Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

Temporary support orders are entered in Florida family law cases to grant relief regarding alimony and child support before a trial is held. Trial can take several months or even years to reach, so temporary relief is a remedy that is vital for some parties. This was an issue in the case Johnson v. Johnson, 5D22-2800 (Fla. 5th DCA April 12, 2024).

In this pending divorce case, the husband was ordered to pay temporary alimony and child support to the wife. During the course of the case, a successor judge was appointed which resulted in conflicting orders being entered concerning the former husband’s temporary support obligations. Eventually, the former husband was held in contempt and ordered to pay arrears which were not requested by the former wife. The former husband appealed.

The appellate court reversed holding “First the trial court denied Husband due process by determining the amount of arrearages owed and ordering him to pay them when that relief was not sought by Wife.” The court continued “Second, the orders on appeal were not supported by competent, substantial evidence. Because Wife failed to present any evidence at the hearing, she necessarily failed to meet her burden of proving that he failed to pay the required obligations. [internal citation omitted]. Although the May 2021 order established Husband’s obligation to pay temporary alimony and child support, Wife incorrectly alleged in her motion and argued at the hearing that that order obligated Husband to pay $1,453 per month in alimony instead of $1,200. However, as we previously discussed in Footnote 1, the May 2021 order only required Husband to pay Wife $1,200 per month in temporary alimony. While the May 2021 order recognized Husband’s agreement to also pay $253 in monthly premiums for Wife’s health insurance, it did not order him to pay that amount directly to Wife as reimbursement for those premiums. Although the May 2021 order could have been clearer on this point, the court’s subsequent order on September 1, 2021, clarified that the May 2021 order directed Husband to pay ‘temporary alimony in the amount of $1,200.00 per month and child support in the amount of $295.00 per month, for a total of $1,495.00 per month.’”

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