Tag: Alimony

Fast Break Alimony

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

According to various reports, former NBA lottery pick, Shelden Williams, may get a massive, lump sum, $400,000 alimony check from his WNBA star wife, Candace Parker. This post is about lump sum alimony.

Slam Dunk

That is the reported marital settlement agreement between Williams, and his wife, WNBA Los Angeles Sparks star, Candace Parker. Parker, one of the biggest stars in WNBA history, married Williams two years after he was selected 5th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Despite the fact that her husband reportedly made more than $12m during his 6-year NBA career, Parker has apparently done better, and agreed to shell out the $400,000 alimony payment. In exchange, she won’t have to pay ongoing spousal support.

Florida Lump Sum Alimony

Lump sum alimony is not a form of alimony, but really a method of payment of alimony or equitable distribution.

I’ve written about various types of alimony before. Any form of alimony, durational, bridge the gap, etc., may be paid as lump sum alimony. Lump sum alimony can also be paid in installments.

Lump sum alimony is available where special circumstances exist to pay other forms of alimony in a lump sum. It may be comprised of real property too. A lump sum payment establishes a fixed monetary obligation which vests immediately, is non-modifiable, and does not terminate upon death or remarriage.

So, if the need for alimony exists, there must be some special circumstances to explain why non-modifiable award is appropriate.

Special circumstances may include a payor who has a history of non-payments. It may also be appropriate if the parties are of advanced age and close to retirement.

Full Court Press

Drafted No. 1 overall by the Sparks in 2008, Parker led the franchise to a championship during the 2016 season and was named MVP of the WNBA Finals. She has also played overseas for professional teams in Europe and China.

Williams was the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. The former Duke star played six seasons in the NBA before playing in France and China until 2015.

Parker and Williams married in 2008. They also have an 8-year-old daughter. According to reports, the couple agreed to joint legal and physical custody over their daughter. Child support is also interesting. According to reports, neither party will pay child support to the other. Instead, they both agreed to equally fund her education and split any major costs associated with her care.

The Bleacher Report article is here.

 

Upcoming Speaking Engagement

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

I will be speaking at the Florida Bar Family Law Section and AAML’s, Marital & Family Law Review Course in Orlando on Friday, January 26th. I will be discussing interstate child custody, interstate family support, and The Hague Convention on international child abductions.

Interstate Custody

Parents move from state to state for various reasons. It is a matter I have often written about . Whether children are moved by parents wrongfully or not, moving creates interstate custody and child support and spousal support problems. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and The Hague Convention on Child Abduction, can work together in those cases.

International Child Abductions

You should become familiar with the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, also known as The Hague Convention. This international treaty exists to protect children from international abductions by requiring the prompt return to their habitual residence.

The Hague Convention applies only in jurisdictions that have signed the convention, and its reach is limited to children ages 16 and under. Essentially, The Hague Convention helps families more quickly revert back to the “status quo” child custody arrangement before an unlawful child abduction.

If your ex has taken your children out of the country against your will, the Hague Convention can help you get them back.

Interstate Family Support

The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act is one of the uniform acts drafted by the Uniform Law Commission. First developed in 1992, the UIFSA resolves interstate jurisdictional disputes about which states can properly establish and modify child support and spousal support orders.

The UIFSA also controls the issue of enforcement of family support obligations within the United States.

In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which required all U.S. states adopt UIFSA, or face loss of federal funding for child support enforcement.

Every U.S. state has adopted some version of UIFSA to resolve interstate disputes about support.

Certification Review

It is a privilege to be asked to address interstate custody and international child abductions at the annual Family Law Board Certification Seminar again.

The annual seminar is the largest, and most prestigious advanced family law course in the state. Last year’s audience included over 1,600 attorneys and judges from around the state.

The review course is co-presented by the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar, and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

More information is available here.

 

New Alimony Penalty

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

The GOP proposed tax plan has something for everyone. Including a huge surprise for divorcing couples: a tax penalty for divorce. The new law may dramatically change how we treat alimony for taxes, and whether your case will settle.

As Business Insider reports, the tax bill released last week could drastically change the tax treatment of alimony. Currently, alimony is tax-deductible for the paying spouse and taxable to the receiving spouse.

But if you get divorced after the plan is enacted, that would change: Alimony would be paid out of after-tax dollars and would be tax-free to the recipient.

This change would tend to increase the total amount of tax paid by divorced couples, since the ex-spouse who pays alimony is typically the one with the higher income and who faces a higher tax bracket.

Florida Alimony

In Florida a court can grant alimony to either party. There are different types of alimony a court can order: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent, or any combination of these forms of alimony. In any award of alimony, the court may order periodic payments or payments in lump sum or both.

The court can even consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.

But the very first finding the court has to make in determining whether to award alimony is whether either party has an actual need for alimony or maintenance and whether either party has the ability to pay alimony or maintenance.

If so, the court must consider all relevant factors, including, the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage, the age and the physical and emotional condition of each party, and the financial resources of each party, among other factors.

Alimony Tax Reform

I have written about alimony and taxes, and alimony reform proposals for many years. This time the proposal comes from Congress, no the Florida Legislature.

All told, the proposed change under the tax proposal would lead to the federal government collecting an additional $8.3 billion in taxes from divorced couples over the next 10 years, according to the bill summary.

Arguably, imposing such a substantial tax penalty on divorce could encourage people to stick it out and make their marriages work. But it could also financially trap people in unhappy marriages.

One argument for this change is that it would be easier for the IRS to administer, and IRS data shows that alimony sometimes shows up deducted on one ex-spouse’s return but is not reported as income by the other ex-spouse.

The Impact on Divorces

There are many ways to settle a divorce case and render a judgment. And, one of the most important facts to consider in any divorce is the tax deduction for alimony payments.

Overwhelmingly, divorces include some sort of alimony payment provision. The problem for the new tax bill is that if couples are less likely to reach an agreement on alimony, divorce proceedings could become more gridlocked, time consuming and expensive.

The Business Insider article is here.

 

The Hoff is Modifying Alimony

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

The Final Judgment for divorce is not always the end of the case. After the final decree has been signed by the judge, there can be disagreements over custody for instance, and people’s fortunes can change for the worse, leading to alimony modification.

The Hoff

Modifying alimony because of a change in circumstances is a matter actor David Hasselhoff knows well. I wrote before on the actor and his ex-wife, Pamela Bach, reaching a post-judgment agreement lowering his alimony payments to $10,000 a month in alimony, almost half of what he paid her previously.

The Baywatch actor originally filed legal documents in April 2016 to either completely cut off or significantly reduce spousal support to his ex-wife, whom he divorced after 16 years of marriage in 2006.

The Hoff’s request for alimony modification is based on financial reasons. In a later filing, he claimed he had “less than $4,000 in liquid assets” to his name, and that he “recently had to withdraw additional funds from my retirement plan in order to pay for my living expenses.”

The actor had also claimed he’d paid in excess of $2.3 million to his ex-wife since they divorced 10 years ago, not including the money he has spent supporting his daughters, who were teenagers at the time of the split.

Florida Alimony Modification

In Florida, in order to modify alimony, the paying party requesting alimony modification must show three fundamental prerequisites: (1) a substantial change in circumstances, (2) the change was not contemplated at the time of the final judgment of dissolution, and (3) that the change is sufficient, material, involuntary and permanent in nature.

There are many reasons for seeking an alimony modification in your payments: loss of a job, injury and retirement. The Supreme Court of Florida has addressed the impact of retirement on support obligations in Florida.

To determine whether a voluntary retirement is reasonable, courts must consider, in part, the payor’s age, health, and motivation for retirement, as well as the type of work the payor performs and the age at which others engaged in that line of work normally retire. There are additional criteria a court must consider as well.

Back to the Hoff

TMZ reports that Pamela Bach may be seeking alimony modification, only in the other direction: up. According to the article, a rep for Hasselhoff’s ex reports that she worked hard on David’s behalf during their marriage, which is more than enough reason to continue supporting her now.

Pam contributed a number of services toward his career — everything from consulting, accounting and handling administrative duties to keeping up with the house and kids … whom she still considers under her parental care, even at 25 and 27.

The TMZ article is here.

 

Pet Alimony?

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Sarah Bronilla is suing her ex-husband, Joshua Rosen, for over $32,000 in alimony. No, not alimony for herself, but for their pampered English bulldog, Lola. The case arising out of New York may be one of the first “dogimony” cases.

As the New York Daily News reports, when Sarah Bronilla and Joshua Rosen separated in 2012 – after six years of marriage – Rosen agreed he would pay Bronilla $200 in monthly “dogimony”, she says in her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against him for pet alimony.

Florida Alimony

In Florida, alimony is governed by the Florida Statutes and relevant case law. The starting point in any alimony case is whether there is an actual need for alimony by a spouse, and the ability of the paying spouse to pay for alimony.

However, Florida Statutes are silent as to pet alimony.

I have written about divorce and pet issues several times. Pet custody, or who gets the pet dog, is a frequent problem. Alaska became the first state to enact a pet custody law.

A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in Rhode Island which is very similar to the law of Alaska which was enacted this year. The Rhode Island bill requires judges to “consider the best interest of the animal” in a divorce or separation. Currently, there is no such provision in the works in Florida.

Florida does not have any pet specific custody or divorce laws. In fact, the alimony law is written in such a way that the court can only grant alimony to a party, not a pet of the parties.

Just because there is no specific law authorizing pet alimony does not mean: ‘that dog won’t hunt!’ People are free to enter into marital settlement agreements which make provision for support, such as pet alimony, that the law does not.

Those contracts could be enforceable as Mr. Rosen in New York may find out.

New York Pet Alimony

According to the New York complaint, Rosen not only agreed he would pay $200 in monthly pet alimony, or “dogimony”, Rosen also agreed to cover total food costs and half of the vet bills for the pet dog.

But the ‘deadbeat dog dad’ has skipped out on his financial obligations for pet alimony, Bronilla alleges in the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Bronilla says she has had to cover $12,000 for upkeep, $18,000 for food and $2,335 for health costs for the pooch, described as “fawn-colored” in the lawsuit.

In addition to the unpaid pet alimony, Bronilla claims Rosen owes her around another $100,000 related to their settlement agreement, including money from a portion of a business he sold.

The New York Daily News article is here.

 

Is the Length of Your Marriage Important?

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer were married in 1978, and they’re still together after 39 years. But, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries broke up after 72 days. What is the impact of the duration of your marriage on divorce?

Quickest Hollywood Marriages

After only one month of marriage, Golnes “GG” Gharachedaghi decided to end her marriage because “certain facts have come to GG’s attention that have made her realize her marriage can no longer continue, and, in fact, should never have happened.”

Britney Spears and Jason Alexander lasted for a whopping 55 hours in January 2004.

Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas were married when she was only 19 after only 6 weeks of dating. They filed for divorce after less than two months of marriage.

Florida and Length of Marriage

In Florida, the duration of marriage plays a very important role in divorce cases. I’ve written about the types of alimony awards available in Florida before. For instance, Florida Statutes dealing with alimony specifically limit the type of alimony awards based on the duration of the marriage.

So, for determining alimony, there is a rebuttable presumption that a short-term marriage is a marriage less than 7-years, a moderate-term marriage is greater than 7-years but less than 17-years, and long-term marriage is 17-years or greater.

Florida defines the duration of marriage as the period of time from the date of marriage until the date of filing of an action for dissolution of marriage.

The duration of marriage is also a factor in property divisions. When a court distributes the marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court begins with the premise of an equal split.

However, there are times and cases which justify an unequal distribution based on several relevant factors. One of the factors a court can consider is the duration of marriage, in addition to other factors.

Celebrity Marriages

Given how important the duration of marriage can be for awarding alimony, and considering an unequal distribution of property, the marriage between Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley – in which Cage filed for divorce a mere 108 days later – would have a very different result than the marriage between Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick, which is going on 26-years.

The eonline article is here.

 

Divorce and Adultery

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

South Korea’s Constitutional Court revoked a law that imposed a penalty of up to two years in prison for adultery — but adulterous spouses are not allowed to divorce their spouses. What is the role of divorce and adultery in Florida.

South Korea’s New Law

The South Korean case concerned a 68-year-old plaintiff who left his wife and three children to move in with another woman 15 years ago. He was unable to arrange a divorce with his separated wife, so he sued to get one in 2011.

South Korean law states that the person responsible for a marriage’s failure isn’t permitted to file for divorce, though divorce settlements can be arranged with cooperating spouses.

Lower court decisions upheld this statute and dismissed Baek’s suit because he had conducted an extramarital affair, but he and his lawyers challenged its legitimacy.

South Korea is a conservative country that is still ironing out the legal parameters for marital infidels. The Constitutional Court’s decision to decriminalize adultery was based on the idea that a person’s right to pursue happiness includes the freedom to conduct a private sex life.

The sharp division of the court’s decision in the case, with seven justices ruling against six, suggests that the argument for freedom of choice in personal matters held considerable sway, but it was defeated out of concern for spousal and child welfare.

Divorce and Adultery

Adultery can be the cause of a divorce, but can it impact the outcome? This is a subject I’ve written about previously. After Florida became a no-fault state, the fact that, “he (or she) is sleeping with a co-worker” doesn’t hold much traction in court any more.

Anyone can file for divorce without proving any reason for it other than the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Or is it? When is adultery relevant in divorce?

In Florida divorce and adultery mix. There is still a statutory basis for infidelity to be an issue in your divorce proceedings, but not in the way most people think. Here’s a quick review of when adultery can potentially creep into your divorce:

Parenting Plans/Custody

Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes mentions that the “the moral fitness of the parents” as one of the factors the court considers in determining the best interests of a child.

So, if one parent can prove that the other parent’s adultery had, or is reasonably likely to have, an adverse impact on the child, the judge can consider adultery in evaluating what’s in the best interest of the child.

Equitable Distribution

Adultery may impact the division of property under Florida Statutes. Florida is an equitable distribution state, and it is presumed that property should be evenly divided.

This presumption may be overcome by proof that one spouse intentionally wasted marital assets. This waste is sometimes known as dissipation. Paying for expensive jewelry, foreign trips, rent, car payments, and dinners for girlfriends and boyfriends is considered wasting marital assets.

In Florida, the court has the power to reduce an adulterer’s equitable distribution to credit the marital estate for waste.

Alimony

Florida law specifically provides that a court may consider the adultery of either spouse in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.

However, courts have struggled to reconcile the “fault” of adultery with the concept of “no fault” divorce. The result is a mix of opinions depending on the judges.

Back to South Korea

South Korea still has no law that provides for alimony or child support in divorce; divorce settlements generally provide for this assistance, if they are agreed upon.

If the court were to allow philandering husbands to divorce their wives outright, the court explained, this would potentially force many wronged women into financial difficulty.

Despite the election of Park Geun-hye as the country’s first female president two years ago, gender inequality persists in South Korea.

Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that South Korea has the highest gender wage gap among the organization’s 33-member states, with a median wage disparity of 36.6% in favor of men.

South Korea criminalized adultery in 1953 to protect women at a time when they were generally reliant on their husbands financially and confined to domestic duties.

Divorce could leave them stigmatized and vulnerable, facing considerable difficulty in finding employment or a new spouse.

The adultery law was intended as a safeguard that granted women a measure of legal power over their husbands.

The article is here.

 

Divorce and Illegal Income

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Scott Shadle threatened to divorce his wife if she stopped turning over money from their prostitution business – which they ran from their apartment. Scott and Rebecca’s prostitution business raises a question: what do you do with an illegal marital business and illegal income?

A Marital Prostitution Business

Police say Scott Shadle had posted online ads charging for sex with his wife, Rebecca Shadle, 38. The alleged sex-for-cash business took place at Eastmont Estates apartments in Greensburg, Pa.

According to TribLive.com, police have text messages detailing discussions between the pair over how much money to charge for sex and how much of the proceeds Rebecca Shadle would then turn over to her husband.

The texts also document a martial spat between the couple that grew out of the alleged home-operated prostitution business.

When Rebecca Shadle threatened to cut off the money, her husband texted “that he would file divorce papers and call her caseworker,” court documents state.

Rebecca Shadle, 38, of Greensburg, Pa., is also accused of charging her male sex customers extra to touch a 7-year-old-girl entrusted to her car. She faces charges of trafficking of a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual exploitation of children, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

She allegedly was charging her male customers extra to touch a 7-year-old-girl entrusted to her care. She faces charges of trafficking of a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual exploitation of children, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

Florida and Illegal Income

The article from Pennsylvania does not indicate how much illegal income the couple made from their prostitution business. But, the question still remains: can the value of the business, and the illegal income generated from prostitution, be used to calculate alimony or child support?

In short, no. I’ve written on the subject of alimony and support before. The problem is that a Florida court cannot base a future award of alimony or child support on a future illegal income from a career consisting of vice and criminality.

Generally, it is against public policy to base a court order of support upon the assumption that a husband or a wife will violate the law in order to acquire the necessary funds to pay for support.

It makes sense, and there’s a simple reason for this public policy. If we were to base an order of support or alimony on anticipated unlawful conduct, and illegal income, the courts would not only be recognizing illegal activity, but also encouraging the future violation of the law by spouses.

The Shadle Family Business

Police say Rebecca has acknowledged being a prostitute and letting two men inappropriately touch the girl. Her husband, Scott Shadle, faces three counts related to promotion of prostitution. A pair of alleged customers face sex charges in the case related to their alleged contact with the 7-year-old girl.

The Fox News article is here.

 

Temporary Alimony

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Grammy Award winner, Mary J. Blige, is the only artist with Grammy Awards in R&B, Rap, Gospel, and Pop. She was just ordered to pay her husband, Martin Isaacs, $30,000 month in temporary alimony. For someone who sang the famous: “No More Drama” song, her divorce is anything but.

Dirty Tricks

Mary and her husband Martin married back in 2003. The divorce cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The couple has no children together. Mary asked the judge to deny Martin’s ability to get spousal support.

I have written about their divorce before, when she accused Martin of having spent $420,000 of the parties’ marital funds. Martin was Mary’s manager. So, it could be that much of the money allegedly spent on himself or a girlfriend can be chalked it up as “travel charges.” However, Mary alleges the $420,000 in expenses were not business-related.

While the issue of waste remains unsettled, the issue of paying temporary alimony to Martin is not.

Alimony

Generally, Florida Statutes provide that in any proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the trial court can grant alimony to either party. There are many types of alimony in Florida a judge has discretion to award, including: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent.

Also pursuant to Florida law, temporary alimony can be awarded to either spouse if a spouse requests it during a dissolution of marriage action.

The standard for awarding temporary alimony is the same as when the trial court considers a request for permanent alimony, namely, the parties’ standard of living along with the need of the petitioning spouse and the ability of the other spouse to pay.

Sometimes the spouse asking for temporary alimony has significant assets to live on. In cases in which people have significant cash in the bank to support themselves while the suit is pending, courts should not always award temporary alimony, even if the other spouse is able to pay it.

However, if the spouse asking for a temporary alimony has a net worth four times that of the other spouse, especially if their annual income is more, it is unlikely that the spouse would be entitled to an award of temporary alimony. Temporary alimony might not be awarded if the temporary financial award exceeds or nearly exhausts the paying party’s income.

Drama

While Blige and Isaacs have no biological children together, the significant temporary alimony award was designed to accommodate the “style of living” Isaacs was accustomed to while he was married to Blige.

“My success as an entertainer has nothing to do with [Isaacs]. I was successful when I met him and have continued to enjoy success, although there have certainly been ups and downs,” Blige claimed, per E!.

The Grammy-winning singer also explained that she was in debt as she made no money from the European leg of her recent tour.

Worse still for the singer, Blige also has to pay her husband alimony retroactively – dating back to September – as well as account for his attorney fees for a total of $235,000.

The Yahoo article is here.

 

Florida Alimony Reform: R.I.P.

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Alimony reform in Florida will have to wait. With 35 days left in the Legislative session, the bills are not getting a hearing in either the House or the Senate, meaning the alimony reform bills will likely die in committee.

Florida Alimony

In Florida, alimony is awarded to a spouse when there is a need for it, and the other spouse has the ability to pay for alimony. Alimony can take various forms.

For example, alimony can be awarded to “bridge the gap” between married and single life. This is usually a short term form of alimony, and in fact, can’t exceed two years.

Alimony can also be rehabilitative – to help a party in establishing the capacity for self-support by developing skills or credentials; or acquiring education, training, or work experience. The underlying goal is to get you into a position where you can take care of expenses without assistance.

Durational Alimony is awarded when permanent periodic alimony is inappropriate. The purpose of durational alimony is to provide you with economic assistance for a time after a short or moderate term marriage, or even long marriages, if there is no ongoing need for support on a permanent basis.

Permanent Alimony is awarded to provide for your needs and necessities of life as they were established during your marriage, if you lack the financial ability to meet your needs and necessities of life following a divorce. However, a court has to find that there is no other form of alimony that would be fair and reasonable.

Although people often think of alimony as paid on a monthly basis, it can be awarded in a lump sum or be a combination of the two. In making a determination of whether or not to award alimony, the court may consider non-monetary factors.

Alimony Reform

Alimony reform is a nationwide phenomenon. A few states have already limited alimony, especially in cases where the marriage is less than 20 years.

Florida is not alone in moving for alimony reform. Currently, there are two bills in Florida trying to be passed to amend our alimony statute. However, many state bills, like Florida’s, are in progress, or are constantly evolving.

Unlike child support, which is common when a divorcing couple has kids, alimony awards have always been very rare, going from about 25% of cases in the 1960s to about 10% today. In one study of Wisconsin cases, it was only 8.6%.

Florida’s Alimony Reform Bill

This year’s bills would have provided judges with a set of guidelines for calculating alimony, and would also have provided judges and lawyers reasons to deviate from the proposed alimony guidelines in special cases.

I wrote about the failure of the alimony reform bills before. First, in 2015, when the Florida House of Representatives made a surprising end of their session, killing all bills.

Last year, Governor Scott vetoed a similar bill, but last year’s bill had a major difference. Last year’s bill added a provision that made equal timesharing a presumption in every case. Because of the equal timesharing presumption, the governor vetoed last year’s bill.

Withering on the Vine

For people who oppose alimony reform, there is good news: the bills are dead for the year. Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, the Naples Republican who’s carrying the Senate version (SB 412), this week said the chair of its first committee of reference refused to hear the alimony bill.

“Chairman Garcia determined that he was not interested in hearing it and I respect that decision,” Passidomo said. “I don’t think leadership weighed in on it.”

Sen. Passidomo also noted that the House version of the bill (HB 283), sponsored by Lakeland Republican state Rep. Colleen Burton, has also not gotten a hearing. Given that the House subcommittees are wrapping up work this week, that virtually dooms the legislation there.

The Florida Politics article is available here.