'Til death do us part' is not always the timeline marriages end. How do states approach alimony, cause, and timelines when marriages end? This week, we'll take a look at two interesting bills changing the way divorce works in Maryland and Florida.
Aligning on Some Definitions
First, let's align on some definitions on terms that matter when getting divorced. Separating the life two people have built can often be stressful and strange. The first aspect of divorce is deciding what the "grounds" are for your divorce. Are you filing for an "at-fault" or "no-fault" divorce?
Whose Fault is it Anyway?
It does not necessarily have to be someone's fault! When you file for divorce in the United States, you must have a legally acceptable reason, or "ground," for ending your marriage. According to PsychCentral, lack of commitment, infidelity, conflict, and arguing are the leading causes of divorce in the United States. Grounds for divorce often relate back to these causes, but differ in that they are regulations specifying the circumstances under which a person will be granted a legal divorce. Grounds can vary by state, but all grounds are categorized as one of two types: at-fault and no-fault.
At-fault divorce may be granted when one spouse proves the other spouse did something which resulted in the failure of the marriage. What states accept for "at-fault" divorce varies, but here are some generally accepted reasons: adultery or cheating, bigamy, desertion, mental incapacity at time of marriage, marriage between close relatives, impotence at time of marriage, force or fraud in obtaining the marriage, criminal conviction and/or imprisonment, mental or physical abuse, drug or alcohol addiction, and mental illness.
When it comes to no-fault divorces, the regulatory reasons states allow you file under are mostly just fancy ways of saying a couple cannot get along, they do not wish to stay in the marriage, and there is "mutual consent" to end the marriage. This is cited most commonly as "irreconcilable differences" or the "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage." Some states, like Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, require couples live separately for a period of time before they are able to file for a no-fault divorce.
Why Assign Blame?
Why does fault matter? For states that allow at-fault divorces, the filing party is required to prove their claims to a judge who will then grant the divorce. Some states have laws which encourage judges to consider "misconduct" from a spouse when deciding whether or not to award alimony and "community property" (think house, stocks, vacation condo, other assets). Fault usually becomes relevant when it is proven that a spouse used marital resources to fund something like a gambling addiction or extramarital affair. In these cases, judges may rule awarding more assets to make the aggrieved party "whole" again.
Who's Paying?
Now we'll look at the types of alimony available for people to seek. Like grounds, these vary by state. In California, for example, there are five different types of alimony. Some combination of these types are pretty common across the United States:
- Alimony Pendente Lite (Temporary): Usually paid while a divorce is pending. This payment can be used to cover divorce costs and daily expenses. It ceases when the divorced is finalized, but permanent alimony could be granted and take over.
- Permanent Alimony: Ongoing payments (usually monthly) which can continue indefinitely. Payments can stop for reasons specifically defined in the divorce, such as if either spouse dies or if the lower-earning spouse remarries/cohabitates with a new partner.
- Alimony in Gross (Lump Sum): When the paying spouse makes a larger, one-time payment rather than monthly recurring payments. This is usually paid in lieu of a community property settlement. One spouse is "paid out" for their share of property and other assets foregoing the option to take ownership of them.
- Rehabilitative alimony: Spousal support payments for a certain duration (a certain number of years or until a certain event happens). This type of alimony is meant to support the lower-earning spouse while attempt to increase their employment chances through education, training, or searching for a job.
- Reimbursement alimony: This type of alimony is meant to reimburse a lower-earning spouse for expenses like tuition or work training and is considered more of a "one-off" type payment.
Maryland and No-Fault, Absolute Divorce
In Maryland, there is something called "absolute divorce". Absolute divorce means legally ending your marriage (because you are able to) and officially settling all "issues" like custody, alimony, and dividing up property. Only after an absolute divorce has been granted are spouses allowed to remarry. Before you petition for an "absolute" divorce, you may get a "limited" divorce in Maryland. Limited divorce allows for people to address some legal aspects of divorce like finances or custody of children before they are 'eligible' for an absolute divorce. Before HB14, couples in Maryland had to live apart for 12 months, in different dwellings, before they were eligible to file for an absolute divorce.
HB14 (signed in May of this year) eliminates "limited" divorce and repeals certain grounds for "at-fault" divorce. The repealed statutory grounds for divorce include: adultery, desertion, criminal convictions leading to jail/prison time, 12-month separation, insanity, and cruelty of treatment of excessively vicious conduct towards a spouse and/or child. The bill now authorizes a court to grant an absolute, no-fault divorce to couples in the state on the following grounds:
- Six-month separation. If the parties have lived separate and apart for six months without interruption before the filing of the application for divorce
- Irreconcilable differences based on the reasons stated by the complainant for the permanent termination of the marriage
With this, Maryland joins 39 other states allowing for "no-fault" divorce. The six-month separation period defines the living arrangement as "separate and apart" but it does not have to mean separate homes. Instead, spouses can cohabitate for those six months as long as they have "pursued separate lives".
People in opposition to this bill are worried about people's access to healthcare and other support in the absence of limited divorce. Many couples in Maryland effectively "stay married" via a limited divorce for a long time in order to still be on the same health insurance policy and other legal and financial reasons.
Florida and Permanent Alimony
S1416 (passed in March of this year) eliminates permanent alimony in Florida. Governor DeSantis’ signature on the bill comes just one year after he vetoed a similar bill.
The Florida legislature has been attempting to pass legislation akin to S1416 for years. Former Gov. Rick Scott also vetoed similar legislation two times prior to him leaving office. When DeSantis vetoed the 2022 version (S1796), he highlighted concerns about the bill allowing existing alimony agreements amended. In his veto letter, he wrote that if the bill “were to become law and be given retroactive effect as the Legislature intends, it would unconstitutionally impair vested rights under certain pre-existing marital settlement agreements.”
Under the new bill, the types of alimony a court may award in Florida include: temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony. Rehabilitative alimony will be limited to five years. Durational alimony, which is awarded to provide the recipient spouse with economic assistance for a specific period of time, "will not exceed 50% percent of the length of a short-term marriage, 60% percent of the length of a moderate-term marriage, and 75% of the length of a long-term marriage". Short-term marriages are defined as those lasting less than 10 years, moderate-term is defined as those lasting between 10-20 years, and long-term is defined as 20 years or longer. Previously, the ranges were less than 7 years, between 7-17 years, and more than 17 years.
Also under the plan, people married for less than three years will not be eligible for alimony payments, and those who have been married 20 years or longer will be eligible to receive payments for up to 75 percent of the term of the marriage.
The bill refines the process by which an award of alimony, support, or maintenance may be reduced or terminated. S1416 does contain a process for ex-spouses who make alimony payments to seek modifications to alimony agreements when they want to retire. Alimony payers will also be allowed to seek modifications if “a supportive relationship exists or has existed” involving their ex-spouses in the previous year.
After Desantis signed the bill, the “First Wives Advocacy Group” came out in opposition to the bill stating, "it has put older women in a situation which will cause financial devastation."
Michael Buhler, Chairman of Florida Family Fairness, stated that "FFF is pleased that the Florida Legislature and Gov. DeSantis have passed a bill that ends permanent alimony and codified in statute the right to retire for existing alimony payers. Anything that adds clarity and ends permanent alimony is a win for Florida families."
Cover Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.