Below are summaries of recent decisions from Florida's appellate courts on Florida divorce and family law issues. Clicking on the case name allows you to view the appellate opinion described in the analysis below. These summaries are courtesy of Bruce Law Firm, P.A., a law firm limited to representation of clients in the mediation, litigation and appeals of Florida marital and family law matters. The firm also created and maintains the family law focused appellate resources website DivorceCourtAppeals.com.
Case: Haritos v. Haritos
Court: Second District Court of Appeal.
Trial Judge: Patricia A. Muscarella.
Attorneys: O. George Bamis, Nancy S. Paikoff, Steven J. Glaros.
Issues: Child Support, Alimony, Procedure.
Holding: A temporary relief order does not merge into a final judgment where the final judgment provides that the trial court jurisdiction to later resolve property, custody and support issues. In this case, the trial court erred as it failed to enter a final judgment disposing of the financial aspects of the parties' dissolution. The appeals court reversed and remanded.
Case: Edge v. Edge
Court: Second District Court of Appeal.
Trial Judge: G. Keith Cary.
Attorneys: Robert L. Donald, Paul A. Rocuant.
Issues: Alimony, Procedure.
Holding: Certain statutory requirements guide a trial court’s calculations of a party’s income for the purpose of awarding child support or alimony. For instance, a trial court must not exclude from consideration bonuses that are regular and continuous. Also, when calculating child support, voluntary retirement payments are not included as allowable deductions. An appeals court must reverse if there have been inaccurate calculations. In this case, the trial court erred in calculating the Former Husband's income. Specifically, the trial court erroneously used the amount of gross income that he reported on his financial affidavit, despite his later evidence that it had increased, and excluded employment bonuses noting that they were discretionary. Nor should it have deducted mandatory retirement payments. The appeals court reversed and remanded.
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The Bruce Law Firm, P.A. is limited to the resolution of marital and family la w matters in Florida’s trial and appellate courts. The firm handles divorce litigation in South Florida and accepts referrals for appellate representation in all of Florida’s appellate courts. The firm pays referral fees in accordance with Florida Bar Rules for appellate matters, which are handled primarily on a fixed fee basis with a limited money back promise if the brief is not filed within 45 days of the firm receiving the transcript and record on appeal.