Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

As part of alimony in Florida, a spouse can be ordered to pay monthly expenses on behalf of a spouse rather than cash payments directly to the spouse. For example, a spouse who has a need for alimony may be entitled to remain living in the marital residence while the other spouse pays the mortgage, taxes and insurance on the home. This was discussed in the case Mercado v. Mercado, 2D19-4553 (Fla. 2d DCA April 23, 2021).

After a trial on a petition for divorce, the court awarded the former wife exclusive use and possession of the marital residence and required the former husband to pay the mortgage and homeowner’s association fees. Once the parties’ child turned 18, the home was to be sold and the parties were to split the net profit equally. The former husband appealed, arguing (1) it was error for the trial court to fail to consider the mortgage and HOA payments in calculating child support and (2) he should be ordered to receive a credit for the mortgage and HOA fees paid during the former wife’s exclusive occupancy so that when the home is sold, he receives more than 50%.

The appellate court agreed with the former husband on the first point. It held “Here, the court did not expressly describe Mr. Mercado's mortgage and HOA payments as alimony, but that characterization was implicit in its judgment. Notably, the court did not factor those payments into the division of proceeds from the eventual sale of the home, which, as will be discussed, is a hallmark of spousal support. Indeed, the court stated that the payments were to be taken into account in its alimony determination. [. . .] As such, they should have been taken into account when determining the parties' incomes for purposes of setting child support.

As to the former husband’s claim that he should be reimbursed at the time of the sale of the home for the payments made for the same during the former wife’s sole occupancy, the court rejected this claim, holding “This is directly at odds with his assertion that the payments are spousal support, for it is settled that a co-owner of real property is not entitled to reimbursement of expenditures made as part of his or her support obligation.”

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