ARLINE WANDER, APPELLANT,
v.
MYRON WANDER, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1986-04-02
No. 83-2726
HERSEY, C.J., and DOWNEY, J., concur.
485 So. 2d 896 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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.

Synopsis

In this divorce appeal following a 37-year marriage, the wife challenged the trial court's division of assets, the order requiring repayment of temporary alimony, and the determination of attorney's fees. The appellate court affirmed the asset division but reversed the attorney's fees determination and remanded for a finding of reasonable attorney's fees.


Holding

The trial court's division of assets was proper and is affirmed. The issue regarding repayment of temporary alimony was not timely raised and is therefore not properly before the appellate court. The attorney's fees determination was reversed and remanded because the trial court failed to make a specific finding as to what constitutes a reasonable attorney's fee, which must be determined on remand.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's division of marital assets will be affirmed on appeal if supported by substantial competent evidence in the record.

[2] An appellate court lacks jurisdiction to consider an issue that was not timely raised before it.

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Key Quotes

“A review of the record reveals the presence of substantial competent evidence to support the trial court's findings concerning the allocation and distribution of the assets of the parties.”

Establishes the standard for reviewing asset division and supports affirming the trial court's determination.

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Facts & Procedural History

The parties were married for approximately 37 years before obtaining a dissolution. The trial court conducted a lengthy final hearing lasting nearly t…

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Opinion of the Court
LEVY, DAVID L., Associate Judge.

LEVY, DAVID L., Associate Judge.

After approximately 37 years of marriage, the parties obtained a dissolution of their marriage after a rather lengthy and somewhat bitter final hearing. The Final Judgment entered in this cause by the trial judge made extensive findings of fact regarding the history of the marriage, the relevant conduct of the parties, and the obtaining and disposition of the financial resources of the parties. Thereafter, the wife initiated this appeal in which she questions three areas of the trial court’s Final Judgment.

The wife’s first contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in its division of the assets to the extent that the wife argues that the husband received a dispropor tionately larger share than she did. We disagree.

Both the Final Judgment and the record in this cause reflect that the trial court diligently received and exhaustively reviewed all of the evidence presented during the long trial of this cause which lasted almost two weeks. A review of the record reveals the presence of substantial competent evidence to support the trial court’s findings concerning the allocation and distribution of the assets of the parties. We find that the determination of the trial court concerning the amount of lump sum alimony to be awarded to the wife, being supported by the record, must not be disturbed and is, therefore, affirmed by this court.

The next point raised by the wife is her contention that the trial court was in error when it ordered her to repay the temporary alimony paid to her by the husband pending the appeal. Unfortunately for the wife, she did not raise this point before this court in a timely manner. Therefore, any objection that she might have had to the order requiring the repayment of the temporary alimony has been waived. We find that this question is not properly before us, and this court lacks the jurisdiction to decide that issue.

The last point raised by the appellant concerns the payment of the wife’s attorney’s fees. The Final Judgment requires the husband to pay $15,000 to the wife to assist her in the payment of her attorney’s fees and costs. This payment was to be in addition to the $15,000 that the husband had previously paid to the wife towards the wife’s attorney’s fees. The Final Judgment does not, however, make a specific finding or determination as to what amount constitutes a reasonable attorney’s fee for the wife.

Accordingly, we find that it is necessary to remand this case back to the trial court so that a determination can be made as to what a reasonable attorney’s fee would be for the wife’s attorney. This court finds that, once that determination is made, the husband should be responsible for all of his wife’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Naturally, the husband should be given credit for any amounts already paid towards the wife’s attorney’s fees.

AFFIRMED IN PART and REVERSED IN PART.

HERSEY, C.J., and DOWNEY, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Vaccaro v. Vaccaro, 677 So. 2d 918 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
    …se children is $2423 per month. The Former Husband’s share is $1720.00 per month in child support. The standard of review for the trial court’s findings is whether there is competent substantial evidence to support these findings. Wander v. Wander, 485 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Our review of the record indicates the presence of the requisite evidence. The trial court had the following facts before it when determining Peter’s net income for child support guideline purposes: 1) Buffalo’s corporate inco…
  • Burkhardt v. Bass, 711 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)
    …e community. A trial court’s findings regarding modification of child support and imputation of income will be affirmed if supported by substantial competent evidence. See Vallette v. Vallette, 693 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Wander v. Wander, 485 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Vaccaro v. Vaccaro, 677 So. 2d 918 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). Here, there is substantial competent evidence to support the trial court’s decision to impute a net monthly income of $1,200 or $14,400 per year, which correlates with the…

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