By now, most people going through a Florida divorce have heard the headline: permanent alimony is gone. Governor DeSantis signed SB 1416 into law on June 30, 2023, and the change took effect the next day. What that headline leaves out is where the real exposure lies for high-net-worth spouses. The statute’s durational caps interact with a “reasonable need” standard and a 35% net income cap in ways that become genuinely unpredictable when income includes business distributions, equity compensation, or investment returns. These are exactly the structures common in Miami divorces involving substantial wealth.
At Abramowitz & Associates, our attorneys Evan L. Abramowitz and Jordan B. Abramowitz are each Board Certified in Marital and Family Law by the Florida Bar. That certification reflects demonstrated proficiency in the field, and it matters here because the questions that actually determine alimony exposure in a high-asset case aren’t answered by reading the statute once. They surface in litigation, in appeals, and at the negotiating table.
What Florida’s 2023 Alimony Reform Actually Changed
SB 1416 did three things that matter immediately to anyone facing a high-value divorce. First, it eliminated permanent alimony. Courts can no longer award support that runs indefinitely. Second, it established durational alimony as the primary long-term option, with caps tied to the length of the marriage. Third, it placed a hard ceiling on the amount of any durational award.
Under Fla. Stat. § 61.08(8)(b), durational alimony is capped at 50% of the marriage’s length for short-term marriages under 10 years, 60% for moderate-term marriages between 10 and 20 years, and 75% for long-term marriages of 20 years or more. A 15-year marriage can produce at most 9 years of support; a 25-year marriage, at most about 18. These caps address duration only. Amount is governed separately by Fla. Stat. § 61.08(8)(c), which limits durational alimony to the lesser of two figures: the recipient spouse’s reasonable need, or 35% of the difference between the parties’ net incomes. That phrase “reasonable need” is doing a great deal of work in the new statute, and the legislature didn’t define it.
Why the Income Caps Get Complicated for High-Net-Worth Spouses
The 35% net income cap sounds precise until you try to apply it to a portfolio that includes carried interest, RSUs vesting on a four-year schedule, and distributions from an S-corporation. Net income for alimony purposes is calculated under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2) and (3), the same statute used for child support calculations. That statute reaches well beyond W-2 wages and captures business income, rental income, dividends, and interest. How irregular or equity-based compensation is characterized can shift the baseline number substantially, and a significant shift in the baseline changes every downstream calculation.
Reasonable need introduces a separate layer of complexity. Courts measure it against the marital standard of living, not against what a spouse projects for future savings or investment goals. That means lifestyle evidence, travel patterns, housing costs during the marriage, discretionary spending, and regular charitable giving all become relevant. But the statute provides no formula for converting a marital lifestyle into a dollar figure. Judges weigh that evidence against the 35% cap on a case-by-case basis, which means the outcome in a Miami courtroom depends heavily on how that evidence is organized and presented.
These are the situations that tend to produce the largest gaps between what a high-net-worth spouse expects to pay or receive and what the court actually orders.
Where the Reform’s Gray Areas Are Being Tested
Two provisions of the reform are generating the most contested litigation right now, and both are directly relevant to high-value cases.
The Exceptional Circumstances Standard
A court may extend durational alimony beyond the standard percentage cap, but only upon clear and convincing evidence of exceptional circumstances. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.08(8)(b), qualifying factors include the extent to which the recipient’s age or employability limits self-support, available financial resources that limit self-support, a mental or physical disability rendering the recipient incapable of self-support, and a caregiving role for a mentally or physically disabled child common to both parties. “Clear and convincing evidence” is a demanding legal standard, higher than the preponderance of the evidence used in most civil matters. That bar makes the factual record at trial critically important, because a ruling that doesn’t reflect the full picture of a spouse’s circumstances may not survive scrutiny on appeal.
The Paying Spouse’s Income Floor
The reform also added a protection that favors paying spouses. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.08(9), an alimony award generally can’t leave the paying spouse with significantly less net income than the recipient. If a court orders an outcome that crosses that line, it must make specific written findings of exceptional circumstances. When those written findings are missing or inadequate, the award becomes vulnerable. For high-net-worth spouses who are paying, this provision is worth understanding before a final judgment is entered, not after.
Appellate Review in Miami-Dade Cases
Family law cases in Miami-Dade County are heard in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. When a ruling is challenged, the appeal goes to the Third District Court of Appeal. Evan L. Abramowitz has represented clients in complex family law matters at both the trial and appellate levels for over 20 years, with arguments before both the Third District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court. Cases including Almeyda v. Almeyda, 400 So. 3d 22 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025), and Prichard v. Galicia, 407 So. 3d 537 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025) reflect that appellate experience, and that background matters in the current environment, where the reform’s undefined terms are actively being interpreted through contested appeals.
Getting Ahead of the Caps With Agreements & Mediation
One distinction the reform leaves intact is the difference between what a judge can order and what spouses can privately agree to. The statutory caps in Fla. Stat. § 61.08 govern judicial awards. They don’t govern contracts.
A properly executed prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that defines or waives alimony terms takes priority over the statutory default framework, provided Florida’s disclosure and enforceability requirements are satisfied. For high-net-worth couples negotiating these agreements now, the 2023 reform provides a useful baseline: the durational caps and income calculations create a known reference point, which makes it easier to draft provisions that are specific, defensible, and tailored to a particular financial structure. Because the caps constrain what a court can order, not what parties can agree to, a negotiated resolution through mediation can accommodate complex income structures in ways a judge applying the statutory formula cannot. We approach mediation with the same preparation we bring to trial, and Evan L. Abramowitz is a certified family law mediator, which means clients working with us can pursue a negotiated outcome rather than relying entirely on a court’s formula-driven process.
What This Means for Your Divorce
The 2023 reform changed the framework every Florida divorce is measured against, but it didn’t simplify high-net-worth cases. It shifted the complexity from duration to amount, from the question of “how long” to the harder questions of how income is characterized, what “reasonable need” looks like on a specific financial record, and what happens when a court’s written findings don’t hold up under appellate review. Those questions don’t resolve themselves by reading the statute. They resolve through careful preparation, credible evidence, and a clear understanding of how Miami-Dade courts are actually applying the new law.
If you’re facing a divorce with significant assets or complex income, the specifics of your financial picture determine everything. Abramowitz & Associates offers a free one-hour consultation to walk through those specifics and what they mean under the reformed statute. You can reach our team at (754) 240-7536.