Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Permanent alimony was abolished in Florida on July 1, 2023. Cases pending on or after that date were subject to revised alimony statutes. If an appeal was pending in a case in which permanent alimony was awarded prior to July 1, 2023, how did that affect the viability of the permanent alimony award? This was an issue in the case Alfonso v. Alfonso, 4D2024-0698 (Fla. 4th DCA May 7, 2025).
During the parties’ marriage, the wife became disabled. She filed for divorce after approximately three years of marriage and requested permanent alimony due to her inability to work or perform routine activities. The case proceeded to trial in April 2023. A final judgment was entered on June 30, 2023, one day before the new alimony statute went into effect cancelling permanent alimony. The former husband filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied and he appealed.
The former husband argued on appeal that because the case was still pending as of July 1, 2023, the permanent alimony award should be reversed. He also took issue with the trial court’s order for him to maintain a life insurance policy to support the award. The appellate court held the case was not pending as of July 1, 2023, reasoning “Here, on June 30, 2023, when the trial court entered the final dissolution judgment, the amended section 61.08 was not yet in effect. As the June 30, 2023, final judgment disposed of all issues in the initial dissolution petition, and as the amended final judgment was properly entered nunc pro tunc to June 30, 2023, the initial dissolution petition was not ‘pending’ on or after July 1, 2023, notwithstanding the filing of Former Husband’s motion for rehearing. [. . .] To hold otherwise would be to conflate a case’s finality for appellate purposes with the time when a dissolution judgment becomes effective under substantive law.”
The court agreed with the former husband on the life insurance issue, however, holding “him to maintain Former Wife as a beneficiary on any comparable life insurance policy without first considering the cost and availability of a comparable life insurance policy. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the trial court to make the necessary findings.”
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