In the following interspousal tort case, the Wife attempted to state a cause of action against the Husband for negligent infliction of a sexually transmitted disease, in this case HPV. The complaint is dismissed on two grounds, but the court finds that the cause of action is generally viable, although there must be allegations that […]
Tag: dissolution of marriage
Does Title Matter?
When fashioning an equitable distribution plan, does it matter that assets are titled solely to one spouse or the other? The answer is: Yes and no. Think of the assets and liabilities of a marriage collectively as a pie. From the standpoint of determining what goes into the pie filling, legal title is irrelevant. Everything […]
P.E.A.C.E. In Divorce
Family law attorneys are often asked if there is an order in which the Court decides various issues in a divorce. The answer is, yes. The acronym P.E.A.C.E. sets forth the order in which the Court will determine the issues in your case. P.E.A.C.E. stands for: (P)arenting; (E)quitable Distribution; (A)limony; (C)hild Support; and(E)verything Else. Why […]
Corporations In Divorce
These days it is not unusual for a married couple to have one or more businesses that are incorporated as Corporations or Limited Liability Companies (LLC). When divorce comes up, a question should be asked “should the corporation be made a party?” If a spouse wants to have property that is owned by a corporation […]
Modifiability Of Asset And Liability Distribution
Simply put, when a Final Judgment is entered which distributes the marital assets and liabilities to the now-former spouses, the trial court loses the ability (jurisdiction) to modify the distribution at some later date. There are a few exceptions to that general rule, but the exceptions would only apply in very narrow situations. Absent those […]
Imputing Income To An Unemployed Spouse – Paying Alimony
Imputation of income is an important legal concept for anyone who pays alimony to understand. If a former spouse who pays alimony (“payor spouse”) becomes unemployed, that payor spouse’s request to terminate, suspend, or reduce his or her alimony payments could be denied by the Court if the Court imputes income to that payor spouse. […]
How Does The Florida Court Fashion A Time-Sharing Plan
How does the Florida Court fashion a time-sharing plan? If parents are unable or unwilling to agree to time-sharing plan in mediation, the Court will dictate how much time each parent spends with the children. The Court must consider the best interests of the child(ren) when determining the time-sharing schedule. The factors considered by the […]
The IRS Alimony Recapture Rule
Ordinarily alimony is deductible from the payor’s gross income, and includable in the recipient’s gross income, for income tax purposes. Thus there is some tax advantage to paying alimony. But, that advantage can be eliminated if you don’t pay heed to the IRS’ Alimony Recapture Rule (I.R.C. § 71(f)). If you are caught in the […]
How Is The Marital Estate Determined?
Everything that a spouse acquires from the day that the marriage occurred to the day that a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed is marital by default. That includes assets and liabilities, however they are titled. We start with the assumption that all of those things are marital and thus part of the marital […]
Attorney’s Fees Related To Unnecessary or Bad Faith Litigation
Generally, the purpose of an attorney’s fee award in dissolution of marriage cases is to ensure that both parties have similar access to counsel and can thus fight the action on nearly equal footing. Thus, in a case where one party is in a far superior financial position, that party may be ordered to pay […]