How Do You Prove a “Need” for Durational Alimony in a Miami High-End Divorce Case?

Although alimony was traditionally a means for stay-at-home wives to secure a measure of financial support in the event of a divorce, today either spouse can seek and receive alimony based on financial need. Under recent changes to Florida alimony laws, a party in a divorce can ask the court to award “durational alimony,” which is defined as “economic assistance for a set period of time.” The spouse requesting alimony then has the burden of establishing both their own “actual need” for such assistance, as well as proof of the other spouse’s ability to pay.

Florida Appeals Court Reverses Alimony Award to Ex-Husband Convicted of Domestic Violence

Merely claiming you have a need for alimony, and pointing to the difference in income between you and your estranged spouse, does not satisfy the statutory requirements for proving actual need. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal recently discussed this subject in a divorce case, Wallace v. Wallace, where it reversed an award of durational alimony to a former husband made by the trial court.

The parties in this case were married for eight years. The former wife worked for NextEra, the parent company of Florida Power & Light (FPL), where she was earning a base salary of $180,000 per year at the time of the divorce trial. The former husband worked as an accountant for FPL, earning between $60,000 and $65,000. He was fired from that job, however, following a domestic violence conviction arising from an incident where he committed battery against the former wife.

After serving a jail term following his conviction, the former husband found work with a restaurant at a much lower salary than his prior FPL job. At trial, he testified that he left that job to accept a position that actually paid more than what he made at FPL, but the employer rescinded the offer after learning about the domestic violence conviction. He added that he was turned down from multiple other jobs due to his criminal record.

The trial court ultimately awarded the former husband durational alimony, finding that he had an actual need for durational alimony because he was unemployed due to his “limited” employment prospects. In reversing that decision, however, the Fourth District noted that the former husband “presented no evidence that he was unable to work full-time” and that he was capable of earning a living. More to the point, the former husband presented no evidence demonstrating a genuine “financial need” for alimony. The trial relied largely on the fact the former husband now earned significantly less than the former wife, but the Fourth District noted that Florida divorce courts were “not required to equalize the financial positions of the parties” through an alimony award.

Contact a Miami Family Law Attorney Today

Even more so than the division of marital property, the question of whether either party is entitled to alimony is often one of the most fiercely contested questions in a Florida divorce case. Our Miami alimony and family law attorneys can represent your position in such disputes. Contact Hamilton O’Neill today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

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