One of the most emotional and contentious topics in any Florida divorce is alimony. When the divorce is “high-conflict,” the fight over spousal support becomes a proxy war for all the anger, betrayal, and resentment built up over the years. This often leads to a critical, and costly, misconception.
Clients often say, “Florida is a ‘no-fault’ state, so it doesn’t matter what my spouse did, right?”
This is one of the most dangerous half-truths in family law.
While it is true that Florida is a “no-fault” state for the dissolution of the marriage—meaning you do not have to prove adultery or abuse to get divorced—that “bad behavior” can have a massive impact on the final financial outcome. A judge may not care about the affair itself, but they absolutely care about the $50,000 in marital savings spent on gifts and vacations for the new partner.
In a high-conflict divorce, alimony is rarely a simple calculation of need and ability to pay. It becomes a forensic investigation into a spouse’s true income, their earning potential, and their “economic misconduct” during the marriage. If you are facing this fight, you need a Tampa divorce lawyer who knows how to dig, what to look for, and how to present “bad behavior” to a judge as a cold, hard financial fact.
The New Alimony Landscape: Florida’s 2023 Reforms
Before diving into misconduct, it is essential to understand that the entire foundation of alimony in Florida has changed. On July 1, 2023, a new law went into effect that dramatically altered spousal support. The biggest change: permanent alimony is no longer awarded in Florida.
The old system of lifetime alimony is gone. It has been replaced by a more structured, and in many cases, more limited system. Understanding these new types of alimony is critical, as this is what you are fighting for (or against).
- Bridge-the-Gap Alimony: This is a short-term, lump-sum, or periodic payment designed to help a spouse transition from married to single life. It helps with identifiable, short-term needs (like a security deposit on an apartment or a down payment on a car). It cannot be modified and cannot exceed 2 years in duration.
- Rehabilitative Alimony: This is a “get back on your feet” plan. It is awarded to help a spouse acquire education, training, or work experience to become self-sufficient. This requires a specific, detailed “rehabilitative plan” and cannot exceed 5 years.
- Durational Alimony: This is the new “long-term” support. It is awarded when other forms are not enough to meet the receiving spouse’s needs. Its duration is now strictly capped based on the length of the marriage:
- Short-term marriage (less than 10 years): Cannot exceed 50% of the marriage length.
- Moderate-term marriage (10-20 years): Cannot exceed 60% of the marriage length.
- Long-term marriage (20+ years): Cannot exceed 75% of the marriage length.
In every case, a judge must first find that one spouse has a need for alimony and that the other spouse has the ability to pay. In a high-conflict divorce, both of these “facts” become a battleground.
The “No-Fault” Myth: When Bad Behavior Becomes a Financial Case
Here is the core of the issue. A judge in Tampa is not going to award you more money just because your spouse was a bad person. But a judge can and will adjust the financial outcome if your spouse’s “bad behavior” had a financial consequence.
Florida Statute 61.08, which governs alimony, allows the court to consider “any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.” This is the doorway through which your Tampa divorce lawyer can introduce evidence of financial misconduct.
The legal term for this is “dissipation of marital assets.”
Dissipation is the intentional wasting, spending, or destroying of marital money or property by one spouse for a purpose that is not for the benefit of the marriage, at a time when the marriage is breaking down.
This is how “adultery” becomes a financial factor.
- The Act: A spouse has an affair. A judge in a no-fault state is not supposed to care.
- The Financial Misconduct: The spouse spends $5,000 on a vacation to the Keys with their paramour, buys them a $10,000 piece of jewelry, and co-signs a lease on their new apartment—all using money from the joint marital savings account.
- The Legal Consequence: This is dissipation of assets. Your Tampa divorce lawyer can argue that this money should be “added back” to the marital “pot” before it is divided. The court can award you an unequal portion of the remaining assets to make you whole.
This concept applies to far more than just affairs. In high-conflict divorces, dissipation is a common tactic of financial warfare.
Common Examples of Dissipation:
- Gambling: One spouse gambles away a significant portion of the marital savings.
- Bad “Business” Deals: A spouse “lends” $100,000 of marital money to a “friend” for a “business venture” that has no paperwork and no hope of repayment. This is often just a tactic to hide the money.
- Lavish Unilateral Spending: A spouse suddenly buys a sports car, joins an expensive country club, or goes on extravagant shopping sprees, all without the other’s consent as the divorce is looming.
- Destroying Property: In a fit of rage, a spouse intentionally damages the marital home or destroys valuable artwork or furniture.
When you can prove a pattern of dissipation, it shatters the high-conflict spouse’s credibility. Your Tampa divorce lawyerwill use this evidence to argue for an unequal distribution of assets, which directly impacts the “need” and “ability to pay” calculations for alimony. A spouse who has wasted $100,000 in marital assets may find their alimony obligation increased, or their own claim for alimony significantly reduced, as a matter of “equity and justice.”
The High-Conflict Playbook: Hiding Income and Faking Unemployment
In a high-conflict divorce, the financial documents you receive are rarely the full story. The most common tactic used to avoid paying alimony (or to get more of it) is to manipulate income. The two primary methods are hiding income and feigning unemployment or underemployment.
Tactic 1: Hiding Income (The “Cash Business” Problem)
This is common with self-employed spouses, business owners, or those who earn significant “cash” income (e.g., contractors, restaurant owners, consultants).
- The Claim: The spouse’s Financial Affidavit shows they only make $60,000 a year, just enough to cover their own bills.
- The Reality: They are running $150,000 in personal expenses (car payments, vacations, dinners) through their “business” account. They are taking cash payments from clients that are never deposited. They have “phantom employees” (like a new girlfriend) on the payroll to whom they are diverting income.
- The Counter-Strategy: This is where a Tampa divorce lawyer must stop acting like a lawyer and start acting like a detective. The legal process for this is called “Discovery,” and it is your most powerful weapon.
- Subpoenas: Your lawyer will not just ask for the documents your spouse wants to provide. They will issue subpoenas directly to the banks, credit card companies, and vendors. This allows you to see the real flow of money.
- Depositions: This is a formal, sworn interrogation where your Tampa divorce lawyer can question your spouse about every line item on their bank statements. (“Can you please explain this $5,000 payment to ‘ABC Holdings,’ a company you failed to list on your affidavit?”).
- Forensic Accounting: In complex cases, this is non-negotiable. A forensic accountant is a financial expert who is trained to find hidden money. They will conduct a “lifestyle analysis” to prove that the spouse’s claimed income cannot possibly support their actual spending. They will trace transfers, find hidden accounts, and present the court with a clear, expert report on what the spouse actually earns.
Tactic 2: Faking Underemployment (The “I Quit” Problem)
This tactic is as brazen as it is common. A spouse who has a long and successful career as, for example, a high-earning sales executive, suddenly “gets laid off” or “decides to pursue their passion” as a part-time yoga instructor earning minimum wage right as the divorce is filed.
- The Claim: “I can’t pay alimony, I only make $30,000 a year now. I’m struggling.” Or, “I need $10,000 a month in alimony because I’m no longer able to work.”
- The Reality: The spouse is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed in a bad-faith attempt to manipulate the alimony calculation.
- The Counter-Strategy: The legal remedy here is to “impute income.” This is a court action where you ask the judge to calculate alimony based on what the spouse should be earning, not what they claim to be earning.
To successfully impute income, your Tampa divorce lawyer must prove two things:
- The unemployment is voluntary (e.t., they quit, were fired for misconduct, or are not even trying to find a job).
- Their potential earning capacity. You cannot just guess. You must present evidence of their:
- Past work history: Tax returns from the last 5 years showing their real income.
- Education and skills: Their resume, degrees, and professional certifications.
- Available jobs: You can hire a “vocational expert” to search the local job market and provide a report to the court showing that there are 10 jobs available within a 20-mile radius of your spouse’s home that match their skillset and pay what they used to earn.
When a judge finds that a spouse is voluntarily underemployed, they can “impute” their prior income. If your spouse wasearning $150,000 and is now choosing to earn $30,000, the court can still order them to pay alimony as if they were still making $150,000. This completely neutralizes their primary tactic.
The same logic applies to a spouse seeking alimony who refuses to work. The court can impute a full-time, minimum-wage income to them, which will reduce their “need” and, therefore, their final award.
“In-Kind” Income: The Other Hidden Tactic
A final high-conflict tactic is to have a third party pay for all expenses. The spouse’s Financial Affidavit will show zero income and zero expenses, claiming, “I have no money.”
- The Claim: “I can’t pay alimony. I have no job, and my parents are paying all my bills. I have zero income.”
- The Reality: They are living rent-free in a $5,000/month condo owned by their parents, who also pay their car payment, cell phone, and credit card bills.
- The Counter-Strategy: Florida law considers these “in-kind” payments or “regular gifts” as a form of income.Your Tampa divorce lawyer can argue that this spouse’s “need” is nonexistent, or that their “ability to pay” is much higher than claimed. That $5,000/month in free rent and expenses is, for all practical purposes, $60,000 a year in tax-free income. A judge can and will consider this when calculating support.
You Need a Strategy, Not Just an Attorney
In a high-conflict divorce, alimony is not a simple form. It is a war of financial discovery. Your spouse’s “bad behavior” is not a tool for revenge, but it is a critical part of the financial puzzle.
- Did they waste marital money? That is dissipation, and you can fight for an unequal split of assets.
- Are they hiding income? That is a case for forensic accounting to uncover the truth.
- Are they faking unemployment? That is a case for imputing income to hold them accountable.
Do not accept your spouse’s financial claims at face value. A high-conflict person will lie, cheat, and manipulate the system to get the financial outcome they want. Your only defense is to be more prepared, more thorough, and more strategic. You need a Tampa divorce lawyer who is, at their core, a relentless investigator.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Does adultery automatically mean I get more alimony in Florida? No. Adultery itself is not a factor. But if your spouse spent marital money on the affair (gifts, trips, rent), that is a financial factor called “dissipation,” which can result in you receiving a larger share of the marital assets.
My spouse quit their $100k job right before we divorced. What can I do? You can file a motion to “impute income.”Your Tampa divorce lawyer will gather evidence of their past income, skills, and the available job market to ask the court to calculate alimony based on the $100k they should be earning, not their new, lower income.
What is a forensic accountant, and do I really need one? A forensic accountant is a financial detective who traces hidden money and income. If your spouse owns a business, is self-employed, or you have complex assets, a forensic accountant is often essential to proving their true income and assets to the court.
My spouse’s parents pay all their bills. Does that count as “income” for alimony? Yes. Regular, recurring “gifts” and “in-kind” payments (like free rent, car payments, etc.) can be treated as income by a Florida court when determining a spouse’s “need” for, or “ability to pay,” alimony.
With permanent alimony gone, is it even worth fighting for? Absolutely. Durational, rehabilitative, and bridge-the-gap alimony are still vital tools for ensuring a fair financial outcome. A Tampa divorce lawyer can fight to secure the support you need to get back on your feet, even under the new laws.
The McKinney Law Group: Experienced Tampa Divorce Lawyers You Can Rely On
With years of experience handling both contested and uncontested divorces, our Tampa team helps clients achieve balanced outcomes while minimizing conflict.
Call 813-428-3400 or email [email protected] to learn more.