This report, distributed by The Law Office of Denise Miller, PA, examines how Florida's 2023 alimony reform continues to shape divorce cases decided in 2026.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1416 into law in June 2023, and it became Chapter 2023-315, Laws of Florida, taking effect July 1, 2023. The law applies to any final judgment of dissolution of marriage entered on or after that date, according to the official bill summary published by the Florida Senate.
Under the reform, the option to award permanent, lifetime alimony was eliminated. Florida courts may now award only temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony, according to the same Senate summary. Durational alimony, the category most often used in place of the eliminated permanent option, is not available for marriages shorter than three years, and its amount is capped at the lesser of the recipient's demonstrated need or 35 percent of the difference between the spouses' net incomes.
The term of a durational award is separately limited based on the length of the marriage. Published legal analyses of the statute describe tiered caps tied to marriage length, with longer marriages permitted proportionally longer durational awards, up to a maximum tied to marriages of 20 years or more.
SB 1416 also changed how courts can modify existing alimony awards. The law requires courts to reduce or terminate support upon specific written findings that the paying spouse has reached reasonable retirement age, and it revised the factors courts must consider when a supportive relationship, sometimes described as a spouse's ex cohabiting with a new partner, may justify reducing or ending support.
Separately, the law removed the previous requirement that a parent show an unanticipated change in circumstances before a parenting plan or time-sharing schedule can be modified, and it specifies that a parent's relocation of 50 miles or more may itself be considered a substantial change supporting modification, according to legislative tracking records for the bill.
The reform followed years of failed attempts in the Florida Legislature. Governor DeSantis had vetoed a similar measure the year before signing SB 1416, and two prior governors had vetoed earlier versions of alimony reform going back roughly a decade, according to contemporaneous news coverage of the bill's signing. The 2023 version drew support from the Florida Bar's Family Law Section after years of disagreement, though it also drew criticism from advocacy groups representing recipients of existing permanent alimony awards.
Because SB 1416 applies based on when a judgment is entered rather than when a marriage began, its provisions continue to govern new divorce filings and judgments issued in 2026, including cases involving marriages that began well before the law changed in 2023. Divorces finalized before July 1, 2023, including those with existing permanent alimony awards, remain subject to the prior law unless a party successfully petitions to modify the award under the new statute's specific provisions.
The legislative information referenced in this release is based on the official text and bill summary of Senate Bill 1416, published by the Florida Senate, along with published legal analyses of the statute. The provisions described are presented for general public awareness and are not a substitute for individualized legal advice.
The Law Office of Denise Miller, PA represents clients in family law cases in Stuart and throughout Martin and St. Lucie counties, including divorce, alimony, and post-judgment modification matters.
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