terminate an alimony obligation. The courts in Florida have repeatedly held that a paying spouse should not be allowed to unilaterally choose voluntary retirement if that choice places the receiving spouse in peril of poverty. In this situation, the courts will consider the needs of the receiving spouse and the impact a termination or reduction of alimony will have on the receiving spouse. in determining these needs, the court will consider any assets which the receiving spouse has accumulated or received since the Final Judgment along with any income generated by those assets.
If a spouse commits adultery, could that result in higher alimony?
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No. The courts have been fairly clear that the existence of or the amount alimony should not be set as a punishment for the bad acting spouse. Alimony is based on the receiving spouses need fro the alimony and the paying spouses ability to pay This means that if you had a pretty good alimony case, you should not expect a higher alimony amount just because your spouse committed adultery. Similarly, if you had a weak alimony case, the adultery would not make your case any stronger.
How does alimony affect a Florida child support calculation?
Transcript
In general, alimony will lower the child support you pay because it reduces your income. If you are receiving alimony and child support, the child support you receive will be lower because the alimony you also receive will increase your income which tends to lower you child support. For example, suppose you make $80,000 per year at your job and have $20,000 per year withheld from your pay as federal income tax. Also suppose that you pay $12,000 per year in alimony. Without the alimony payment, your gross income for child support purposes would be $60,000 per year. With the alimony payment, your gross income would be about $48,000 per year. I say "about" because, you will get a refund for the tax you had withheld on the $12,000 in alimony that you paid. Essentially, your employer will withhold taxes based on what they pay you - $80,000 per year, when in reality, you really make $68,000 (what they pay you less what you pay in alimony) - so you have too much tax withheld. The amount that you are refunded by the IRS increases your gross income.