Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

In a case stemming from a petition to modify alimony in Florida, a former husband was found to be in contempt of his support obligation. After the trial court denied his petition for modification and concurrently found him in contempt, the former husband appealed. The case is Carter v. Hart, 5D18-609 (Fla. 5th DCA February 14, 2020).

In order to modify alimony in Florida, the petitioner must show a substantial, involuntary and permanent change in circumstances which was not contemplated at the time of entry of the alimony judgment. This usually comes in the form of an involuntary reduction in income or termination from a job. In this case, the trial court found the former husband failed to prove this substantial change in circumstances. The former wife apparently filed a motion for contempt against the former husband at the time his petition for modification was pending.

In order to hold a party in contempt of a support obligation, the court must find that the party’s failure to pay alimony is willful. This means the party had the ability to pay but refused to do so. In this case, the trial court found the former husband did have the ability to pay and that his refusal to do so was willful. The former husband appealed both the denial of his request for modification and the finding of contempt against him. The appellate court upheld both findings, but reversed on a key part of the contempt order.

The contempt order mandated that the former husband pay a purge of $6,000.00 within a certain amount of time. This part of the order was reversed on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to show the former husband had the ability to pay this purge amount. The trial court apparently based this amount on the former husband’s testimony that he had a motorcycle valued at $6,000.00. However, the court ignored unrebutted testimony from the former husband that the loan on the motorcycle exceeded the value. Therefore the case was remanded for the trial court to reconsider the purge amount.

Contempt as a remedy for failure to pay alimony in Florida is one which carries the possibility of significant penalties against the party accused of failing to pay support. If you are on either side of a motion for contempt, schedule a consultation with a Miami family law attorney to determine the best way to move forward in your case.