No Marriage Means No Alimony… and No Distribution
You cannot receive alimony or equitable distribution if you were never married. This might seem obvious, but sometimes there are people who think they are married but the law says otherwise.
The West Palm Beach divorce lawyers and attorneys of Nugent & Zborowski recently observed this scenario in Betemariam v. Said, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2542a (Fla. 4th DCA, Nov. 17, 2010). In Betemariam, the Wife believed that the parties were legally married in Virginia before the couple relocated to Florida with their two children.
However, once the Wife filed for divorce in Florida, from what she thought was her successful radiologist-husband, it was brought to the attention of the court that the parties had never actually obtained a marriage license in Virginia. Although parties were married by their Imam in a religious ceremony, they never obtained a marriage license in Virginia.
The Betemariam court held that the marriage was not valid because neither party obtained a marriage license. The Court noted that the Wife had several previous marriages, so she should have known that a license was required to form a valid marriage. Because the marriage was not valid, the trial court did not have the ability to award the “wife” alimony, or to equitably distribute the parties’ assets.
Essentially, what the Betemariam held was that the case needed to be treated as a paternity case, and, thus, the Court awarded child support and developed a parenting plan for the parties’ children. However, there was no alimony awarded to the “wife”.
It should be noted that the Court applied Virginia law to determine whether there was a valid marriage. Chapter 741, Florida Statutes lays out the legal requirements for a valid marriage in Florida (click here for a link to the statute), which are largely the same as the requirements in Virginia.
Click here to see the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Betemariam.
For more information, call 561.844.1200 or click here to arrange to speak to a divorce lawyer with Nugent & Zborowski about your divorce, annulment or paternity case.
The West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Nugent and Zborowski are West Palm Beach divorce attorneys, and also serve as Boca Raton divorce lawyers; Palm Beach Gardens divorce lawyers; Jupiter alimony attorneys; grandparents’ rights attorneys; and fathers’ rights attorneys. For more information or to schedule a consultation call (561) 844-1200 or visit the firm’s website, www.nugentlawfirm.com.
Filed Under Alimony, Equitable Distribution, PaternityComments
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