First District Reverses Permanent Alimony Award

The First District Court of Appeal has been the first Court to enforce some of the new alimony language in Florida Statute 61.08 today, in its ruling in Margaretten v. Margaretten.  Under that statute, an award of permanent periodic alimony now requires the lower court to find that no other form of alimony would satisfy before awarding permanent alimony.  The Former Wife argued that this finding was implicit in the other rulings made.  The First District rejected this claim, and in fact pointed out that some of the factors cited by the trial court would appear to support a durational award.  As such, on remand, if the trial court again orders permanent alimony, it has been mandated to first exclude all other types of alimony.