Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

When a petition for modification of alimony is filed in Florida, can a court retroactively modify the support amount? A court has discretion to modify alimony dating back to the date of filing the petition for modification or any date subsequent to the filing of the petition. How does the court decide what date is appropriate? This was an issue in the case Franz v. Franz, 2D20-3310 (Fla. 2d DCA October 13, 2021).

The former husband filed a petition to modify alimony, alleging the former wife was receiving increased income in the form of social security benefits. The evidence showed the former wife did not begin receiving the benefits until after she turned 65, which was some time after the former husband filed his petition for modification. Despite this, the trial court granted the former husband’s petition for modification retroactive to the date he filed the petition. The former wife appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding “A trial court has the discretion to modify alimony effective from the date the petition for modification was filed or any date subsequent to the filing of the petition. See Gurdian v. Gurdian, 198 So. 3d 65, 68 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015). Here, the evidence presented indicated that the Former Wife did not receive her social security income until some point after August 2018 when she turned sixty-five. Because one of the bases of the alimony modification was the Former Wife's increased income, the modification should have been retroactive to the date of her first receipt of social security. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the trial court to order the modification of the alimony to be retroactive to the date of the Former Wife's first receipt of social security.”

If you are wondering if your support will be modified, schedule a consultation with a Miami divorce lawyer to understand how the law may apply to your case.