DeSantis Ends Alimony Drama. Sparks Outrage in Florida

Photo byGage Skidmore

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ended the age-old debate about permanent alimony.

He signed SB 1416, a bill that would overhaul the existing law, eliminating permanent alimony in Florida.

It took three vetoes of similar bills and a decade of heated debates to decide on this issue.

A year ago, DeSantis rejected a similar bill that sought to do away with permanent alimony and establish a formula for alimony amounts depending on the marriage length

Members of the "First Wives Advocacy Group," a coalition of primarily elderly women who receive permanent alimony and claim that their lives would be drastically altered without the payments, were outraged by DeSantis' signing.

"On behalf of the thousands of women our group represents, we are very disappointed in the governor's decision to sign the alimony-reform bill," said 63-year-old Boca Raton, the group's founder.

Members of the First Wives Group testified about it in tears.

The other side

However, it also sparked cries from ex-spouses who claimed that they were obliged to work much past the age at which they wished to retire because they were responsible for alimony payments.

The law will also establish a procedure for former spouses who pay alimony to request revisions to their arrangements when they desire to retire, in addition to doing away with permanent alimony.

"Florida Family Fairness is pleased that the Florida Legislature and Gov. DeSantis have passed a bill that ends permanent alimony and codifies in statute the right to retire for existing alimony payers," said Michael Buhler, chairman of the group.

DeSantis is cutting into one of the most painful questions in America

Do You think men should pay permanent alimony?

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