Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

If a spouse re-marries, is the new spouse’s financial status relevant to a petition for modification of Florida child support? Since the new spouse has no legal duty to provide support to step-children, the new spouse’s financial information is normally irrelevant to a child support calculation. This was an issue in the case Gay v. Mann, 5D23-68 (Fla. 5th DCA July 28, 2023).

The former husband in this post-dissolution case sought to depose the former wife’s new husband about his financial information and the support he was providing to the former wife. The new husband filed a motion for protective order which was denied by the trial court. A writ of certiorari was filed with the appellate court to challenge the denial of the protective order.

The appellate court noted “Certiorari review of the order denying the protective order is threefold: we must determine whether (1) the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law, (2) the petitioner will suffer a material injury, and (3) there is no other adequate remedy.” The court held “Under the circumstances of this case, [the new husband] has met the requirements for relief. He has shown that he will suffer a material injury and that no other adequate remedy will undo the intrusion into his private financial affairs. [. . . ] He has also established a departure from the essential requirements of law because the information sought is constitutionally protected.” The court concluded by also noting “We note that although [the new husband] chose to file a petition for certiorari in this Court seeking review of the discovery order, the ‘better view is that such an order is reviewable by appeal, provided that it fully settles the rights and duties of the nonparty as to the discovery issue before the court.’”

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