Alimony in Alachua County, Florida

The Eighth Judicial Circuit's shared Self-Help Center sits in Room 413 of the Family and Civil Justice Center in Gainesville, inside Alachua County. It explicitly serves Alachua along with Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties. You file an alimony request at the Alachua County Courthouse as part of a dissolution case, and Eighth Circuit family judges hear it.

Judges in all six counties award alimony under Fla. Stat. 61.08, reformed effective July 1, 2023, which eliminated permanent alimony statewide. Four categories remain: temporary support, paid while a case is pending; bridge-the-gap support, capped at two years; rehabilitative support, built around a specific plan and capped at five years; and durational support, capped as a percentage of the marriage's length.

Durational alimony also can't exceed the lesser of demonstrated need or 35 percent of the income gap between the spouses, and it isn't available for marriages under three years. Alachua's dissolution filing fee is $408. Both spouses must also complete a Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c) depending on income. Self-Help Center staff can help review these for procedure, but not for legal advice or which forms to pick.

Alachua takes part in the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, so a self-represented filer using the Self-Help Center's guidance can e-file the finished paperwork electronically.

Where alimony cases are heard in Alachua County, FL

Alimony matters in Alachua County, FL are handled by the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Alachua County, with the county seat in Gainesville. Because courthouse locations, hours, and local procedures change over time, use the Florida court clerk directory to confirm current details for your case:

Find the Alachua County, FL Clerk of Court (Florida court clerk directory)

How alimony works in Florida

Florida ended permanent alimony in a 2023 reform to Florida Statutes chapter 61 (section 61.08). Today a judge can order bridge-the-gap alimony (short-term, to help a spouse transition, capped at two years), rehabilitative alimony (tied to a specific plan to become self-supporting), durational alimony (a set period, generally not longer than the length of the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances), or temporary alimony while the case is pending. There is no formula the way there is for child support; a judge weighs each spouse's need and ability to pay, the standard of living during the marriage, the length of the marriage, and the factors listed in section 61.08.

Alimony is requested inside a dissolution of marriage case, using each spouse's Financial Affidavit (Florida Supreme Court approved family law form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c) depending on income), and can be resolved by agreement or decided at trial. Temporary alimony while the case is pending is requested by motion; your circuit's procedures determine how that motion gets set for hearing.

Local notes for Alachua County, FL

Alachua physically hosts the Eighth Circuit's Self-Help Center, so filers from the other five circuit counties often travel here for in-person help. That likely means the office handles more questions than a single-county resource would.

Contested alimony matters in the Eighth Circuit, which covers Alachua along with Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties, generally go to mediation under Fla. Stat. 61.183. Fees are meant to follow the statewide sliding scale in Fla. Stat. 44.108. The Clerk's office doesn't publish an Alachua-specific fee table online, so call to confirm current cost.

Self-Help Center staff can also help with hearing-setting procedure, not just form review. That's a slightly broader service than what some smaller Eighth Circuit county clerk sites describe on their own.

Official alimony resources in Alachua County, FL

Alachua County Courthouse handles spousal-support filings, located at 201 East University Avenue, Gainesville 32601.

The filing fee is $408. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide portal covers Alachua along with every other Florida county.

Eighth Circuit Self-Help Center (https://circuit8.org/self-help/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Explicitly serves Alachua County along with Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties; staff assist with procedure and hearing-setting but do not give legal advice or select forms. Located at the Family and Civil Justice Center, Room 413; phone (352) 548-3781.

• Eighth Circuit Self-Help Center
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Florida Statutes Section 61.08, Alimony
• FloridaLawHelp.org

Local details reviewed August 2026. Offices and locations can change, so confirm with the official sites above before you file.

Alachua County, FL Alimony FAQs