Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
A Florida marital settlement agreement that provides for non-modifiable alimony is generally enforceable, and a court is bound to follow the clear language of the agreement. In Judy v. Judy, 2D18-1566 (Fla. 2d DCA March 4, 2020), the former wife appealed the court’s decision to modify her alimony.
During the parties’ marriage, the former wife was a stay-at-home mother while the former husband worked and earned a six-figure annual salary. Upon the parties’ divorce, a marital settlement agreement was entered in which the former husband agreed to pay non-modifiable alimony to the former wife for eight years. The agreement further provided that if the former husband involuntarily lost his job, this could be considered an exceptional circumstance which warranted modification of the alimony. The former husband eventually lost his job and applied for a modification of alimony.
After a hearing, the trial court determined the former wife was voluntarily underemployed and imputed minimum wage to her. Based on this imputation, the trial court reduced the alimony by almost $2,000.00 per month. The former wife appealed, arguing it was error for the court to do so because the parties’ marital settlement agreement did not require her to seek employment after the parties’ divorce.
The appellate court agreed with the former wife, holding “Pursuant to the MSA, the parties here agreed to a specific durational amount of monthly alimony to support the Former Wife's lifestyle for a definite period. [. . .] At the time of the MSA and the Final Judgment, the Former Wife was not employed and had not been employed for some time. All of this information was known to the Former Husband when he entered into the MSA. Since the parties' divorce in 2012, the Former Wife concedes she has not worked or attempted to obtain employment. In fact, the terms of the MSA are devoid of any language requiring her to obtain employment and/or support herself. Instead, the MSA provides: ‘Said support shall be non-modifiable in duration and shall terminate in the event the Wife remarries, cohabitates in a supportive relationship or dies,’ and ‘[t]he Wife shall declare as her income, the alimony received from the Husband effective May 1, 2012.’ Nothing in the MSA indicates the parties intended to impute income to the Former Wife in the event she failed to obtain employment following the divorce and so the trial court erred in failing to give effect to the MSA and the parties' intentions. [. . .] Thus, the trial court abused its discretion by imputing income to the Former Wife, thereby reducing her durational alimony.”
Modification of alimony and interpretation of Florida marital settlement agreements can be tricky. When an agreement does not say what one of the parties intended, this could create an issue for future enforcement. This is why it is important to consult with a Miami family law attorney when considering a marital settlement agreement.