MARILYN JOYCE KOHN, APPELLANT,
v.
EMMETT LEE KOHN, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1982-12-17
No. AL-447
ERVIN, LARRY G. SMITH and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.
423 So. 2d 575 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1982) Positive Treatment
Cited by 10 cases

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Holding

A spouse who pays all ownership expenses for jointly-owned property is entitled to a credit against the other spouse's share of the sale proceeds.


Facts & Procedural History

In a dissolution of marriage action, the wife sought exclusive possession of the marital home, but the court ordered its sale due to joint debts. The …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

In this dissolution of marriage action, the wife contends that the trial court erred in not awarding her the exclusive use and possession of the marital home until the parties’ minor child reaches majority. In light of the extensive joint debts of the parties, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that, because the parties could not afford to keep the marital home, it should be sold. We therefore affirm that point. We find merit however with the wife’s contention that she should receive a credit for the husband’s share of the ownership expenses of the marital home which she was ordered to pay until the home is sold. The law is clear that

[a] wife who pays all of the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and expenses of jointly-owned property is entitled to credit against the husband’s one-half of the proceeds upon the sale of the property.... It is impermissible to require the wife to increase the equity of the husband by her own payments .... The wife here is entitled to either credit or is entitled to have the husband pay one-half of the expenses.

Rubino v. Rubino, 372 So. 2d 539, 540 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Such credit is not limited only to payments of principal as the husband suggests but applies to “all the ownership expenses on jointly-owned property.” Smith v. Smith, 390 So. 2d 1223, 1224 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).

We therefore reverse that portion of the final judgment, providing that the wife is to receive no credit, and direct that the judgment be amended to provide that upon the sale of the marital home the wife shall be entitled to a credit against the husband’s one-half of the sale proceeds because of her payment of the ownership expenses on the marital home.

AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part.

ERVIN, LARRY G. SMITH and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Tinsley v. Tinsley, 490 So. 2d 205 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
    …judgment grant ing dissolution of the marriage. See Spikes v. Spikes, 396 So. 2d 1192 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). It is impermissible, therefore, to require one spouse, by his payments on the house, to increase the equity of the other spouse. Kohn v. Kohn, 423 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Rubino v. Rubino, 372 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Singer. Thus, a person who makes mortgage payments on a home jointly held with the ex-spouse as tenants in common is entitled to a credit for the ex-spouse’s share of the ow…
  • Anne Marie Fischer v. Fischer, 503 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
    …roperty. Tinsley v. Tinsley, 490 So. 2d 205 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Wertheimer v. Wertheimer, 487 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Delehant v. Delehant, 442 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Monnar v. Monnar, 422 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Kohn v. Kohn, 423 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Price v. Price, 389 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Dominik v. Dominik, 390 So. 2d 81 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Rutkin v. Rutkin, 345 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Whiteley v. Whiteley, 329 So. 2d 352 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Lyons v. Lyo…
  • Hoyt v. Hoyt, 457 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
    …l home. When a former spouse in exclusive possession of jointly-owned property pays all ownership expenses thereon, that spouse is entitled to a credit against the other former spouse’s share of the proceeds when the property is sold. Kohn v. Kohn, 423 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). In addition to property taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance expenses, and mortgage principal payments, such credit also includes mortgage interest payments. Price v. Price, 389 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Adkins v. Edwards…

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