Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
What is temporary alimony in Florida? This is alimony awarded while a divorce case is pending, meaning before a final judgment of divorce is entered. Sometimes a temporary alimony award is needed to maintain the status quo so that a spouse who needs financial support is not waiting until trial (which could be several months away) before he or she can receive money for living expenses. Temporary support was an issue in the case Adams v. Cunningham, 4D2023-0572 (Fla. 4th DCA January 24, 2024).
In this divorce case, the husband’s net income was found to be approximately $3,900.00 per month. Nonetheless, the court awarded temporary alimony to the wife of over $4,000 per month, in addition to exclusive use and possession of the marital residence. The husband appealed, arguing that it was an abuse of discretion for the court to award alimony that exceeded his income.
The appellate court agreed and reversed, holding “‘“[A] trial court cannot enter a temporary support award that exceeds or nearly exhausts a party’s income.’ Bolton v. Bolton, 898 So. 2d 1084, 1084 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); see also Miller v. Miller, 707 So. 2d 419, 419 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). This amount cannot be justified by requiring appellant to invade his relatively modest assets, because there was no evidence that the parties had relied on those assets to support their lifestyle during the intact marriage. See Goodman v. Goodman, 797 So. 2d 1282, 1285 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (noting the general rule that ‘a party does not have to invade the principal of non-marital assets in order to support a spouse at a standard of living never achieved during the marriage’). Moreover, and particularly because the court granted exclusive possession of the home to the wife, the trial court’s award left appellant with no funds for his own support. The trial court’s award constitutes an abuse of discretion.”
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