SOUTHEAST BANK, N.A., FORMERLY KNOWN AS SOUTHEAST BANK TRUST COMPANY, PETITIONER,
v.
BETTY J. GILBERT, RESPONDENT
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Disbursements from spendthrift trusts can be garnished for alimony and attorney's fees, and continuing garnishment writs may be appropriate.
The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court decision allowing garnishment of spendthrift trusts for alimony and attorney's fees, and fo…
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ALDERMAN, Justice.
We review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Second District, in Gilbert v. Gilbert, 447 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), which expressly and directly conflicts with White v. Bacardi, 446 So. 2d 150 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984).
The Second District affirmed the trial court and held that spendthrift trusts may be garnished for the collection of both alimony arrearages and attorney’s fees awarded incident to the divorce. It also held that a continuing writ of garnishment could be issued to secure the payment of future alimony.
We have resolved these issues in Bacardi v. White, 463 So. 2d 218 (Fla. 1985), wherein we held that disbursements from spendthrift trusts, in certain limited circumstances, may be garnished to enforce court orders on judgments for alimony and incident attorney’s fees before such disbursements reach the debtor-beneficiary and that a continuing writ of garnishment may be appropriate in some circumstances.
Accordingly, we approve the result reached by the Second District and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with our decision in Bacardi.
It is so ordered.
ADKINS, OVERTON, McDONALD, EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., concur. BOYD, C.J., dissents.
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Webb v. The Hillsborough Cnty. Hosp. Auth., 521 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)…9, each of which announced a change in the law to apply only in future cases. See also the discussion of that doctrine in Gilbert v. Gilbert, 447 So. 2d 299, 306-08 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984) (Lehan, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part), approved, 463 So. 2d 223 (Fla.1985). Compare Parkway, 400 So. 2d at 167 (change in the law applied retroactively). Thus the change in the law effected by this opinion applies both to this case and prospectively. While our holding that both spouses may be liable for necessa…
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Contella v. Contella, 559 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)…sed in this case as to whether or not a spendthrift trust which would effectively shelter Contella's trust assets from his creditors (here his spouse and dependent children) could be created under such circumstances. Southeast Bank, N.A. v. Gilbert, 463 So. 2d 223 (Fla.1985); Bacardi v. White, 463 So. 2d 218 (Fla.1985); In re Stone, 500 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Gilbert v. Gilbert, 447 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).…
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Verone Marin Fehlhaber v. Fehlhaber, 850 F.2d 1453 (11th Cir. 1988)…e way of reaching the trust assets. Florida recognizes that the beneficial interest in a spendthrift trust may, in some circumstances, be subject to secure payment of alimony through a writ of garnishment. See, e.g., Southeast Bank, N.A. v. Gilbert, 463 So. 2d 223 (Fla.1985); Bacardi v. White, 463 So. 2d 218 (Fla.1985). Florida’s garnishment statute states in part: Every person who has sued to recover a debt or has recovered judgment in any court against any person, natural or corporate, has a right to a wri…
Authorities Cited
- Bacardi v. White, 463 So. 2d 218 (Fla. 1985)
- Fenton L. Gilbert v. Gilbert, 447 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- White v. Bacardi, 446 So. 2d 150 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)