If you are a Florida resident who is navigating your way through an impending divorce, you may have concerns about how your life will change and whether you will be able to provide for yourself in the absence of your partner. Often, in marriages, one party will put his or her education or career on hold for the sake of the other party’s. While this can benefit your family if you stay together, it can also make things harder on you should you split and need to return to the workforce.

If you are hoping to receive alimony after your divorce, you may be wondering what the court weighs in deciding whether to grant it to you. You can expect that the Florida court system will consider the following factors.

The length of your marriage

Typically, courts will consider the length of your marriage when determining whether to grant you alimony. Most of the time, your odds of securing alimony improve alongside the length of your marriage, so the longer you were married, the more likely you will be to receive it.

Your age and health

Courts will also typically weigh your age, health and physical condition in the decision. If you are older and in less-than-ideal physical shape, if may prove particularly difficult for you to reenter the workforce and provide for yourself.

Your standard of living

When issuing alimony decisions, courts generally try to see that both parties in the marriage are able to maintain the same standard of living they had become accustomed to while married after the marriage comes to an end.

While these are some of the factors that courts generally weigh when making alimony decisions, please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all possible considerations. Furthermore, every alimony case is different, so what holds true for one couple may not do so for the next.