Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Can parties agree outside of court to modify alimony payments? The best practice, to avoid any disputes or confusion later, may be for the parties to modify an alimony obligation through the court and with an court order. However, agreements to modify alimony payments outside of court can be upheld. This was an issue in the case Fernandez v. Kivimaki, 2D2023-1129 (Fla. 2d DCA August 21, 2024).
The parties’ original divorce judgment obligated the former husband to pay $1,100 per month in alimony. Later, the parties orally agreed to reduce the payments to $600 per month with their daughter acting as a “go-between” in negotiating this. The former wife’s records showed the former husband paid her $600 per month for some time, and that she created a ledger of his arrears which she based on this $600 per month payment. The former husband also at times paid $1,200 per month, which were construed as catch-up payments in which he paid double the agreed-upon amount to make up for prior missed months at that rate.
The former wife filed a motion for contempt and enforcement about seven years after this arrangement was in place. She sought full payment of the $1,100 per month for all prior months. The former house countered with a petition for modification to uphold the agreement between the parties for $600 per month. After a hearing, the court granted the former husband’s petition, finding the existence of a contract based on the daughter’s testimony, the performance of the agreement by the former husband and the acceptance of the terms by the former wife as illustrated by her failure to object to the reduced amount. The former wife appealed.
The appellate court affirmed, holding “Competent substantial evidence supported the magistrate's finding that the parties agreed to reduce Former Husband's alimony obligation. While Former Wife's testimony on the question was equivocal, even it did not foreclose the existence of such an agreement. And evidence in the record establishing the agreement compels this court to reject Former Wife's contention that there was no meeting of the minds in favor of Former Husband's argument that the magistrate's determination must be upheld on appeal. In addition to the daughter's testimony that Former Wife had agreed to the reduction, Former Husband's payment of the reduced amount, and Former Wife's subsequent acquiescence by virtue of her acceptance of payments in the reduced amount, both hardcopy and digital documentation generated by Former Wife indicates that she was calculating the alimony obligation based on a $600-per-month rate. Because the existence of the agreement is supported by competent substantial evidence, we affirm the trial court's order to the extent it adopts the magistrate's finding that the parties entered into an agreement to reduce the amount of alimony.”
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