Alimony in Leon County, Florida

Leon County alimony cases are filed at the Leon County Courthouse in Tallahassee. What sets Leon apart from its Second Circuit neighbors is the Low Bono Self-Help Center, a partnership between the Clerk's office and the Tallahassee Bar Association. The center offers reduced-fee attorney consultations along with procedural self-help, form packets, and e-filing guidance. It covers family law generally, but not restraining orders.

The alimony law itself is the same statute every Florida county uses: Fla. Stat. 61.08, reformed effective July 1, 2023. That reform eliminated permanent alimony statewide. A Leon judge now chooses among four options: 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, 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.

Leon's dissolution filing fee is $397.50, lower than the $408 figure common elsewhere in the circuit. Both spouses still need to complete a Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c) depending on income. The Low Bono Self-Help Center can help a self-represented filer get that paperwork right before a judge weighs the statutory alimony factors.

As the seat of the Second Judicial Circuit and Florida's state capital, Leon's courthouse carries the busiest family law docket among the circuit's six counties. Its self-help center page actively promotes e-filing through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal for pro se litigants, rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Where alimony cases are heard in Leon County, FL

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

The Low Bono Self-Help Center's reduced-fee attorney consultations are a resource specific to Leon County. The other five Second Circuit counties, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty, and Wakulla, do not describe an equivalent low-cost consultation program on their own clerk sites. Filers elsewhere in the circuit sometimes travel to Tallahassee to use it.

Contested alimony matters in the Second Circuit are generally referred to mediation under Fla. Stat. 61.183, with fees meant to follow the statewide sliding scale in Fla. Stat. 44.108. Leon's self-help center is the most developed resource in the circuit, so it's a reasonable first call for current mediation referral information, even for filers technically in another Second Circuit county.

Leon's $397.50 filing fee is lower than the $408 figure common elsewhere in north Florida. Filers should not assume every Second Circuit county charges the same amount when budgeting for a dissolution that includes an alimony request.

Official alimony resources in Leon County, FL

Leon County Courthouse handles spousal-support filings, located at 301 S. Monroe Street, #100, Tallahassee 32301.

The filing fee is $397.50. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide portal; Leon's own self-help center page also promotes e-filing for pro se litigants.

Leon County Clerk Low Bono Self-Help Center (https://leonclerk.com/divisions/self-help-center/) can help with procedure and paperwork. A partnership with the Tallahassee Bar Association providing family law (excluding restraining orders), small claims, and eviction self-help assistance, attorney consultations, and downloadable or purchasable form packets including dissolution of marriage.

• Leon County Clerk Low Bono 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.

Leon County, FL Alimony FAQs