No New 2026 Florida Alimony Formula or Time-Sharing Law

The Short Answer

Despite headlines suggesting Florida lawmakers passed a new 2026 alimony formula and equal time-sharing overhaul, no such law was enacted. The 2026 Regular Session adjourned on March 13, 2026, with no new alimony or time-sharing statute. The rules that actually govern your divorce still come from the 2023 reform, SB 1416.

The News Hook

If you have seen a wave of blog posts and shared links claiming that Florida just advanced a "new 2026 alimony formula" alongside sweeping "equal time-sharing reforms," you are not imagining it. Several law firm blogs, some recycling older content, have circulated versions of this story with alarming urgency.

Here is what a careful read of the record shows. The Florida Legislature's 2026 Regular Session convened on January 13, 2026, and adjourned sine die on March 13, 2026. It ended in unusual fashion, without a state budget, prompting scheduled special sessions. What it did not produce was a new alimony calculation formula or a new equal time-sharing statute.

The confusion traces to two separate sources. First, some of the "formula" and "multiplier" language circulating online is recycled from failed alimony bills of prior years. The Florida Bar's own coverage titled "Alimony back on lawmakers' agenda" dates to 2021 and described bills, including SB 1922, that died that session. Second, the genuine 2026 family law activity, such as SB 1128, dealt with time-sharing hearing deadlines and procedures, not a payment formula, and that bill did not become law.

In short, the sensational version of this story describes a change that did not happen.

Legal Implications for Florida Divorce Cases

For anyone with a pending or upcoming Florida dissolution of marriage, the practical implication is reassuring: nothing changed in 2026. The framework you plan around is the same one that has governed since July 1, 2023.

That matters because misinformation cuts both ways. A spouse who believes a new "formula" now dictates alimony may refuse a reasonable settlement while waiting for a benefit that does not exist. A paying spouse who fears a harsher new law may rush into a lopsided agreement out of panic. Both mistakes are avoidable once you know the actual law.

The operative alimony statute remains Section 61.08, Florida Statutes, as amended by SB 1416 (Chapter 2023-315, Laws of Florida). Key features still in force include:

• Permanent alimony was eliminated. Courts may award only temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony.
• Durational alimony has duration caps tied to the length of the marriage: generally up to 50 percent of the length of a short-term marriage (under 10 years), up to 60 percent for a moderate-term marriage (10 to 20 years), and up to 75 percent for a long-term marriage (20 years or more), subject to exceptions.
• The amount of durational alimony may not exceed the recipient's reasonable need or an amount not to exceed 35 percent of the difference between the parties' net incomes, whichever is less.

On time-sharing, the 2023 legislation also amended Section 61.13, Florida Statutes, to create a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the child's best interest. That presumption existed before 2026 and continues after it. A parent who disagrees must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that equal time-sharing is not in the child's best interest.

Florida-Specific Analysis

Two points of Florida law get lost in the viral retellings, and both are worth stating plainly.

First, Florida does not use a rigid alimony "formula" the way it uses a child support guidelines calculation. The 35 percent net-income figure in Section 61.08 is a ceiling, not a plug-and-play formula that spits out a number. Judges still weigh the statutory factors, including the standard of living during the marriage, the age and health of each party, and each party's financial resources and earning capacity. Anyone promising a precise alimony number from a simple equation is overstating how the statute works.

Second, the equal time-sharing presumption is a starting point, not a mandate. Florida courts do not automatically default to a 50/50 schedule. The controlling standard remains the best interests of the child under Section 61.13(3), evaluated across a long list of statutory factors. The presumption shifts the burden of proof, but the judge still makes an individualized determination.

This distinction is exactly why our firm's coverage of the 2026 session has repeatedly separated real changes from viral noise. As we explained regarding a different bill in No, Florida HB 943 Isn't an Alimony Formula Bill (2026), and again in our reporting that SB 1128 Died: Florida Time-Sharing Law Unchanged (2026), a filed bill is not a law, and a recycled headline is not a legislative act.

Practical Takeaways

If you are a Florida resident navigating divorce, here is what actually matters right now.

• Plan around the 2023 law, not 2026 headlines. Sections 61.08 and 61.13, as amended by SB 1416, control your alimony and time-sharing analysis.
• Do not delay a fair settlement while waiting for a phantom formula. There is no new automatic calculation coming from the 2026 session.
• Verify legislative claims at the source. The Florida Senate site and LegiScan show the real status of every bill. A blog headline is not a statute.
• If you and your spouse agree, your case does not turn on these debates at all. An uncontested divorce lets you set your own terms within what the law allows, often for a fraction of a litigated case.

For couples who have reached agreement, the legislative back-and-forth is largely a distraction. An uncontested divorce is resolved by the parties' own marital settlement agreement, not by a courtroom fight over alimony duration or time-sharing percentages. Our firm handles uncontested Florida divorces for a flat $750 attorney fee, the same price with or without minor children (with children, the package adds a parenting plan, a child support guidelines worksheet, and a UCCJEA affidavit). The court filing fee (approximately $425) and any notary costs are separate.

If you want to understand how an uncontested case works in your county, see our guides on Uncontested Divorce in Tampa, FL, Uncontested Divorce in Orlando, FL, and Uncontested Divorce in Miami-Dade County. If children are involved, our Uncontested Divorce With Children in Tampa guide walks through the parenting-plan requirements.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 Florida legislative session did not enact a new alimony formula or a new equal time-sharing law. The reforms people are describing already happened in 2023. If your case depends on getting this right, rely on the statutes and a licensed Florida attorney, not a headline built on recycled bills.