Alimony Reform Bill, SB 718, will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee:
Committee Name: Judiciary Committee
Date: Tuesday 03/12/13
Time: 2:00 pm , Place: 110 Senate Office Building
Please email each Senator below asking to Support SB 718 or thanking for being Co-Sponsor:
CLICK HERE to view the latest info on SB 718
CLICK HERE to view the Hearing LIVE on Tuesday at 2 PM
The 2013 Florida Alimony Reform Bill in the Florida Senate – SB 718 - Dissolution of Marriage will go before the first committee on 03/12/13. We will be posting all the email addresses of all the Senators in that committee soon. We will keep updating the public and our elected officials and their staff on each bill’s progress as they move through the various legislative committees. Keep coming back to our website for updates.
Senator Kelli Stargel – Sponsor of Alimony Reform Bill in the Florida Senate
Newly elected State Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland) is the Sponsor of the 2013 Alimony Reform Bill in the Florida Senate.
No stranger to the State Capital, Senator Stargel served the people of District 64 as a Florida State Representative from 2008-2012. We anticipate that Senator Stargel will see significant interest from her fellow senators on both sides of the aisle in serving as co-sponsors of this important piece of legislation.
The current alimony laws in Florida allow an alimony recipient to go after a new spouse’s income should the alimony payer ever choose to remarry. It’s called an “alimony modification”, and it can be granted since there’s now more family income. This effectively results in preventing people from remarrying a new spouse due to the very real threat of the alimony payer being dragged back into court by their former spouse years after the divorce was supposedly settled.
Florida Alimony Reform believes that alimony should work like child support – a fixed amount for a fixed duration. No one fights about child support. Alimony should not be any different. The bill that Senator Stargel is sponsoring will help to end outrageous legal fees and promote fairness for all of Florida’s families.
Once the Senate Bill is filed, we will announce it on our website.
Click here to be directed to Senator Kelli Stargel’s Florida Senate website page.
Click here to be directed to Senator Kelli Stargel’s Facebook profile.
Representative Ritch Workman – Sponsor of Alimony Reform Bill in the Florida House
Representative Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne) has once again taken the challenge of sponsoring the Alimony Reform bill that is expected to enjoy broad support in the Florida House in 2013.
CLICK HERE to view the latest info on HB 231
Representative Workman was first elected to the Florida House in 2008. He is the Chairman of the House Finance and Tax Subcommittee and serves as a member of several other committees as well. Representative Workman has brought the bill back to the Capital for action in 2013 to finish the work he started last year when HB549 overwhelmingly passed by a nearly 3 to 1 margin.
Click here to visit Rep. Ritch Workman’s Florida House of Representatives website page.
Click here to visit Representative Ritch Workman’s Facebook profile.
Individuals such as Senator Stargel, Attorney Lori Barkus, sponsors, and all FAR members and supporters should be commended for their tremendous efforts in this cause. Perfectly stated above by FAR, alimony should work like child support, a fixed amount for a fixed duration. It’s reasonable and downright fair. Further, a new spouses income should never be considered as additional family income to provide for the 1st wife. This concept alone with Florida Laws destroys the very institution of marriage and it is not difficult to see the injustice in this language. Why a multitude of judges and mediators in various states continue awarding indefinite alimony based on outdated laws is unconscionable to many. These very alimony awards only damage family units for both spouses and children involved. Simply put, if the marriage has ended, at some point, so shall the financial entanglement. We prepare our children to be independent and self-sufficient when entering the world as adults instilling a positive influence. Therefore, the same must apply to spouses who divorce. Undeniably, it is a disservice to implant an ideological strand of thought in any human being that financial entitlement is acceptable and deserved. Unfortunately, most alimony recipients have been wired to believe this ideology which is demonstrated through their unethical behavior. These outdated laws are no doubt discriminatory and financially punish one party ONLY for life. That said, there must be reasonable time limits in reference to alimony awards. It pains me as well as so many others to witness the financial, physical and emotional damage and burden indefinite alimony causes the payer and 2nd wives involved. Again, thank you FAR for continuing this endeavor and taking a strict posture against opposing forces!
Stand strong, Remain united and BAND TOGETHER FOR CHANGE ∆
Susan M. Chamberlain