Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Florida Statute Chp. 61.08 governs alimony awards in a Florida divorce case. The statute was updated in 2023 to provide clearer guidelines for calculating alimony. One requirement that has remained constant, however, is that alimony should be calculated based on the net incomes of the parties rather than their gross incomes. This was an issue in the case Parker v. Parker, 2D22-2736 (Fla. 2d DCA January 17, 2024).
The parties entered a partial marital settlement agreement in their divorce and left alimony to be decided by the court. After a trial on alimony and other reserved issues, the court entered a final judgment that explicitly stated the alimony awarded to the former wife was based on the parties’ gross incomes. The former wife appealed.
On appeal, the former husband argued the former wife’s appeal should be dismissed because she did not include a transcript of the trial. The appellate court disagreed, holding that because the error appears on the face of the final judgment, the lack of the transcript was not fatal to the former wife’s appeal. The court further held that when alimony is awarded based on gross incomes, this is reversible error. The case was remanded with instructions for the trial court to “revisit its alimony calculation, setting forth its findings in detail and taking additional evidence if necessary. [. . .] The findings must allow for meaningful appellate review of the amount of alimony awarded, see Ketcher v. Ketcher, 188 So. 3d 991, 993 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016), and how the court arrived at that amount, see Beasley v. Beasley, 717 So. 2d 208, 209 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).”
Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to the facts of your case.