PAULA K. SMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
SAMUEL A. SMITH, JR., APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Paula Smith appealed a divorce judgment that denied her alimony request and imposed restrictions on her social activities with unrelated men at her home. The appellate court affirmed the denial of alimony but reversed the restrictions on her social activities, finding them overly broad and unsupported by findings regarding the children's welfare.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying alimony, and that denial is affirmed. However, the trial court erred in imposing restrictions on the wife's social activities; those restrictions are reversed because they are overly broad, unsupported by findings that such visitors would adversely affect the children's welfare, and represent an improper attempt to regulate the wife's private life.
[1] A trial court does not abuse its discretion by denying lump sum and rehabilitative alimony when supported by the record.
[2] A trial court's order restricting a party's social activities is overbroad and an improper attempt to regulate private life when it is not narrowly tailored and lacks spe…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“an improper attempt to regulate the private life of the . . . wife”
Establishes the fundamental principle that courts may not impose blanket restrictions on a divorcing spouse's social activities without specific findings of harm to children.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePaula and Samuel Smith divorced and had two minor children in the wife's custody. The trial court awarded the wife exclusive use and possession of the…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Exclusive Use and Possession cases and more on FLexlaw
THOMPSON, Judge.
This is an appeal from a Final Judgment which dissolved the marriage between the parties herein. The appellant (“the wife”) first argues that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to grant her awards of lump sum and rehabilitative alimony. However, after carefully considering the briefs of counsel and the record herein, we have determined that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and we affirm the denial of alimony for the wife. See Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1202-03 (Fla.1980).
The wife also asserts that the trial court erred by placing certain restrictions upon her social activities. We agree and reverse on this point.
In pertinent part, Paragraph Five of the Final Judgment states that the wife “shall not have [a certain gentleman] nor any other men to whom she is not related on the premises of the residence owned by [the husband] for social reasons.” [sic] The record shows that the residence owned by the husband is the former marital home. The wife was awarded the exclusive use and possession of this home for a specified period of time, while the husband retained his ownership of the home.
In effect, the trial court has ruled that the wife may not have any unrelated men visit her on a social basis at her home. The husband argues that the purpose of this ruling is to protect the parties’ two minor children, who will be in the wife’s custody. However, the trial court made no such finding, nor is this portion of the court’s prohibition against unrelated male social visitors contingent upon the presence of the children at the home. Accordingly, the trial court’s ruling, as set out above, is over-broad, see Draper v. Draper, 1981 Fla.L.W. 146 (Fla.2d DCA, opinion filed Dec. 24, 1980), and it represents “an improper attempt to regulate the private life of the . . . wife.” Wambst v. Wambst, 391 So. 2d 375 (Fla.3d DCA 1980).
Paragraph Five of the Final Judgment also provides that the wife is not “allowed to have any men to whom she is not related visit in her residence or at [certain riverfront property] while the children are present.” The record shows that the residence referred to is the same residence mentioned above, while the riverfront property is a fishing camp which is now owned by the parties as tenants in common.
In effect, the trial court has ruled that the wife may not have any unrelated men visit her on a social basis at her home or at her fishing camp, while the children are present. However, this ruling was made without the required finding that unrelated male visitors would adversely affect the children’s welfare. See Draper, 1981 Fla.L.W. at 146. See also Trylko v. Trylko, 392 So. 2d 1034, 1035-36 (Fla.2d DCA 1981). Moreover, there must be competent substantial evidence showing that the wife’s social contact with unrelated male visitors at her home or fishing camp would adversely affect the children if they were present. See Trylko, 392 So. 2d at 1035-36; Draper, 1981 Fla.L.W. at 313. Such evidence does not appear in the record herein. Cf. Hack-ley v. Hackley, 380 So. 2d 446 (Fla.5th DCA 1979); Dinkel v. Dinkel, 322 So. 2d 22, 23-24 (Fla.1975).
We reverse those portions of Paragraph Five that were discussed above. In doing so, we note that “[i]f, after an award of custody, a custodial parent engages in conduct or associations that adversely affect the minor children, the court has continuing jurisdiction to enter appropriate orders to protect [those] children.” Draper, 1981 Fla.L.W. at 146.
LARRY G. SMITH, J. and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Associate Judge (Ret.), concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Pardue v. Pardue, 518 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…ude that there is no evidence disclosing that Mrs. Pardue’s pursuit of a musical career has in any way injured or endangered her children. Therefore, we reverse the condition as an arbitrary and capricious exercise of discretion. Cf. Smith v. Smith, 396 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (reversing a provi [*957] sion in the final judgment prohibiting the mother from allowing men to visit her in her residence). In the present case, if the future actions of the mother prove injurious to the children, the lower cou…
Authorities Cited
- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)
- Dinkel v. Dinkel, 322 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 1975)
- Robley H. Hackley, II v. Hackley, 380 So. 2d 446 (Fla. 5th DCA 1979)
- Marilynn Trylko v. Trylko, 392 So. 2d 1034 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Wambst v. Wambst, 391 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Tele-Media Co. OF KEY W. v. Monroe Cnty., 391 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)