Alimony, also called spousal support, is money one spouse pays the other after a divorce. No state grants it automatically. You have to ask for it in your case, and a judge decides whether to award it, based on whether you actually need it and whether your spouse can afford to pay it. This guide covers how that decision generally works, then breaks out what changes once you look at California or Florida specifically.
Key Takeaway: Every state uses some version of the same two-part test: does the requesting spouse have a genuine need for support, and does the other spouse have the ability to pay it. Beyond that, states differ widely. California weighs a long list of factors under Family Code Section 4320. Florida rewrote its alimony law in 2023, eliminated permanent alimony for new cases, and now caps durational alimony by marriage length. Neither state uses a fixed formula for the amount.
How Do You Get Alimony in a Divorce?
However you phrase it, how do you get alimony in a divorce, how to get alimony in a divorce, how can I get alimony in a divorce, how do I get alimony in a divorce, the process is the same in every state. You do not receive alimony automatically just because you were married. You, or an attorney representing you, have to formally request it as part of your divorce case, usually in your initial petition or an early request for temporary support, and support it with financial information showing your income, expenses, and need.
How to get a divorce with alimony simply means including that request in your divorce filing rather than treating it as a separate case. Support can also be requested after the divorce is final in some circumstances, and how to get alimony after divorce generally refers to seeking a modification of an existing order or, in limited cases, requesting support you did not ask for at the time of the original judgment, which is harder to obtain and depends heavily on your state's rules.
How Courts Decide Whether to Award Alimony
Nationally, courts use some version of a need and ability to pay standard. The spouse asking for support has to show an actual financial need, meaning their own income and assets are not enough to cover their reasonable expenses, and that the other spouse has the financial ability to pay support on top of their own expenses. If either half of that test is missing, a court generally will not award alimony, no matter how long the marriage lasted.
What Factors Affect How Much Alimony You Get?
No state uses a simple formula for spousal support the way many states do for child support. Instead, judges weigh a list of factors that typically include the length of the marriage, each spouse's age and health, each spouse's income and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, and each spouse's contribution to the marriage, including unpaid work like homemaking or supporting the other spouse's career. Longer marriages, and bigger gaps in each spouse's earning capacity, tend to point toward a larger or longer award, but the specific list of factors, and how much weight each one carries, is set by each state's own statute.
How Alimony Works in California
California calls it spousal support, and the factors a court must weigh are listed in Family Code Section 4320: each spouse's earning capacity and ability to maintain the marital standard of living, the supported spouse's job skills and the time needed to become self-supporting, each spouse's age and health, the ability of the paying spouse to pay, and several other circumstances the court finds relevant. For a marriage under 10 years, courts often start from an informal guideline of support lasting about half the length of the marriage; for a marriage of 10 years or longer, the court keeps ongoing jurisdiction over support rather than assuming a fixed end date, though that does not promise lifetime payments.
Our California alimony guidelines guide covers the 10-year rule, temporary support, and how to modify an order in full detail.
How Alimony Works in Florida
Florida rewrote Fla. Stat. 61.08 effective July 1, 2023 (SB 1416). A court must first find that the requesting spouse has an actual need for support and that the other spouse has the ability to pay it, then weigh factors including the duration of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, and each spouse's age, health, and contribution to the marriage. Permanent alimony was removed from the statute for cases filed on or after that date. The current law recognizes temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony, and durational alimony is capped at 50 percent of the length of a short-term marriage (under 10 years), 60 percent for a moderate-term marriage (10 to 20 years), or 75 percent for a long-term marriage (20 years or more).
Our Florida alimony guide breaks down each type of alimony, the durational caps, and how modification works under the current statute.
Alimony Rules Vary by State
Every state uses a version of the need and ability to pay standard, but the specific factors, the terminology (alimony, spousal support, spousal maintenance), whether permanent support still exists, and how marriage length affects the outcome, all vary by state. A small number of states use partial formulas for temporary support during the case, similar to California's approach, while others, like Florida after 2023, rely entirely on factors and statutory caps. Confirm your specific state's alimony statute and current case law with its court self-help website or a family law attorney before assuming a rule from California or Florida applies where you live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get alimony in a divorce?
Whether you search this as how do you get alimony in a divorce or how can you get alimony in a divorce, the process is the same. You, or an attorney representing you, formally request support as part of your divorce filing, then provide financial information showing your income, expenses, and need. A judge decides whether to grant it based on your state's need and ability to pay standard and its list of factors.
What do I need to show to prove I need alimony?
You generally need financial disclosure documents such as pay stubs, tax returns, and a list of monthly expenses, showing that your own income and assets are not enough to cover your reasonable needs at the standard of living established during the marriage. The same documents also show whether the other spouse has the financial ability to pay, which a court requires before awarding any support.
Can I get alimony after the divorce is already final?
Searches phrased as how to get alimony after divorce or how can I get alimony after a divorce usually mean one of two things: asking the court to modify an existing support order based on a change in circumstances, or, in limited situations, requesting support you did not ask for in the original case. The second path is harder and depends heavily on your state's specific rules and deadlines.
Does the length of the marriage affect how much alimony I get?
Yes, in most states. Longer marriages, and larger gaps between each spouse's earning capacity, tend to point toward a bigger or longer award, and some states, including Florida, set hard caps tied directly to marriage length. Length is one factor among several, not the only one a court considers.
Is there a formula for calculating alimony?
No state uses a fixed numeric formula for spousal support the way many states use one for child support. Judges weigh a list of statutory factors, such as income, earning capacity, age, health, and standard of living, to set the type, amount, and duration. Some states, including California, use an informal guideline for temporary support during the case itself, which is different from the long-term award.
Can alimony be changed or ended later?
Generally yes, if there has been a substantial change in circumstances, such as a significant income change, retirement, remarriage of the receiving spouse, or, in some states, cohabitation with a new partner. The exact modification rules, and which types of alimony can be modified at all, depend on your state's statute.
How Virdix Helps
Virdix asks about your income, your marriage, and your finances in plain language, then fills in the official California or Florida court forms, including the financial disclosure forms a spousal support request depends on, so your numbers stay consistent across every document in your case. Pricing is $79 through October 31, 2026.
Virdix does not decide whether you qualify for alimony, does not calculate an amount for you to request, and does not replace an attorney for a contested support dispute.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Virdix is a document preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed family law attorney in your state.
Sources: California Family Code Section 4320 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), Florida Statutes Section 61.08 (flsenate.gov)