FLORIDA’S ALIMONY PAYORS
– ON THE GANGPLANK OR TREADING WATER
As a non-profit organization, Florida Alimony Reform’s lifeboat pulls alimony PAYORS out of treacherous waters by providing education, support and the political platform to stimulate legislative change.
Their mission is to improve Florida’s alimony law memorialized in the 1860’s and slightly tweaked in 2012 – so that both party’s – the potential PAYOR and RECIPIENT of alimony – are equally considered before alimony is awarded and during their lifetime for changes in circumstances.
With a new alimony bill submitted for review to the Florida legislative in September 2015, opposition continually makes alimony a feminist issue – but it seems to be more about who has the most money.
And, with 40% of working women out-earning their husbands, women are more and more becoming alimony PAYORS.
During a recent committee meeting, women testified tearfully about hardships for their children – and while family matters tend to be emotional for men and women, it is important to note that Florida’s Alimony Law has nothing to do with Florida’s Child Support Law.
In addition to increasing the fairness and reducing costs for divorce and alimony proceedings, if passed, the new alimony bill would not be retroactive, and will not result in termination of alimony for senior women, who represent less than 1% of alimony recipients.
The new alimony bill has a lot of support behind it, as Florida’s citizens are PAYORS that must live with the uncertainty of how they can pay – once they no longer can work.
In other words, how the State of Florida should consider changes in their circumstances – for example, when PAYORS are burdened with dramatic drops or complete stops in income, at retirement when social security starts, and when permanent or temporary medical and handicapped conditions arise.
Worse, rarely do the RECIPIENTS changes in circumstances come into play – such as when a RECIPIENT is fully supported by a live-in partner and no longer needs alimony to survive – or when a RECIPIENT is qualified to work but holds off looking for a job because they would lose alimony.
Current law does not afford the PAYOR nor RECIPIENT to plan for the future. If elected officials do not bring some measure of predictability and fairness to the equation, both sides can end up bankrupt when the PAYOR’s income stream ends.
Support Florida Alimony Reform at FixAlimony.com, or call 800-239-0867.
First Husbands Advocacy Group - Florida Alimony and Custody Laws Reform We LOVE and THANK Representative Ritch Workman for all his hard work, determination, and passionate support for Alimony Reform.
This is his speech from the 2015 Legislative Session.
It is powerful, heartfelt, and inspiring. The legislators and the Florida Bar Family Law Section are in agreement about the need for alimony reform. It is long overdue.
On January 12, 2016 the Florida Legislature session begins and we are confident Alimony Reform will finally be a reality.
There is overwhelming support for Representative Burton's HB 455 and Senator Kelli Stargel's companion SB 668.
ABUSED ALIMONY PAYORS IN FLORIDA HAVE 4 OPTIONS
TAVARES, FL - 12/2/2015 (PRESS RELEASE JET) -- Last month, a proposed bill for alimony reform, HB 455, passed the first Legislative Committee in Florida. It was not without debate and detractors. As a matter of fact, this session seems to have brought out many more citizens who are objecting to the proposed law.
WOMEN
The first category consists of women who feel that they gave up a large part of their lives to raise children. They feel they now may be aged out of the workforce and claim, as they have in the past, they are entitled to remuneration for their efforts in the home.
The non-profit organization, FloridaAlimonyReform.com agrees with this argument. However, we disagree with is how the time and amount of that remuneration is currently determined. Permanent alimony and the accompanying current law surrounding it is simply unfathomable in today’s economic society.
It puts an impossible financial burden on the PAYOR, allowing for a continued attitude of entitlement by the receiver. Under these adverse conditions, this can cause lifelong emotional devastation to the children of the divorcing spouses. Furthermore, the amounts that are being ordered as payment by the judiciary are inconsistent and have no predictability from one jurisdiction to the next.
Women have been the primary recipients of alimony for many years, so it’s no wonder why they are opposing a law that may stop their steady income stream. Interestingly, men are beginning to receive alimony as women become more dominant in the workplace and are now earning more than their husbands.
In either case, when RECIPIENTS of alimony read the proposed law, they would understand that the change in the law itself does not constitute a decrease or an elimination of their alimony income. It is only when a substantial change of circumstance occurs – one that allows for a reduction or elimination of alimony, and only after a ruling by the courts – will their alimony income be affected.
When RECIPIENTS do not read the proposed law, they act out of ignorance or fear of the unknown. This is something Florida legislators will not condone and will continue to vet the proposal to get what they consider to be fair results for all citizens.
ATTORNEYS
The second category of those opposing our proposal is certain renegade attorneys who believe either that the law should remain as it is or that, at the very least, a study should be conducted to understand fully the problems before we decide how to deal with the issue. We disagree with the argument that a study is needed.
Current alimony law, like insidious cancer, is figuratively – and sometimes literally – killing our citizens, and causing irreparable damage to the family unit in our society.
For example, when doctors see a tumor, they typically cut it out before it grows or metastasizes. Sure, they can study it some more, but at what cost to the patient? They handle the situation as efficiently as possible, then follow up routinely to make certain they got it all. Similarly, outdated and dysfunctional alimony laws need to be “cut out” as soon as possible because they are harmful to our citizens.
The second reason a study is not necessary is because our legislators have already considered alimony reform for the better part of the 8 years that we have been working with them and the Family Section. Many of you will remember that initially, and for many years after that, the leaders of the Family Section stated that Florida had “among the most progressive alimony laws in the Nation.” They argued that there was no reason to change current law.
Florida Alimony Reform, as the largest alimony reform group in the Nation, with the help of many individuals in our membership, effectively educated our legislators that current law is financially self-serving to the litigating attorneys, at the expense of divorcing spouses and their families. Now, after 8 years of presenting testimony and many conversations, undergoing constant negotiations, and incorporating political-driven intervention, leaders of the Family Section of the Florida Bar have now agreed that not only is the change needed, it is expected.
The final reason a study is not necessary is because setting up a task force to study a problem that is obvious and in need of change is simply an overt and transparent attempt to maintain the status quo for those individuals – alimony recipients or litigating renegade attorneys – who personally benefit from the continued income allotted to them by current law. Many more years would be wasted in figuring out how to set it up and determining who would be a part of such a task force. That is not how our legislators envision fairness to our citizens.
We are absolutely for collecting appropriate data and information that will assist us in monitoring and amending the new law as necessary in future legislative sessions. No law is perfect, and we know that our proposed law will likely have judicial hiccups along the way. We will deal with those situations when they occur by understanding the rules and guidelines established by the courts, and presenting information to our legislators for amendments when necessary. Our first mission, however, is to set up a change in current law for alimony reform. We will then work on any amendments to that law.
WITH A NEW LAW IN PLACE
• We will eliminate the permanency of alimony and create realistic and comprehensive rules for when we can expect a modification or an ending to an alimony order.
• We will have much more consistency and predictability in court rulings, and that will help attorneys inform their divorcing clients, with some certainty, as to what to expect in court if they still choose to litigate. In turn, it is then believed that this new process will lead to less litigation and more mediation and collaboration for divorcing spouses.
• As a cause and effect, our children will benefit from better relationships with both parents.
• We will eliminate the permanency of alimony and create realistic and comprehensive rules for when we can expect a modification or an ending to an alimony order.
• We will have much more consistency and predictability in court rulings, and that will help attorneys inform their divorcing clients, with some certainty, as to what to expect in court if they still choose to litigate. In turn, it is then believed that this new process will lead to less litigation and more mediation and collaboration for divorcing spouses.
• As a cause and effect, our children will benefit from better relationships with both parents.
TO ENSURE THAT THE NEW ALIMONY BILL PASSES:
1 - MAKE DONATIONS TO FLORIDA ALIMONY REFORM
At FixAlimony.com, you can donate any amount one time, make it recurring monthly, or mail a check in. Anyone donating more than $10,000 per year will have direct access to the Florida Alimony Reform board and politicians to provide direct feedback on your personal alimony challenges.
At FixAlimony.com, you can donate any amount one time, make it recurring monthly, or mail a check in. Anyone donating more than $10,000 per year will have direct access to the Florida Alimony Reform board and politicians to provide direct feedback on your personal alimony challenges.
Florida Alimony Reform is the non-profit that invests funds to perform surveys, research, statistical analysis, and communicates alimony abuse to the citizens of Florida, the media, and in-person meeting with legislators in Tallahassee of Florida’s House and Senate committees, convincing them to vote to pass the new bill, which the process is expected to be completed by mid-2016.
2 - CONTACT FLORIDA’S LEGISLATORS – ON THE COMMITTEES FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA’S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE
- The more that legislators hear from Florida’s citizens, the apter they are to pass the new bill.
Before a bill is voted on by the state’s House of Representatives and Senators, their separate committees schedule public hearings for anyone to testify for, or against the bill. The hearings are broadcast live on The Florida Channel, which also provides a video library of the replays.
At the conclusion of each hearing, the committee votes on the bill, and the results are immediate. If the bill is not approved, it is dead – if it is approved, the bill moves on to the next committee.
After all committees in the House, and all committees in the Senate pass their separate bills, which may be slightly different, each of their bills go to the floors of the House and Senate for debate, and finally a vote.
Whichever completes a vote first, the House or Senate (as long as both vote favorably), that bill becomes the lead bill, and will be presented to the Governor for signature.
The Governor must sign it into law or veto it within a required timeframe. If neither occurs in time, the bill automatically becomes law.
Since the House of Representatives CIVIL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE has already approved one of the alimony bills – please contact the members of these committees below which still have to vote. Please note that based on the contact information provided in these links, you may have to call, write or email:
• HOUSE – Judiciary Committee
http://flhouse.gov/Sectio…/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx…
http://flhouse.gov/Sectio…/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx…
• HOUSE – Appropriations Committee:
http://flhouse.gov/Sectio…/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx…
http://flhouse.gov/Sectio…/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx…
• SENATE – Judiciary Committee:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/JU/
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/JU/
• SENATE – Appropriations Subcommittee:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/JU/
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/JU/
• SENATE – The full Appropriations Committee:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/AP/
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/AP/
Find your local politicians that represent you in the Florida House and Senate contacts at
Please note that based on the contact information provided in the link, you may have to call, write or email.
4 - TRAVEL TO TALLAHASSEE TO TELL YOUR ALIMONY ABUSE STORY
To share your story with a committee, you must register at
You will then receive email notices as each committee sets a hearing date. Unfortunately, committees only provide a 48-hour notice before the hearing. However, notice is usually provided sooner at Florida Alimony Reform.
WHY WE NEED YOU
We couldn’t have gotten this far without the financial assistance of our members. We have reached out to many of you for additional support over the years because it takes money to accomplish our goals.
We couldn’t have gotten this far without the financial assistance of our members. We have reached out to many of you for additional support over the years because it takes money to accomplish our goals.
Your financial support enables us to travel to Tallahassee and speak to our legislators.
It allows us to maintain our website; to help fund legislative campaigns; pay our Lobbyist, Administrator, Accountant, and PR people, as well as continue to participate in events where we can lobby for an actual progressive law that benefits not any self-serving group but our citizens.
This year will prove to be our most challenging because many more people recognize that there is a distinct movement toward actually changing current law. The people against reform can be loud – but, we must be louder.
We will be heading to Tallahassee numerous times this session to maintain our credibility and voice for reform. We need to show them that all of us – not just a few – are determined and that we expect them to act for change.
THANK YOU for your continued support and with everyone’s help, there may finally be a reform light at the end of this long legislative session tunnel.
Florida Alimony Reform
215 E. Burleigh Boulevard
Tavares, FL 32778
215 E. Burleigh Boulevard
Tavares, FL 32778
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DVLP
viso at CUSTODIA PATERNA -
El Juzgado de lo Penal ha condenado a una mujer a una multa como autora responsable de un delito de denuncia falsa en grado de tentativa después de que denunciara a dos familiares de su ex pareja de una supuesta agresión hacia ella y su hijo cuando en realidad había sido un vecino. La sentencia considera como hechos probados que el 8 de septiembre de 2010 fue remitido al Juzgado de Instrucción Número 4 de Palencia dos partes de lesiones confeccionados con fecha de 5 de septiembre de 2010 tanto de ella como de su hijo. Tras ser llamada a declarar en nov... more »
It's human nature to seek out a partner in life, and to possibly marry and have children. Unfortunately the matrimonial establishment, as we are all aware, is being methodically torn down by a demoralized society. Sadly the divorce rate is still on the rise and the foundation of marriage is being devalued and is crumbling. As adults we learn to adapt and move on when divorce attacks our lives but for children this is another story. They are the real victims of divorce and unfortunately they will suffer dearly from our selfishness and in most cases follow the same path of destruction if not worse.
ReplyDeleteAs a nation we have been granted certain civil rights by our constitution. Through the years it has been amended to better the lives of many Americans. The two most notable changes have come to Women in the 1920s and with African Americans in the 1960s. These rights were long overdue for both segments of our nation but thankfully we realized our mistakes and corrected them. This was not an easy journey for either of these crusades but through dedication and perseverance the bells of liberty rang loudly and victory was achieved.
Unfortunately we have reached yet another fork in the road and with that comes another challenge to the American people. "We've worked hard for women's rights, but we have to watch out that the pendulum doesn't swing the other way" says Ruthie J. of the Reach FM. Ironically the pendulum has already swung far to one side and this time the male gender is being demonized by erroneous and fraudulent information. Males are being portrayed as callus, uncaring, and without emotion. We are being taught that men represent 95% of abuse in this nation against women. These and many other false statistics are being recklessly strewn throughout society and none of it is true. Yes, women are being abused by men that is a fact. striking a woman is abhorrent to the highest degree and should be dealt with appropriately but men are abused at an equal rate and they are being ignored. According to a study by the Center for Disease Control men represent 38% of domestic violence related injuries. Compound that with the fact that only 0.9% of men report abuse verses 8.5% of women and I think we have a pretty equal degree of violence between partners.
The cornerstone of this "abuse" is VAWA the Violence Against Women Act. It was passed into law by Bill Clinton in 1994 and has been extended by every subsequent President. This law funnels Billions of dollars into discriminatory education and propaganda that violates men's civil rights. Many times DVIs or Domestic Violence Injunctions are used as a tool in divorce, child custody or just vengeance against a partner, most often against males. This is because the system of acquiring a DVI is simple and requires no evidence, witnesses or prior police reports. Just the word of an alleged victim making a claim of abuse. The repercussions of these orders are devastating and many times result in a violation, arrest and complete destruction of one's life. Even in cases when they are dismissed, a serious blemish remains on the falsely accused forever; how does that look to potential employers who almost always perform background checks prior to employment? This must be stopped and a better system of protecting all victims of domestic violence should be put in place.
I hope to help bring awareness to gender discrimination and help provide support for men who are abused. There are programs to help women of abuse but nothing for men. My website will provide more information on the facts, my personal experiences and the stories of those who have been victims of this heinous tactic of relationship vengeance. Men and women should truly have equal rights and currently the scales are unjustly tilted. Let's work together to end domestic violence and not vilify one gender as inherently abusive. "United we stand, divided we fall" A powerful statement that we must never forget.
Thank you,
Tom Lemons
Founder, www.falsedvireports.com
The Violence Against Women Act Ignores Half the Problem ~ By Anna Rittgers
ReplyDeleteThe 2011 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) provides funding for programs to address domestic violence and will expand the act’s provisions to include services for gays and lesbians. Theoretically, male victims of violence are eligible for help, too. But did you know that? I thought not.
The problem with reauthorizing VAWA is that doing so would perpetuate the notion that domestic violence is something that happens only to women. While it is true that VAWA has evolved over time and now ensures that male victims of partner violence can avail themselves of VAWA benefits and services, the very name of the act implies otherwise. It is quite likely that a male victim would not know he can seek help, given the name of the act.
The image of the abuser is almost always a guy. But this simply isn’t the case. One of the pioneers of the study of family violence was sociologist Richard J. Gelles. Gelles wrote a seminal 1999 article for the old Women’s Quarterly, then a publication of the Independent Women’s Forum, on the “hidden victims” of violence.[i] Gelles admitted that 25 years earlier he had overlooked something important when, in the course of doing research, he meet a couple he called Faith and Alan. Faith had been beaten by boyfriends, her ex-husband, and her husband. Faith’s troubles became the focus of Gelles’s article. Gelles barely noted Faith’s violence towards men, which included breaking Alan’s bones and stabbing a man while he read the newspaper. Faith’s violence merited a mere footnote.
We know more about intimate violence directed at men than we did when Gelles wrote his article. But for cultural reasons, it is very difficult for male victims of domestic violence to seek help. Men are seen to be physically stronger than women, and so he should be able to just “take it.” Furthermore, domestic violence awareness campaigns are horribly one-sided, and almost always portray males as the aggressor and females as victim. Police are often hardwired to view men as the perpetrator. If a man calls 911 for help when he’s being attacked by his spouse or partner, he is often subject to arrest, even if he is the only one with physical injuries.
For seventeen years, there has been unequal treatment before the law. Female aggressors are keenly aware of this unequal justice, and a 2010 study on men who sustain abuse at the hands of their female partners discovered that 67.2% reported their female aggressors made false allegations of spousal abuse. [ii] Of those with children, 48.9% of the men reported that their partners made false allegations of child abuse.[iii] In other words, VAWA’s myopic view of who perpetrates domestic violence gives female abusers an additional avenue to torment their spouses.
The name of the Act itself makes it clear that the law’s focus is to address violence against women in particular, not the general problem of domestic violence. The specialized training that judges and law enforcement officers receive ignores the reality that women are as likely as men to be perpetrators of violence. This creates a justice system that treats male aggressors more harshly than female aggressors of the same crime.
PRO SE RIGHTS:
ReplyDeleteSims v. Aherns, 271 SW 720 (1925) ~ "The practice of law is an occupation of common right."
Brotherhood of Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar, 377 U.S. 1; v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335; Argersinger v. Hamlin, Sheriff 407 U.S. 425 ~ Litigants can be assisted by unlicensed laymen during judicial proceedings.
Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 at 48 (1957) ~ "Following the simple guide of rule 8(f) that all pleadings shall be so construed as to do substantial justice"... "The federal rules reject the approach that pleading is a game of skill in which one misstep by counsel may be decisive to the outcome and accept the principle that the purpose of pleading is to facilitate a proper decision on the merits." The court also cited Rule 8(f) FRCP, which holds that all pleadings shall be construed to do substantial justice.
Davis v. Wechler, 263 U.S. 22, 24; Stromberb v. California, 283 U.S. 359; NAACP v. Alabama, 375 U.S. 449 ~ "The assertion of federal rights, when plainly and reasonably made, are not to be defeated under the name of local practice."
Elmore v. McCammon (1986) 640 F. Supp. 905 ~ "... the right to file a lawsuit pro se is one of the most important rights under the constitution and laws."
Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, Rule 17, 28 USCA "Next Friend" ~ A next friend is a person who represents someone who is unable to tend to his or her own interest.
Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972) ~ "Allegations such as those asserted by petitioner, however inartfully pleaded, are sufficient"... "which we hold to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers."
Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1959); Picking v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 151 Fed 2nd 240; Pucket v. Cox, 456 2nd 233 ~ Pro se pleadings are to be considered without regard to technicality; pro se litigants' pleadings are not to be held to the same high standards of perfection as lawyers.
Maty v. Grasselli Chemical Co., 303 U.S. 197 (1938) ~ "Pleadings are intended to serve as a means of arriving at fair and just settlements of controversies between litigants. They should not raise barriers which prevent the achievement of that end. Proper pleading is important, but its importance consists in its effectiveness as a means to accomplish the end of a just judgment."
NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415); United Mineworkers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715; and Johnson v. Avery, 89 S. Ct. 747 (1969) ~ Members of groups who are competent nonlawyers can assist other members of the group achieve the goals of the group in court without being charged with "unauthorized practice of law."
Picking v. Pennsylvania Railway, 151 F.2d. 240, Third Circuit Court of Appeals ~ The plaintiff's civil rights pleading was 150 pages and described by a federal judge as "inept". Nevertheless, it was held "Where a plaintiff pleads pro se in a suit for protection of civil rights, the Court should endeavor to construe Plaintiff's Pleadings without regard to technicalities."
Puckett v. Cox, 456 F. 2d 233 (1972) (6th Cir. USCA) ~ It was held that a pro se complaint requires a less stringent reading than one drafted by a lawyer per Justice Black in Conley v. Gibson (see case listed above, Pro Se Rights Section).
Roadway Express v. Pipe, 447 U.S. 752 at 757 (1982) ~ "Due to sloth, inattention or desire to seize tactical advantage, lawyers have long engaged in dilatory practices... the glacial pace of much litigation breeds frustration with the Federal Courts and ultimately, disrespect for the law."
Sherar v. Cullen, 481 F. 2d 946 (1973) ~ "There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of his exercise of Constitutional Rights."
Schware v. Board of Examiners, United State Reports 353 U.S. pages 238, 239. ~ "The practice of law cannot be licensed by any state/State."