In a recently decided alimony case captioned Barlow v. Barlow, the Florida Court of Appeal ruled that a trial court should utilize the most recent income figures available in calculating alimony and child support and not rely on past earnings. In this case the Husband appealed the trial court's ruling concerning the calculation of alimony and child support and the division of marital assets. The Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court made a mistake in calculating the Husband's bonus income. The Court reversed the lower court's ruling and required the trial court to retry the case.
Paternity Cases in West Palm Beach, Florida
In paternity unwed/unmarried parents cases, gifts from the paying party's family members and gifts from the paying party's boyfriends and girlfriend may be included in calculating the paying party's income. In a recently decided case captioned Wood v. Wood, the father started working for a company owned by his girlfriend. In his financial affidavit the father listed his monthly income. The trial court found that the father earned a salary from the father's employment, but also believed that another source was paying the father's expenses. The trial court imputed additional income to the father from his family and from his girlfriend. When the case was presented to the Florida Court of Appeal, the father argued that the trial court misunderstood his financial circumstances and argued that the trial court's ruling was erroneous. The Court of Appeal agreed with the father and found that the trial court's ruling was based on speculation. The Florida Court of Appeal and reversed the lower court's ruling.
