Divorce Support Forums: Child support/Alimony

14 years you are right over the edge to get perm. alimony if you can show just cause. This includes health or lack of ability to work or a child needs you at home etc. Other than that you can get alimony from anywhere from 2 months to 20 years. If you can show that you actually worked in the business you are entitiled to half of the worth of that business. Even if you did not work in the business but it was started with marital income you are entitled to half worth. This can be lowered by a judge or raised (due to FL being a equitable state not an even state) depending on your need and contributation in business or care of home while he built business up. You also have to take in effect assets and distrubution of them.

CS is then based on total of yours and his income together and then percentage paid by each based on what each makes on how much each pays toward child. What I mean is your income and alimony add up to 2000 a month his income minus alimony comes to 5000 that is 7000 total. That is then put into a formula that the state has and lets just say it says the child is to get 1000 a month. Well then out of your income the formula then says you pay 200 and he pays 800. So who ever has custody gets the other ones amount. This is just an example not % based on actual formula. I have a CPA doing mine so I do not know what the actual formula is. This is just how he explained it to me. If you marry or live with SO then you lose alimony and CS then can be changed according to your new income not including SO or new husbands income. He could then be responsible to pay the full 1000.

I am also in FL and Husbands company makes over 2 mil a year with personal income over a mil a year. This can get tricky and they will fight to not lose any of the company money. Get a good lawyer and be ready for a long process. I know with mine it has been many months and we are still in the CPA process of figuring out worth of assets and all.

It is not so cut and dry with a business involved and children. At least not in FL, I do not think so anyway.

There are tricks they pull to make you look like you do not need as much alimony as what you may have been getting from them while married. The money causes them to not keep promisses they made when first this process started. Do not do anything that your lawyer has not told you was ok to do. It could cost you in the long run.