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This paternity case involved an unmarried mother and an unmarried father in Hillsborough County, Florida. This litigation started when the child was 16 months old. The parties were initially able to settle matters involving their personal property. However, disputes...
Alimony - Standard of Review of Trial Court's Rulings in FloridaTrial Court's Decision on whether to award permanent alimony is subject to an abuse of discretion standard of review. "'A trial court's decision on whether to award permanent periodic alimony is subject...
A final judgment awarding alimony and child support creates a presumption that the payor has the ability to pay. The payor bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that the payor cannot pay. "The final judgment of support created a presumption that the father had the...
In awarding alimony, a trial court must make findings of fact for each factor, even if alimony is denied. "Here, the court simply denied the Former Wife's request for alimony because the Former Husband was going to make an equalizing payment and this was a short-term...
The remedies employed by the trial court should be viewed as a whole to determine whether they accomplish equity between the parties. "A trial court has broad discretion in determining which remedy to apply to accomplish equity between the parties in a dissolution...
Once a party is ordered to make an equitable distribution of funds, even if the value of those funds is diminished by market conditions, the dollar amount that is required to be distributed will not be diminished. "Even if Former Wife's half of the funds diminished...
(ix) An award of rehabilitative alimony must provide an end date for the payments. "Although the final judgment awards the Former Wife $3500 a month as rehabilitative alimony and states that the purpose was for the Former Wife to complete her education, the trial...
If the obligor fails to demonstrate his or her income during the retroactive period, the Court shall apply the current child support guidelines to calculate retroactive child support payments. "In addition, the ALJ erred in using Finch's current monthly income to...
Child Custody & Visitation - Exposure to the Religious Practices of Both Parents in Florida Children may be exposed to the religious practices of both parents. "The parties disagree regarding the religious upbringing of the children. The mother wishes to raise the...
