Do I Have to Get a Florida Divorce in Order to Get Alimony and Child Support?
Posted By Stann Givens on Feb 12, 2010 2:27pm PST
If you are separated from your spouse and are not receiving any money from your spouse to help you with living expenses for yourself and your children, you may be wondering how you can possibly force your spouse to provide you funds so that you can pay your bills. You may not want to file for divorce for religious or other reasons. So what do you do?
If you consulted an expert
Tampa divorce attorney, you would find out that, even though you are not going to ask a court to give you a Florida divorce, you can still get support for yourself and your children. Back in the 1950s, the state of Florida decided that support for spouses and for children was so important that there should not be a restriction requiring you to file for divorce in order to receive support. There is not even a requirement that you be separated.
All the rules are the same as if you are asking for a divorce. You must show the court the incomes of the two spouses and your need for support in order to get
alimony. You must also show the amount of
child support required under the Florida child support guidelines. The only difference is that you don't have to show or even say that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
The court will follow the same rules and procedures as if you are doing this as part of the divorce process. Once awarded, the court will enforce the award with possible contempt of court for non-payment and with garnishment of funds as if it were done as part of a Florida dissolution of marriage.
Bottom line: If you don't want to get a divorce, but you need support for yourself or your child, contact an expert Florida divorce lawyer and you will learn that there is a solution to your problem.