Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Sometimes parties do not want to wait until a final judgment is entered to divide assets. This may be because a spouse wishes to liquidate assets for expenses. When this is a case, a party has to file a motion for an interim partial distribution. There must be a showing of good cause to support such a request. This was an issue in the case Calvarese v. Calvarese, 4D20-1662 (Fla. 4th DCA March 3, 2021).
Both parties filed in their pending Florida divorce case a motion for interim partial distribution of a retirement account. The husband owned a traditional individual retirement account and a Roth individual retirement account. The court granted both motions, resulting in an order which distributed both accounts, even though only one of the accounts was at issue in the motions. The husband appealed, arguing there was not a showing of good cause to distribute both accounts.
The appellate court agreed with the husband, holding “We reverse the distribution of the traditional IRA, because neither party requested its distribution, and there was no good cause to support it. To obtain an interim equitable distribution of marital property, a party must show good cause. See § 61.075(5), Fla. Stat. (2020). We have said that ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are necessary to constitute good cause. See Defanti v. Russell, 126 So. 3d 377, 378 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013). No such extraordinary circumstances were presented in this case to justify the liquidation of both IRAs before the final hearing. Therefore, we reverse the order authorizing the distribution of the traditional IRA. We affirm as to all other issues.”
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