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

Can financial help from relatives be considered income in a Florida family law case? If the help is regular and expected to continue, it can be considered income that is imputed to a party for purposes of determining alimony and child support. This was an issue in the case Levy v. Levy, 3D22-1980 (Fla. 3d DCA March 6, 2024).

In this post-judgment litigation concerning time-sharing, the parties apparently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and costs. The former wife requested that the former husband pay her fees and costs due to the disparity in their incomes. The trial court made findings concerning the former wife’s living expenses which were being paid by her boyfriend and brother. It also determined that the former wife’s misconduct caused most of the litigation and it denied her request for fees. She appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding “While we have no quarrel with the broad conclusions within the trial court’s detailed order on appeal, we are compelled to remand to the trial court for additional findings of fact. For the trial court to factor both the inkind payments represented by her brother’s rent relief and the gifts of her boyfriend into Former Wife’s future income, the trial court must determine that these payments are ‘regular and expected.’”

The court concluded “Further, the trial court’s findings that Former Wife has caused the continuing post-dissolution litigation lack quantification. She has sought $104,295.77 in fees and costs, a portion of which is prospective. The trial court neither quantified the value of Former Wife’s litigation misconduct nor calculated a deduction from the interim fees and costs request that is the subject of this appeal. For this reason and at this juncture, the trial court’s outright denial of the Motion is not supported by competent, substantial evidence.”

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