How many of you were ordered as part of your divorce agreement to obtain life insurance with your ex-spouse as the beneficiary? The insurance premium is a financial requirement in addition to alimony.  Unless specifically stated, there is no endpoint to this obligation if you have permanent alimony.  

In divorce agreements where permanent alimony is ordered, you are required to purchase life insurance in order to pay for "spousal maintenance" in the event of your death.  (This doesn't even include a widow's social security benefits which are paid under certain circumstances.)

In our future weekly newsletters, we will be exploring in depth the topic of the "Hidden Costs of Permanent Alimony."  There are currently no judicial guidelines in this area and it is totally up to your attorney to make sure that you don't get saddled with an additional obligation which may be unaffordable in the future.

Please check back to our website and to our regular newsletters.  We will be answering questions which you send to Info@FloridaAlimonyReform.com.

We are interested in hearing from you about any horror stories you have encountered regarding mandatory life insurance.    We will also be having a more detailed discussion about how life insurance is often attached to the alimony requirements.  

 Mark Your Calendar!

Our next Town Hall Fundraiser Meeting will be Saturday, September 22, 2012 from 11am-2pm.

Location: Savanna Commons, 1300 Savanna Commons Drive, Weston Fl 33327.

Click here for directions

Your core group will be there to educate you with up to the date information and answer any questions you may have.  

Please RSVP to info@FloridaAlimonyReform.com so we know the head count to prepare for lunch.

Should MSA's Be Able To Be Modified?

 
Mediation is Mandated by the Courts and Parties are Urged to Settle

In the state of Florida when a person files for divorce, there are a series of procedural steps dictated by the court that must be followed including, but not limited to: serving papers to the respondent, preparing financial affidavits, and attending a court ordered mediation.  

The purpose of the mediation is for the plaintiff and defendant (the parties) to try to settle the case before taking the court's time and resources to settle the divorce through the judicial process.

Let me repeat, the parties are subject to a court ordered mediation to try to settle the case before they ever get to see a judge. Should the case be settled during one or more mediations, a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) is signed by both parties and afterwards, presented to the judge to accept the MSA and issue the Final Judgment.

Currently in Florida, a long term marriage is defined as lasting 17 years or longer and permanent alimony is the default judgment for long term marriages, unless there are very unusual circumstances in a particular case. Even if a couple is married fewer than 17 years (but more than 10 years), permanent alimony is often the judgment.  

This is the case of many of my FAR colleagues. One of our FAR members was married for only nine years but still ordered to pay permanent alimony because his former spouse committed felonies during the marriage (why he divorced her) and the judge felt she would not be employable.

In the position that I am in Florida Alimony Reform, I have the privilege of getting to know many people and the particulars of their cases. What I hear over and over again is that during mediation, a client married 15 or more years is advised to agree to pay permanent alimony if they are the higher earning spouse. These folks are told that they can agree to it in mediation, or go to trial, spend tens of thousands of additional dollars on legal fees, and then be ordered by a judge to pay permanent alimony.

Further, what exacerbates the situation is the lawyer for the ex-spouse is also advising their client that they are entitled to permanent alimony.

Those who try to "buck" the system and fight, usually learn the expensive way that they were fighting a losing battle all along. If a couple is married less than 15 years, the fight may pay, but it may not. A person has worked a lifetime to build up a nest egg and understands that it will be split between the spouses, less, of course, the legal fees. 

If you are told by your attorney that you will likely be ordered to pay permanent alimony, your soon to be ex-spouse's attorney s telling them to expect to be awarded permanent alimony, is it worth the gamble of your nest egg to go to court and fight what would most likely be a losing battle?

The answer depends on the individual. Some people fight to the bitter end, while others take the more cautious, and often, prudent approach and sign a MSA "agreeing" to pay permanent alimony. Should the person who takes the cautious approach be allowed to modify their MSAs once the new alimony laws become a reality? The answer is an absolute YES.

Let's recap.

• Judges order the parties into mediation. Mediation is not an option. It is a judicial order.
• Attorneys advise their clients to settle and to use the court as a last resort to settle a case.
• Although the 2011 changes to the law indicate that permanent alimony should only be used when there is no other form of alimony that would be acceptable, we find that permanent alimony is still more oftentimes ordered than not.
• Oftentimes, after the emotional toil is taken and retainer fees are used up, the paying party is told that permanent alimony will probably be ordered by the judge anyway.
• Many times the lower earning spouse is told by their attorney to EXPECT to receive permanent alimony should they go to trial. 
• Most potential permanent alimony payers conclude, based on the advice of their attorneys that it is beneficial to agree to pay permanent alimony and sign a MSA rather than go to trial, deplete their nest egg on legal fees, and then be ordered to pay permanent alimony anyway.
• Bottom line, payers who agree to pay permanent alimony in a MSA are essentially "coerced" into doing so, even though they understand that permanent alimony is a payment until death or face jail if they don't.

Almost all MSAs have a provision that alimony is modifiable if there is a substantial change in circumstance unless the agreement specifically states it is nonmodifiable. While new alimony laws could be considered a substantial change in circumstances under which a person could seek to modify their agreement, ambiguity and inconsistency in the courts will inevitably result in one judge allowing it, and another judge not allowing a modification.

The primary goal of Florida Alimony Reform (FAR) is to make the results of cases predictable so that people can settle their cases within the framework of new and fair laws. FAR strives for predictable results and less ambiguity. As a result, the new law must stipulate that MSAs are indeed modifiable to meet the criteria of the new alimony statutes.

Individuals who settled during court ordered mediation should not be punished because they felt coerced or was a prudent financial decision to do so. Application of the new laws should be applied evenly to all people, not just those who were handed permanent alimony orders by judges.