Statute of Limitations for Alimony Arrears in Florida

A civil statute of limitations is a legally defined time limit in which a person can file a lawsuit. As time passes, the statute of limitations provides certainty that no one is going to sue you for a breach of contract or a long-forgotten debt. Florida Statutes specify the statute of limitations for collecting a judgment, including a judgment for alimony arrears.

Florida Statutes

Florida statute specifies that in Florida, a spousal support order, or alimony, is a court judgment, decree or order for monetary support for the benefit of a spouse or a former spouse. The legislation establishes the statute of limitations for a judgment, decree or order of any court. The statute of limitations expires 20 years after the date of entry of the judgment.

Entry of Judgment

Courts often order spousal support as a periodic judgment, payable every month. A new judgment, for each month's support, commences on the first day of each month. For a monthly alimony order, the statute of limitations expires 20 years after the date the last alimony payment was due. For example, if a court ordered monthly alimony payments for five years, the last payment ordered would not become a judgment until the passage of four years and 11 months from the date of the original order. Accordingly, the alimony recipient could sue for arrears up to 25 years after the court entered the divorce decree -- five years for the support to become due in full plus 20 years to collect the arrears before the statute expired.

Credit for Payment

An alimony payor in Florida who catches up on his alimony payments should request that the payee sign a satisfaction of judgment acknowledging receipt of the payments. The payee may acknowledge receipt of support in a certain amount or may acknowledge receipt of all support due as of a certain date, without specifying the amount received. The payor then files the satisfaction of judgment with the clerk of the court, and it becomes a public record verifying that payment of arrears.

Legal Advice

A combination of state statutes and judicial opinions makes up the body of divorce law in Florida. A Florida resident who wants to know how Florida's statute of limitations and alimony laws affect his particular situation should consult an attorney who can legally practice law in Florida.