If your divorce was finalized years ago and you live in St. Petersburg or the Tampa Bay area, you may be hearing about “Florida’s new alimony law” and wondering the same thing everyone asks: “Does this change my current alimony order or settlement agreement?”
Florida’s alimony rules did change dramatically, but the answer for existing agreements depends on what kind of alimony you have, how your judgment or agreement was written, and whether there’s a legally recognized reason to modify or terminate support.
This 2025 update breaks down what changed, what didn’t, and what people paying or receiving alimony in Florida should do next.
Quick note: This article is general information, not legal advice. Every family’s facts matter, especially with prior court orders and negotiated settlement language.
Table of Contents
The “2025 Update” in One Paragraph
Florida’s modern alimony framework reflects reforms that took effect July 1, 2023, including the end of permanent alimony for new cases and new guidelines that shape durational alimony (including caps tied to marriage length and a cap tied to the parties’ net income difference).
Importantly, lawmakers emphasized the changes were not intended to automatically retroactively rewrite existing agreements, but modifications may still be possible in the right situation.
What Changed in Florida Alimony Law
Permanent Alimony Is No Longer Available for New Cases
Under the current statute, Florida courts now focus on time-limited forms of support rather than open-ended “permanent” awards in new dissolutions.
Durational Alimony Has Clearer Guardrails
Florida law now includes:
- Duration/length of marriage timeframe (Short: Less than 10 years; Moderate: 10-20 years; Long: 20+ years)
- Duration caps tied to the length of the marriage (short/moderate/long)
- A cap on amount: durational alimony is limited to the obligee’s reasonable need or up to 35% of the difference between the parties’ net incomes (whichever is less).
- A rule that an alimony award generally shouldn’t leave the payor with significantly less net income than the recipient, unless exceptional circumstances are specifically found.
Does Florida Alimony Reform Apply to Existing Divorce Agreements?
Existing Orders Usually Don’t “Auto-Update”
If your final judgment or marital settlement agreement was entered before the reform era, the court typically does not “recalculate” your alimony automatically just because the statute changed.
In other words, the law change doesn’t, by itself, equal an automatic modification.
Legislative intent around the 2023 reform emphasized applying the new framework to petitions filed after the effective date and avoiding retroactive upheaval of existing agreements.
But Modification Can Still Be Possible
Even when your agreement is older, Florida law still allows modification or termination in certain circumstances, especially where the legal standard for a modification is met.
That’s where the details matter: what type of alimony is it, what does the agreement say, and what changed since the divorce?
The Biggest “Existing Agreement” Question: Can I Modify My Alimony in 2025?
The General Standard Is Still “Substantial Change”
Florida courts generally look for a meaningful change in circumstances before modifying alimony. Often described as substantial and not just a temporary bump in income or a short-term disruption. (How that plays out depends heavily on facts and documentation.)
Retirement Is Specifically Addressed in the Current Statute
One of the most practical changes affecting existing orders is how the statute addresses retirement-related modifications.
Florida Statute § 61.14 lays out factors courts consider when a payor seeks to reduce or terminate support due to voluntary retirement, such as age/health, customary retirement age in the payor’s profession, motivation, the recipient’s needs, and the economic impact of a reduction.
It also allows filing in reasonable anticipation of retirement (but not more than 6 months before retirement), with the modification potentially effective upon reasonable and voluntary retirement as determined by the court.
Translation: retirement can be a real trigger for a support review, but it’s not “automatic,” and it’s evidence-driven.
Income Changes Can Matter (But Documentation Matters More)
A common Tampa Bay question we hear in practice is essentially: “Does alimony change if income changes?”
Income changes can be relevant, but courts typically care about:
- whether the change is significant
- whether it’s expected vs. unexpected
- whether it’s temporary vs. long-term
- and whether the change affects the ability to pay and/or the need for support
If you’re considering a modification, plan on gathering pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, and any records that explain the change clearly.
What If My Divorce Agreement Was Negotiated as a Contract?
Settlement Language Can Control What’s Modifiable
Some divorce agreements include clauses that:
- make alimony non-modifiable, or
- limit modifications to certain circumstances, or
- define what counts as a change in circumstances.
So the first step is not “run the numbers.” The first step is: read the judgment and agreement carefully.
If you’re not sure what language you agreed to (or what a judge ordered), that’s a strong reason to talk with an attorney before taking action.
How the Reform Impacts Different Types of Alimony
Durational Alimony (Most Affected by the Modern Guidelines)
Durational alimony now has clearer statutory boundaries, including marriage-length caps and the net-income-difference cap discussed above. If your order is older, these guidelines may still matter when you’re in court on a modification issue, depending on the posture of your case and the details of your judgment.
Rehabilitative Alimony
Rehabilitative alimony is tied to a plan and capped in length under the statute (with modification possible under specified circumstances).
Bridge-the-Gap Alimony
Bridge-the-gap is short-term transition support and is generally not modifiable in amount or duration under the statute.
What People in St. Petersburg & Tampa Bay Should Do Next
Step 1 — Identify Exactly What You Have
Pull these documents:
- Final Judgment of Dissolution
- Marital Settlement Agreement (if applicable)
- Any later modification orders
- Payment history and proof of compliance (or noncompliance)
Step 2 — Identify the Trigger
Most modification cases live or die on the trigger:
- retirement timeline and retirement evidence
- job loss / pay changes/health changes
- change in the recipient’s need or resources
- other major life changes
Step 3 — Get a Legal Read Before You “Self-Help”
Stopping payments or informally changing terms can create serious risk. The safest approach is to understand your options before you act.
- If you’re paying alimony, you want to know whether your situation qualifies for modification and what evidence you’ll need.
- If you’re receiving alimony, you want to know whether the other side is likely to succeed and how to protect your financial stability.
Talk With a Tampa Bay Divorce Attorney About Your Specific Agreement
Whether you’re in St. Petersburg, FL, or the Pinellas County area, the key question is not “what changed in the statute,” it’s: “How do the current rules interact with my judgment, my agreement language, and my facts?”If you want help reviewing your existing divorce agreement and whether Florida alimony reform may impact it, Golden Key Law Group, PLLC can help. Contact us today to schedule a confidential case evaluation.
FAQs
Not usually. Existing orders generally remain enforceable unless a court modifies them or your agreement allows a change. Legislative intent around the reforms emphasized applying the framework to petitions filed after the effective date and not rewriting old agreements automatically.
Modification depends on the type of alimony, what your agreement says, and whether you meet the legal standard for a change. Retirement-related modification is specifically addressed in Florida’s modification statute.
The major reform took effect July 1, 2023, and removed permanent alimony for new cases, shifting the framework toward other forms of support such as durational, rehabilitative, and bridge-the-gap.
Durational alimony is tied to reasonable need and includes a statutory cap: it may not exceed 35% of the difference between the parties’ net incomes (whichever is less), along with other statutory guardrails.
In many cases, yes. Florida law allows filing in reasonable anticipation of retirement (but not more than 6 months before), with the court evaluating specific statutory factors.
