SB 1596 - Family Law Summary

• Eliminates permanent alimony and prioritizes bridge-the-gap and rehabilitative alimony over durational alimony; establishes income-based caps on alimony awards (25% for short-term marriages, 35% for mid-term, 38% for long-term marriages).

• Establishes a rebuttable presumption against alimony for short-term marriages (≤11 years) and in favor of alimony for long-term marriages (≥20 years); requires written judicial findings for all alimony awards.

• Creates a presumption for equal time-sharing between both parents unless safety concerns, extenuating circumstances, incarceration, distance, lack of parental request, injunctions, or domestic violence exist; applies prospectively to orders entered on or after July 1, 2019.

• Provides that obligor retirement at a reasonable age constitutes a substantial change in circumstances allowing modification of alimony; limits modifications to reflect changed circumstances and requires clear and convincing evidence for upward modifications.

• Applies amendments retroactively to alimony awards entered before July 1, 2019 under specified conditions, with phased filing schedules based on alimony duration ranging from July 1, 2019 through July 1, 2021.