We are women, mothers, grandmothers and many of us have daughters. Some of us are fathers of daughters and devoted husbands. We spent our lives committed to our families and devoted to our spouses and children.

For over a decade we have fought to maintain alimony awards which supplement the financial deficit we were left in after years of commitment to our children, our spouses, our family. We have simply asked that alimony reform not impair the contracts, the marital settlement agreements that we entered into upon the dissolution of our marriages. And yet in 2022 we are again faced with a bill disguised as alimony reform but immersed in language that would not only retroactively change our agreements, but also substantially alter the process of alimony modifications to a place where the payors continued wealth is ignored, and the support they pledged to support their spouses is diminished. To question that this bill is retroactive is to ignore that the proponents of the bill are wealthy spouses hoping for a glide path to not just alimony modification, but ultimately termination of agreements they made with their spouses.

In addition to the alimony revisions, this bill includes a presumption that equal (50/50) timesharing is in the best interest of children. On its face this seems fair to both parents. But ultimately the question should be whether it is fair to children and in their best interests. We have an obligation to put Florida’s children above all else. Divorce is hard enough on children, placing their parents desires above and before their best interest will only make it worse. We believe that Senate Bill 1796 is unconstitutional and that the 50/50 timesharing mandate is dangerous for children.

The current law has worked quite well but more importantly, the current law has been relied upon by so many!

A Veto on this bill would be a statement that in Florida we honor our children, families and our commitments.

Please Veto Senate Bill 1796. Florida families are counting on you. 

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Email: firstwivesfirst@gmail.com