If you have been financially dependent on your spouse, even if only in recent years, the prospect of a divorce can be particularly frightening. If you stepped away from your own career to raise your children, manage the household or act as support for your spouse’s professional goals, your workplace skills may be outdated. There’s no way that you can immediately earn enough to start supporting yourself.
This is where rehabilitative alimony can help. Rehabilitative alimony is designed to help a dependent spouse become self-supporting by giving them some financial stability while they focus on obtaining the training, education or experience they need to find better employment.
You need to have a plan
You can’t obtain rehabilitative alimony without having a specific plan in place. It isn’t enough to say that you want to go back to school, for example. Instead, you have to state what you intend to study, the degree you plan to earn and how long it will take.
For example, if you used to be a nurse and you left the field to raise your children, you might ask for rehabilitative alimony while you take the necessary classes to update your training and renew your license.
Depending upon the circumstances, a rehabilitative plan could include things like:
- Completing a degree or professional certification
- Renewing an expired occupational license
- Participating in job training
- Updating skills after an extended absence from the workforce
- Gaining work experience needed to reenter a particular field
It’s important to remember that Florida law only permits rehabilitative alimony to last for a maximum of five years, so any reasonable plan has to take that time limit into account. In addition, the court will only order rehabilitative alimony when there is a genuine need for it and the other spouse can afford to pay. The court will also look at the length of the marriage, the standard of living enjoyed by the couple and each party’s contributions to the household.
Regardless of your situation, you may have more options than you realize. Experienced legal guidance can help you find a path forward after divorce.