MARILYN F. MASTERS, APPELLANT,
v.
MARION NEAL MASTERS, APPELLEE
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The court held that lump sum alimony, as incorporated into a final judgment, is not dischargeable in bankruptcy as a debt.
Following dissolution, a settlement agreement required appellee to pay appellant lump sum alimony in installments. Appellee later filed for bankruptcy…
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OTT, Chief Judge.
In this postdissolution proceeding, the trial court found that lump sum alimony payable in installments to appellant pursuant to a property settlement agreement was actually the discharge of a debt. We reverse.
The marriage of the parties was dissolved in 1980. The final judgment of dissolution approved and incorporated by reference a settlement agreement previously executed by both parties whereby the appellee agreed to pay as lump sum alimony $154,000 in monthly installments over a fifteen-year period.
In 1982, appellee filed bankruptcy proceedings. He thereafter ceased making the monthly payments and filed a motion seeking to have the payments determined to be the discharge of a debt, presumably in an attempt to have the payments discharged by the bankruptcy court. The lower court found that the provision in question was for the payment of debts owed by appellee to appellant.
We find no evidence that the lump sum alimony was anything other than what it was labeled. Lump sum alimony may be utilized to ensure equitable distribution of property acquired during the marriage. Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1201 (Fla.1980). Upon entry of the final judgment incorporating the agreement to pay lump sum alimony, appellant had a vested right which was not subject to modification (unless the parties had agreed otherwise). Id.
The decision of the trial court is REVERSED.
HOBSON and LEHAN, JJ., concur.
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Borchard v. Borchard, 730 So. 2d 748 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…rt-term marriages). . An award of lump sum alimony can generate several complex issues, including: (1) how the award is taxed, Cox v. Cox, 462 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); (2) whether the award is dis-chargeable in bankruptcy, Masters v. Masters, 443 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), Doerflein v. Doerflein, 724 So. 2d 153, 23 Fla. L. Weekly D2721 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), Montgomery v. Montgomery, 169 B.R. 442 (M.D.Fla.1994); and (3) whether the award is enforceable by contempt, Owens v. Owens, 578 So. 2d 444 (Fla…
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Pipitone v. Pipitone, 23 So. 3d 131 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)…on, see Sharp v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, T.C. Summ.Op. 2004-27, 2004 WL 440429 (U.S.Tax Ct.); Kidd v. Kidd, 695 So. 2d 439, 440 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), bankruptcy discharge, see Meeks v. Meeks, 964 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); Masters v. Masters, 443 So. 2d 388, 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), and enforcement by contempt, see Mattera v. Mattera, 629 So. 2d 1106, 1108 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Owens v. Owens, 578 So. 2d 444, 445 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). See also Borchard v. Borchard, 730 So. 2d 748, 752 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (…
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COX v. COX, 462 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…in paragraph 13 were anything other than what they were labeled — lump suip alimony. Therefore, contempt is an appropriate means for enforcing the provisions of the paragraph. Witter v. Witter, 443 So. 2d 417 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Masters v. Masters, 443 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Brisco v. Brisco, 355 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). Payments may be a proper form of alimony even though they are to be made to a third party. Stith v. Stith, 384 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980). Accordingly, we reverse both orde…
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- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)