Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What is considered a marital asset or debt in Florida? Generally any assets or debts acquired from the date of marriage until the date of filing for divorce are considered marital and jointly-owned or owed. A tax refund that was given to the former husband after the filing of the petition for divorce was disputed as marital property in the case Padmore v. Padmore, 2D20-3312 (Fla. 2d DCA March 23, 2022).
The divorce petition in this case was filed in 2017. In the final judgment of divorce, the court included as a distributable marital asset the former husband’s $18,000 tax refund. The former husband argued this was error since the refund was based on income earned after the date of filing for divorce. The trial court disagreed and the former husband appealed.
The appellate court agreed with the former husband, holding “Although the former wife concedes this error, she contends that it was harmless in the overall equitable distribution scheme in this case, citing McCall v. McCall, 386 So. 2d 275, 276 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980). We cannot agree. The equitable distribution scheme included an equalizing payment which will necessarily change when the $18,000 is excluded from distributable assets. Further, the trial court awarded the equalizing payment to the former wife as lump sum alimony such that the alimony award is also impacted by the court's error in including the refund as a marital asset. Accordingly, the equitable distribution scheme and alimony determination must be reconsidered on remand.”
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