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Marital & Family law Section Chair : ShirinRustomji – ShirinRustomji , P . A . trialcourtshave discretionregardingthe termofamarriage , andpractitioners shouldnotrelysolely onthenumberofyears .
Apotential client contacts you seeking a dissolution of marriage . “ I ’ ve been married 16 and a half years ,” he says . What should you do ?
The short answer is : find out if he is the pecunious spouse , and if he is , consider filing fast to protect him from a potential permanent alimony claim . Two recent 2020 cases shed light on why this urgency is important and how waiting to file could potentially cost your client many years of alimony payments .
Seventeen years has always been a “ magic ” number in family law because it can completely transform the length of time a payor pays alimony . Florida Statutes Section
61.08 ( 4 ) defines a long-term marriage as a “ marriage having a duration of 17 years or greater .” If the court finds that the marriage is long-term , there is a rebuttable presumption that permanent alimony is appropriate . 1 Family law attorneys have typically assumed that you must reach the 17-year mark to have the court qualify the marriage as long-term . But the statute only provides that the number of years is a “ rebuttable presumption ” as to whether the marriage is short , moderate , or long-term . A recent case dispels this assumption .
In Williams v . Jones , 2 the parties were married for 16 years and 11 months . Even though the marriage had not reached the 17-year mark , the court held that the wife rebutted the presumption that it was a moderate-term marriage . It agreed with the wife and held that it qualified as a long-term marriage . The court reasoned that the marriage was “ just one month shy ” of the statutory presumption and “ one month is a de minimis period given the length of the marriage .” 3 The wife in Williams was awarded permanent alimony .
Conversely , in Giles v . Giles , 4 decided just five months later , the court found that the 16-year
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