JACK YOUNG, APPELLANT,
v.
KATHRYN YOUNG, APPELLEE
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Jack Young appeals a divorce judgment awarding his former wife permanent alimony of $250/month and exclusive possession of their jointly-owned home, conditioned on her remaining unmarried and living in the home. The appellate court reverses, finding the alimony award improper because it was tied to maintaining the home rather than based on legitimate spousal need and the payor's ability to support.
The court reversed the award of permanent alimony and attorney's fees. Permanent alimony must be based on the spouse's legitimate needs established by the marriage and the payor's continuing ability to provide support, not on costs of maintaining a specific asset. Attorney's fees require a showing that the recipient had an inferior ability to secure competent legal counsel.
[1] An award of permanent alimony must be based on the needs of one spouse and the ability of the other spouse to provide support, considering the standard of living establis…
[2] Permanent alimony is intended to provide for the needs and necessities of life as established by the marriage, not solely to maintain exclusive possession of a former mar…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Permanent alimony is justified to provide the needs and necessities of life to a former spouse as they have been established by the marriage of the parties, with the two primary elements to be considered being the needs of one spouse for the support and the ability of the other spouse to provide the necessary support.”
Establishes the governing legal standard for permanent alimony awards in Florida
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJack and Kathryn Young were married for twenty-one years. The trial court awarded Kathryn exclusive possession of their jointly-owned marital home unt…
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WENTWORTH, Judge.
Jack Young appeals the final judgment dissolving his twenty-one year marriage to Kathryn Young, awarding Kathryn exclusive possession of the jointly-owned, once-marital home until she dies, remarries or resides in the home while unmarried with another man, awarding her permanent alimony of $250.00 per month under the same provisions as her exclusive-possession award, with an added provision that the alimony ceases should she move out of the jointly-owned house, and awarding Kathryn attorney’s fees. We conclude the awards of permanent alimony and attorney’s fees are improper for reasons stated below and, while finding no error in the award of exclusive possession on grounds argued here, we reverse the judgment to permit the exercise of discretion by the trial court in relating all elements of the award.
In granting an award of permanent alimony the trial court should consider all relevant economic factors, including the standard of living established during the marriage and the financial resources of each party, to insure “equity and justice between the parties.” § 61.08, Florida Statutes (1981). Permanent alimony is justified to provide the needs and necessities of life to a former spouse as they have been established by the marriage of the parties, with the two primary elements to be considered being the needs of one spouse for the support and the ability of the other spouse to provide the necessary support. Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1201 (Fla.1980).
The forfeiture provision of the judgment in this case, stating that the permanent alimony shall cease should Kathryn move out of the jointly-owned house, clearly indicates that the award is based on unique costs of maintaining the former marital home and is not related to Kathryn’s general housing needs otherwise commensurate with the parties’ present ability and need. Kathryn’s own testimony indicated that she maintained the house prior to the dissolution, with sporadic and varying contributions by Jack. And Jack’s ability to make the monthly permanent alimony payments, while maintaining a semblance of his maritally established standard of living, is speculative upon the record before us. The award of alimony for the sole purpose of maintaining indefinitely a spouse’s exclusive possession of a jointly-owned house, when those costs are simultaneously determined (by the forfeiture clause) to be beyond reasonable housing costs otherwise awardable, ignores the basic principle of alimony to provide for the needs of the former spouse established by the marriage and within the continuing ability of the other party. The award therefore did not accord with the governing standards, supra.
Absent a showing that Kathryn had an inferior ability to secure competent legal counsel, the award of attorney’s fees was improper. Canakaris at 1205.
The final judgment is accordingly reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.
SHIVERS, J., concurs.
JOANOS, J., dissents without opinion.
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Wagers v. Wagers, 444 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…net monthly income is $882.61, her monthly expenditures total $1,506.14, leaving a deficit of $623.53. The wife figured her need of $623.53 by calculating this difference between net income and actual expenditures. The husband cites Young v. Young, 431 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) in arguing that the size of the monthly mortgage and utility payments are too large and unreasonable. In Young, we reversed an award of permanent alimony where it appeared the award was based uniquely on the cost of maintaining a…
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Young v. Young, 449 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…is case, this Court reversed the final judgment because the permanent periodic alimony award of $250 monthly was “based on the unique costs of maintaining the former marital home and is not related to Kathryn’s general housing need.” Young v. Young, 431 So. 2d 234, 235 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). On remand, the trial court reduced the award from $250 to $175 monthly and removed the condition that Kathryn remain in the former marital home to receive permanent periodic alimony. The permanent periodic alimony award is…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)