Governer Scott Vetoes Alimony and Child Timesharing Bill

Its been a while that I had reason to blog here and it seems that the latest reason is the same as the last reason. In the State of Florida there has been many attempts over the past few years to change and reform alimony. The latest version of the alimony reform bill that landed on Rick Scott's desk has been vetoed. The Bill contained a presumption that 50/50 timesharing is in a child's best interest. Scott gave his reasons for vetoing the bill and it revolved around the notion that the "one size fits all" approach to children in a divorce was not in the best interest of children and families. I have long since believed that in order to truly have alimony reform in the State of Florida that a bill would have to stand on its on and not be lumped in with reform of any other family law issue. The way that our alimony statute is written right now does allow for different results from county to county and judge to judge; however, the statute still outlines the factors the courts must take into consideration when making decisions related to alimony. I have tried quite a few alimony cases and for the most part the judges get it right. The future of alimony reform is still unclear, but hopefully our legislature understands that true reform will have to stand on its own.