dissolution

March 8, 2017

What is a Marriage of Moderate Duration?

Fla Stat. §61.08(4) provides statutory guidelines for Florida courts to consider when evaluating importance of the duration of a marriage as a factor for alimony consideration. In order to categorize the duration of marriages, courts look from the date the marriage began until the date one of the spouses filed for dissolution of marriage. According to the statute, short term marriages are marriages under seven (7) years, and long term marriages are all marriages that last longer than seventeen (17) years. However, there is a “gray area” in the 10-year gap between these years. The marriages falling between the seven (7) to seventeen (17) year marriage lengths are known as marriages of “moderate duration.”

Categorizing the duration of a marriage is important. The court looks to a multitude of factors, found in Fla. Stat. §61.08 (2)(a-j), when considering the amount and the duration of an alimony award. A marriage categorized as a marriage of moderate duration is particularly important when considering an award of permanent alimony.

If a marriage is a long term marriage, as defined in the statutes, the marriage has with it a presumption in favor of a permanent alimony award. If after the court considers all other alimony factors and finds that no other alimony type would be proper, permanent alimony can be awarded. Whereas, a short term marriage would absolutely not have that same presumption. For a permanent alimony award in a short term marriage the court would have to find that exceptional circumstances exist to support such an award. Whereas, a moderate term marriage is open to a permanent alimony award also, but a higher standard of proof is necessary when awarding permanent alimony in cases of moderate duration marriages. Clear and convincing evidence as to the alimony factors must be presented to the court to prove that the receiving spouse is entitled to alimony.

February 23, 2017

What is Nominal Alimony?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

money-chained With many divorce cases also comes the notion of alimony. There are a number of different types of alimony in Florida, varying from permanent to rehabilitative. In some instances judges will award a party with “nominal alimony.” But, while you wont see this form of alimony in the statutes, you will see that this has developed in case law over the years. Nominal Alimony is not a form of alimony like rehabilitative, permanent, or durational, instead the nominal alimony designation is simply a space preserver to allow the receiving party to apply for a modification at a later date. Few states, including Florida, recognize this type of alimony award.

Nominal alimony differs from rehabilitative alimony because rehabilitative alimony is temporary for receiving spouse until he or she can get on his or her own feet. This is typically awarded in cases where the receiving spouse surrendered their ability to work during the course of the marriage in order to stay home and care for the kids or conduct other household duties. Rehabilitative alimony will temporarily support the receiving spouse until he or she is able to seek employment.

Whereas with nominal alimony, the court may order a spouse to pay a significantly small amount, as small as $1 a year, until that spouse is able to pay larger amount. This amount is not meant to support the receiving spouse, but instead preserves the receiving spouse’s right to receive alimony at a later date. It also reserves the court’s jurisdiction to revisit the issue of alimony should the paying spouse’s circumstances improve. The court may choose to award nominal alimony if it is likely that the paying spouse’s circumstances will change in the future and that this change would warrant alimony for the receiving spouse. It is the court’s decision to determine whether or not to award nominal alimony. If the court does not feel enough evidence exists to prove that the spouse’s financial circumstances will change in the foreseeable future, the court can choose not to award nominal alimony and instead enter an award for one of the statutory forms of alimony available.

January 8, 2017

My Marriage is NOT Irretrievably Broken, But My Spouse Wants a Divorce.

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Florida is a no-fault divorce state. What this means is that the Florida court judges do not need to hear testimony or be shown evidence to support that one party caused the breakdown of the marriage or that the breakdown of the marriage occurred as a result of certain indiscretions, such as adultery, in order to grant a divorce. While Florida may be a no-fault state, the courts must still find that a marriage is “irretrievably broken” or that a mental incapacity has existed for a period of three years, Florida Statutes 61.052, before a divorce will be granted. Often times parties move for the grounds of irretrievably broken to seek their divorce. While the assumption can be made that anyone who goes through the tiring divorce process must being doing so because the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court must still be presented with evidence to support the status of the marriage as broken.

Parties are often surprised to discover that even in instances where they have agreed upon the terms of their divorce, filed a petition, sought legal counsel, drafted parenting plans, taken the parenting course, and agreed upon property division the judge is still able to reserve on granting the divorce until a later date, order counseling, or if minor children are of the marriage the judge may issue an order in their best interests if the judge sees fit. The judge can order the previously mentioned results in instances when one party responds to the petition that the marriage is not irretrievably broken, or in any instances when the marriage involves minor children. While this may not be the result divorcing parties desire this allows the courts to attempt at giving the parties another opportunity to reconcile for the benefit of themselves and/or the minor children. While reconciliation may not be in the best interest for the parties and the children in all instances the reservation of this power allows for an outside party to evaluate the circumstances and in some cases save families from a path that is not in their best interests. While the court reserves this power, it should be noted that it is not very often that the court does not move forward with the divorce proceedings.

If you have found yourself recently served with a petition for divorce and you believe that your marriage can be retrieved, you must inform the court in your initial responsive pleading that you deny the marriage is irretrievably broken. Answering a petition for divorce by denying the grounds of irretrievably broken will not guarantee the court will not grant the divorce. But, it may give your family one last chance at counseling, or allow for the passage of time to allow for you and your spouse to reconcile. Contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. today to discuss your Florida divorce.

September 23, 2016

Which Spouse Remains in the Home During the Pendency of a Florida Divorce?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

“I can’t take this anymore, we must get a divorce!” “Well, I’m not leaving.” This dialogue, to the extent there is any dialogue at all, is common prior to and during a Florida divorce case otherwise known as a Florida Dissolution of Marriage. This conversation then leads to the following question: Which spouse remains in the marital home during the pendency of a Florida divorce?

During a Florida divorce there are so many moving pieces and areas filled with uncertainty. Some divorcing couple move into separate residences prior to either party filing for divorce. Yet, there remains the other group of couples who are still living in the same home at the time of the initiation of the divorce proceedings. If one party does not voluntarily choose to move out of the shared residence, and the parties do not wish to continue to live together, who gets to remain in the home under the dissolution / divorce laws in the State of Florida? When real property or a leasehold is jointly titled to spouses both spouses have the right to the use of the owned or leased property, until a temporary order of exclusive use and possession or an ordered injunction placing restrictions on one spouse’s 1122707_divorce use is entered by a judge. If both parties remain in the home upon the filing of divorce, and neither party wants to budge on moving out of the home, the courts can be brought into the equation to have a neutral party make a ruling regarding who is to remain in the home. The court does not automatically get involved regarding who remains in the residence unless the appropriate motion is made by one of the parties to the divorce. The obligation of the parties and a Florida family law judge’s involvement in making a determination as to who is to remain in the residence is contingent upon a wide variety of factors. There is no simple answer to the question of who will stay and who will leave. The burden of proving that the other party should vacate the premises will be on the party making the motion. The court will consider the numerous factors and make a ruling based on Florida law and equity.

If you are leasing property together and the name of both spouses is on the lease both parties have the legal right to remain in the home, but that’s not always the ideal situation in the midst of a divorce. The lease is a separate agreement with yourself and the owner of the property. More likely than not the contract does not include a clause allowing you to dissolve the lease agreement as a result of your pending divorce. The obligation due under the contract will still remain. Even though you do not own the property in question the court still may rule on who has exclusive use and possession of the leased premises. While the court has the authority to make this ruling this is still an arrangement that should be discussed with the owner of the property so the appropriate changes can be made to the lease agreement and access can be restricted to the non-possessing spouse.