Addie vs. Coale has a history in the 4th district. When it was first appealed, it was remanded for reconsideration of the alimony and child support aspects of the final judgment. On remand, the successor trial judge entered an alimony and child support award, but it was deficient in that findings were not made on […]
Tag: marital assets
New Florida Alimony Guidelines in Florida
Florida is one step closer to having specific guidelines for alimony. A bill has passed through the legislature. If approved by the governor the bill would become law on October 1, 2016. Presently, alimony is determined based upon a balancing of the needs of the recipient against the ability to pay by the obligor. The […]
Legislation Recently Introduced by Florida Legislature
Last week, the Florida Legislature introduced four separate pieces of legislation of note. Three of the bills introduced deal with alimony, and the fourth deals with timesharing/parenting plans. The three bills dealing with alimony (House Bill 455 and Senate bills 250 and 668) have different language, which we have not yet looked into. We do […]
Taylor v. Taylor
Taylor v Taylor In Taylor v. Taylor, the 2d DCA reverses an award of durational, rather than permanent, alimony. The identified problem essentially was twofold, but really comes down to an absence of statutory findings. There is a lack of findings necessary to support the use of durational rather than permanent alimony, and the amount […]
Kelley v. Kelley
Kelley v Kelley In Kelly v. Kelly, the 4th DCA reversed and remanded the final judgment on the issues of equitable distribution and alimony. As to ED, the trial court had stated its intention to make equal awards to the parties, but a mathematical error in the equalizing payment made the award significantly unequal. As […]
Lessons Learned in Divorce Litigation
To paraphrase Santayana: those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. Here are a few of the lessons I have learned in almost two and a half decades of divorce litigation: Wait too long to file for divorce/modification/enforcement. The date of filing a divorce has the important distinction of […]
Gentile v. Gentile
In Gentile v. Gentile, the 4th DCA reversed and remanded a case for further proceedings. The parties’ settlement agreement, announced on the record, split a parcel of land and left the valuation of that splitting to binding mediation, but the mediator did not utilize the division as contemplated by the settlement agreement (which included a […]
Berg v. Young
Berg v. Young concerns the interpretation of a prenuptial agreement. Ultimately the 4th DCA reversed the finding regarding a denial of attorney’s fees because the prevailing party should have been awarded his fees based upon a plain reading of the agreement. Also reversed was the award to the wife of attorney’s fees based upon section […]
What assets and liabilities are considered marital, and how are they divided under Florida law?
Florida Statute 61.075 sets out criteria for classifying assets and liabilities. The first step to understanding what you and your significant other have in the marital estate is to determine two key periods of time. First, you must determine the date of your marriage. That date will be the starting point for classifying marital versus […]
The Future of Alimony in Florida
On September 10, 2015, Florida Senator Tom Lee filed an alimony reform bill with the legislature for its consideration during the 2016 legislative session, which begins in January 2016. The bill, as filed, is largely identical to the alimony reform bill that Senator Lee filed before the 2015 legislative session. The 2015 bill never made […]