In order to determine whether a voluntary retirement is reasonable, Florida trial courts are required to consider the age of the payor, the payor’s health, and the payor’s motivation for retirement. Additionally, Florida trial courts are required to consider the type of work that is performed by the payor and…
In order to impute income to a voluntarily unemployed or underemployed spouse, the party seeking to impute income must prove that there are current and available employment opportunities for which the spouse is qualified. The spouse’s employment potential and probable earnings are based upon the spouse’s recent work history, occupational…
A division of property and assets case was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Hamilton v. Hamilton. In this case, the husband appealed the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage based upon the fact that the trial court awarded an unequal division of the…
Alimony payments may be reduced or terminated when a former spouse enters into a supportive relationship. The payor bears the burden to prove that a supportive relationship exists. Some of the factors that Florida courts assess in determining whether a supportive relationship exists are as follows: First, whether the recipient…
An alimony case involving the reimbursement of business expenses was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Ortega v. Wood. In Ortega v. Wood, the husband was an optician who owned an optical business with his mother. The wife sought to impute income to the…
A division of property and assets case involving the exclusive use and occupancy of the marital home was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal. In a case captioned Ortiz v. Ortiz, the husband and wife were married in 2010, and had three children. They lived in Tennessee for…
Florida’s alimony statute requires courts to consider the standard of living that was established by the parties throughout the course of their marriage. Its purpose is to provide for the needs and necessities of life for the recipient spouse as they were established during the course of the parties’ marriage. It…
In an alimony case captioned Speigner v. Speigner, the parties were married for almost twenty (20) years. Both parties worked during the course of the marriage. The Husband had the larger income. The Wife worked, raised the parties’ children and ran the household. After hearing the evidence, the trial court…
Where parties jointly decide that one parent should stay at home to raise and care for their children, Florida courts give great deference to this decision and ordinarily do not impute income to the stay-at-home parent in awarding alimony. In a case captioned Wilkins v. Wilkins, the Former Wife appealed…
Valuation dates are important in high asset/high net-worth divorces cases in Florida. In a case captioned Murphy v. Murphy, the Florida Court of Appeal recently addressed this issue. In Murphy v. Murphy the Husband appealed the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. The Wife cross-appealed the trial court’s Final Judgment.…