Contempt of Court in Florida

A finding of criminal contempt of court must be based upon a finding that a party has the present ability to pay. [T]he court’s finding that Mr. Keeler had the present ability to pay was ‘based upon his history of obtaining funds when needed.’ In Bowen v. Bowen, 471 So. 2d 1274, 1279 (Fla. 1985), the Florida Supreme Court stated: ‘If incarceration is deemed appropriate, the court must make a separate, affirmative finding that the contemnor possesses the present ability to comply with the purge conditions set forth in the contempt order…From the trial court’s order, it seems the judge focused on the past, not the present ability to pay. We therefore vacate the contempt but otherwise affirm.” Keeler v. Keeler,