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Alimony: What Is It And How When It Comes to Patient Care,

Long Do I Have To Pay It? EVERYONE Owns It

Alimony is financial support given from one Everybody has their issue?” I replied, “I
spouse to another. Financial support could be preferences and I am no don’t have one.” To
money paid from one spouse to the other or in- different. When it comes which she replied,
kind payments made by one spouse to another, to air travel, I live equal “Customer Service is
such as direct payment of the mortgage each distance between the upstairs in ticketing
month. T Miami and Fort Laud - … ”
here are several types of alimony in Florida: erdale airports. FLL is At the end of the
temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, dura- my preference. Smaller day, it wasn’t really her
tional, permanent periodic, and lump sum. How and easier for me to get fault, this is how she
do you know what type of alimony is right for in and out of. had been trained.
your family? Temporary alimony is the support I also prefer direct Even the sign was all
paid while the divorce case is pending. flights. So when booking, wrong. Imagine how a
In Florida, families are expected to maintain I balance the two. simple slash could
the status quo until a final resolution has been BY ANGELA R. NEAVE, Recently I had to fly up BY JAY JUFFRE have changed the par-
reached or a Final Judgment of Dissolution of ESQUIRE north and since Miami adigm and maybe her
Marriage is entered. International offers the perspective: Customer
Typically, in marriages of less than 7 years, the presumption is against per- non-stop, that is where I booked my Assistance/Baggage. This example
manent alimony absent extenuating circumstances, and the Court can award flight (of course knowing that I would immediately got me thinking of how
up to 2 years of alimony to be paid, called bridge-the gap alimony, depending have to navigate the equivalent of a we approach patients and their fami-
on the facts and circumstances. In marriages of between 7 and 17 years, the small city to get to my gate). lies. Your team should greet everyone
Court can award rehabilitative alimony, which is alimony for the period of time Regardless, I arrived about two they encounter with a friendly smile,
it takes for the recipient spouse to train into a profession that will allow them hours early, parked on the 5th floor of warm greeting and open ended ques-
to be self-supporting, or durational alimony, which can be as many years as the the Dolphin Garage and after walking tions like, “How may I help you?” You
length of the marriage. For marriages over 17 years, the presumption is for per- about ½ mile, found myself in the don’t want your team unknowingly
manent periodic alimony, unless facts and circumstances determine otherwise. baggage claim area. giving a bad impression or your
Lump sum alimony is awarded under certain special circumstances such as Unfortunately, there was limited organization. When it comes to
when one spouse refuses to help support the other and the Court believes that signage for the way up to the TSA Pre- patient care, meeting ALL needs is
spouse will continue to shirk their financial obligations to the other spouse. Check area. The one sign I did see was EVERYBODY’S job.
Determining the amount of alimony paid by one spouse to the other requires ‘Customer Assistance Baggage’. ‘Surely
an evaluation of a combination of factors enumerated in the alimony statute. they will know which direction to Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President,
First, however, a determination of whether one spouse has a need and the other point me in,’ I thought to myself. I ImageFIRST. For more information on
spouse has an ability to pay must be made. If neither spouse requires alimony walked up to the young lady behind ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or
to support their post-divorce household, alimony will not be awarded to either the counter and before I could even visit www.imagefirst.com.
spouse. ask, she asked, “What is your baggage
One spouse may demonstrate a need based upon living expenses and his/her
monthly income, but if the other spouse does not have an ability to pay alimo-
ny, alimony cannot be awarded. If one spouse demonstrates a need for alimony,
and the other spouse can pay some or all of that need, then alimony will be
awarded in the amount either the receiving spouse needs or in the amount the
paying spouse can afford to pay.
In order to calculate alimony, income for each spouse must be determined.
If a spouse refuses to become employed, or willfully reduces his or her income
during the divorce process to avoid alimony obligations, the Courts can and
will impute income to that spouse. Courts can also consider other factors such
as the ages of any minor children, whether one spouse has been out of the work
force for a substantial period of time, whether one spouse needs to remain at
home to care for disabled or sick children, and other factors to do justice and
equity between the spouses when determining whether alimony should be
awarded and in what amount.
If you have questions about alimony, and want to discuss those questions with an
attorney, call Angela R. Neave, Esquire at (954) 981-2200
for a free consultation.

SALUTE TO VOLUNTEERS

NORTH SHORE MEDICAL CENTER

Errol Clarke

Errol Clarke has been a volunteer at North Shore
Medical Center for the last three years. He is passion-
ate about helping people and serving his community,
which is why he is a volunteer at North Shore Medical
Center. When he retired from the hotel industry, he
knew this is where he wanted to be. He feels blessed
that he can volunteer, and he just celebrated his 78th
birthday. He has three children, and one of them is a
nurse. He says he is very thankful to have great health
so he can keep volunteering at the hospital. He looks
forward to volunteering at North Shore Medical
Center for many more years and is willing to always do whatever is asked of him
to help out.

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com May 2018 7