Alimony in Franklin County, Florida

Franklin County's Clerk of Court has never posted a dollar figure for the dissolution filing fee on its own website. Anyone requesting alimony as part of a Franklin divorce should call the Civil Division at the Franklin County Courthouse in Apalachicola before assuming a specific cost. The underlying alimony law is not in question: Fla. Stat. 61.08, reformed effective July 1, 2023, applies in Franklin the same as everywhere else in Florida, and it eliminated permanent alimony statewide.

A Franklin judge in the Second Judicial Circuit now chooses among four options: temporary support paid while the case is pending, bridge-the-gap support capped at two years, rehabilitative support tied to a specific plan and capped at five years, or durational support. Durational support is capped as a percentage of the marriage's length and further limited to the lesser of demonstrated need or 35 percent of the income gap between spouses. Marriages under three years do not qualify for durational alimony.

Franklin's Clerk sells self-represented dissolution packets directly from the Civil Division rather than posting them free online, and points filers to the Florida Supreme Court's approved forms on flcourts.org for the underlying Form 12.901 series. Either way, both spouses still have to complete a Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c) depending on income, before a judge can decide the alimony request.

Franklin participates in the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, so a self-represented spouse in this small coastal county is not limited to paper filing at the Apalachicola courthouse, even though the county has no satellite courthouse location.

Where alimony cases are heard in Franklin County, FL

Alimony matters in Franklin County, FL are handled by the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Franklin County, with the county seat in Apalachicola. 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, FL

Franklin's own website does not publish a filing fee, so budgeting for a Franklin alimony case starts with a phone call to the Clerk's Civil Division rather than a website lookup. A legacy fee-schedule document that used to circulate in search results is no longer live on the domain.

Contested alimony issues in the Second Circuit, which covers Franklin along with Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla counties, are typically referred to mediation under Fla. Stat. 61.183. Fees are meant to follow the statewide sliding scale in Fla. Stat. 44.108, but no Franklin-specific mediation fee table appears on a verifiable official page. Confirm current cost with the Clerk's office once a case is assigned.

Franklin's self-represented packets are purchased in person from the Civil Division rather than downloaded. A filer planning to add an alimony request to a dissolution should expect an in-person or mailed transaction with the Clerk's office, not a same-day online download.

Official alimony resources in Franklin County, FL

Franklin County Courthouse handles spousal-support filings, located at 33 Market Street, Suite 203, Apalachicola 32320.

E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide portal covers Franklin County as part of the Second Circuit.

Franklin Clerk Family Law (https://www.franklinclerk.com/courts/family-law/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Describes the dissolution process and directs self-represented litigants to Florida Supreme Court-approved forms on flcourts.org and to self-help packets purchasable at the Clerk's Civil Division. Does not itself publish a dollar filing-fee figure.

• Franklin Clerk Family Law
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Florida Statutes Section 61.08, Alimony
• Family Law Self-Help Information - Florida Courts

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

Franklin County, FL Alimony FAQs