Lake Worth Divorce Attorney Observes Alimony & Child Support Case
The divorce lawyers of Nugent & Zborowski are marital & family law attorneys who serve as Lake Worth Divorce Lawyers, Lake Worth Child Support Attorneys, Lake Worth Alimony Lawyers and Lake Worth Appellate Attorneys.
This Lake Worth Divorce Lawyer recently reviewed an appellate decision from the Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal that examined the calculation of child support-related issues and the determination of the appropriate amount of permanent alimony.
In Zinovoy v. Zinovoy, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D34a (Fla. 2d DCA Dec. 29, 2010), the wife challenged the adequacy of the amount of permanent alimony awarded to her and the trial court’s allocation of financial responsibility for unreimbursed medical expenses related to the parties’ minor children.
As to the medical expenses, the appellate court held that the trial court erred by entering an order that required the parties to divide their children’s unreimbursed medical expenses in a proportion that differed from each party’s responsibility for child support: “[W]ife contends that the trial court’s 50/50 allocation of unreimbursed medical expenses was error because it conflicted with the final judgment’s child support allocation. This contention has merit. See § 61.30(8), Fla. Stat. (2009); Wilcox v. Munoz, 35 So. 3d 136, 141 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (“It is error for the court to equally divide the noncovered medical, dental, and prescription medication expenses when the court arrives at an unequal percentage share of child support.”). In other words, absent some logically established rationale in the final judgment to the contrary, collateral child support expenses must be allocated in the same percentage as the child support allocation. Because the final judgment on appeal contains no such rationale, we must reverse and remand this portion of the final judgment and direct the trial court to enter an amended final judgment consistent with controlling case law.”
As to alimony, the appellate court noted that the trial court awarded an alimony award that was lower than what was requested by both the wife and husband, and reversed for a determination of an appropriate award that was in between the amount requested by the parties:
“Although a trial court can find that a party’s estimate of expenses is inflated, the record evidence must support that finding. See, e.g., Schwab v. Schwab, 864 So. 2d 82, 84 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003) (“[T]he wife’s financial affidavit includes several expenses that appear inflated. . . . There is no competent, substantial record evidence to establish that these amounts were derived from the standard of living shared by the parties . . . .”); Atkins v. Atkins, 611 So. 2d 570, 572 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) (“[T]he trial court found that ‘the Wife’s financial affidavit is significantly inflated’ . . ., and there is ample evidence to support such a finding.”). It is the function of the appellate court to determine whether the trial court’s judgment is supported by competent evidence, and when the trial court’s factual findings do not substantially comport with undisputed evidence in critical areas a per se abuse of discretion has occurred. See Shaw v. Shaw, 334 So. 2d 13, 16 (Fla. 1976). Hence, we must reject the husband’s contention that the trial court acted reasonably in exercising its discretion because its judgment was based upon erroneously recounted critical facts.
On remand, while we cannot instruct the trial court as to the exact alimony amount to award, we can safely say based on the record that the monthly alimony amount should be no lower than the amount to which the husband’s expert testified and no higher than the amount which the wife requested. Due to the passage of time, the parties may present additional testimony and argument to assist the trial court in making a proper determination. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for reconsideration of the amount of alimony to be awarded to the wife.”
Click Lake Worth Divorce Attorney Resources to see a copy of the opinion in Zinovoy v. Zinovoy.
The Lake Worth Divorce Lawyers of Nugent & Zborowski practice marital and family law in and around Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Martin County. For more information, or to schedule a consultation, call 561.844.1200, click Lake Worth Divorce Attorney, or visit the firm’s website, www.nugentlawfirm.com.
Filed Under Alimony, Child Support, Lake Worth Divorce Attorney, Lake Worth Divorce Lawyer