Proving a Lack of Income Disparity in Orlando Alimony Cases

As many spouses are aware, alimony is only necessary in Florida if there is an “income disparity” between the parties. In other words, you only need to pay spousal support if your ex earns less than you do. This creates an incentive to prove the lack of an income disparity. If you manage to establish that your ex actually earns income on par with your own, you may escape alimony obligations. How realistic is this goal? Could an Orlando alimony lawyer help you gather the evidence you need?

Many Spouses Inherit Considerable Assets Late in Life 

As the Florida Bar noted back in their 2005 article Alimony for the Heiress? Imputing Income to Assets, the aging and eventual demise of the baby boomer generation has caused numerous spouses to inherit considerable sums late in life. The Bar notes that it is impossible to “impute income to assets,” implying that a spouse who inherits considerable sums may be less able to pursue alimony.

For example, your ex might have inherited hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets before your divorce. As per Florida’s property division laws, these assets are separate and ineligible for division between spouses. In other words, your ex can keep their inheritance – and you have no way of accessing these funds.

What happens if your ex claims that they need you to pay alimony in order to support the high standard of living they enjoyed during the marriage? Courts may be dubious about these claims, especially if your ex has assets capable of generating passive income in various ways.

The obvious example is an investment portfolio that generates passive income in the form of yields, interest, and dividends. However, a spouse might also inherit real estate worth millions of dollars. If the spouse refuses to sell, they may argue that they need alimony in order to pay the bills. This could be an especially viable argument if the spouse moves into the home they inherited after divorce. With no income, alimony might seem like the only way for them to pay the bills.

You may be able to apply a “standard rate of return” to the assets held by your ex. Next, the court may take into account their reasonable needs and determine how much alimony is required – or whether alimony is required at all.

Some of these assets may be difficult to locate. Even if you can locate inherited assets, they may be held in trusts, corporations, or LLCs that are legally separate from their personal estate. An experienced alimony attorney can help you locate these assets and argue that they should be considered in spousal support calculations.

Contact an Orlando Alimony Lawyer Today 

An Orlando alimony lawyer may be able to help you prove that the income disparity between you and your ex does not exist. That being said, each divorce is different – and you might need to consider various sources of evidence depending on your unique circumstances. Reach out to Steve Marsee, P.A. today to learn more about strategies for reducing or eliminating spousal support in Florida.

Sources:

 floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/alimony-for-the-heiress-imputing-income-to-assets/

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.08.html