NANCY ADELMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
LAURENCE ADELMAN, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1989-03-14
Nos. 87-2245, 87-1430
Before BARKDULL, HUBBART and BASKIN, JJ.
543 So. 2d 237 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1989) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

Nancy Adelman appealed a final judgment dissolving her marriage to Laurence Adelman. The court affirmed the dissolution but reversed and remanded the property, alimony, and attorney's fee awards because the trial court failed to create an adequate factual record supporting its disposition.


Holding

The trial court's property, alimony, and attorney's fee awards must be reversed and remanded because the record lacks sufficient factual basis to support the awards. The trial court must conduct a de novo hearing allowing the parties to present record testimony, evidence, and other pertinent matters.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may not make property awards in a dissolution of marriage case without a sufficient factual predicate in the record.

[2] A court cannot consider an oral property settlement agreement as a basis for review unless its existence is reflected in the record through a written stipulation, testimo…

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Key Quotes

“Finding no record support for the awards, see Barfield v. Barfield, 472 So. 2d 820 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (where there was no factual basis for the trial court's finding, cause remanded for evidentiary hearing); Bird v. Bird, 436 So.2d 981 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) (where record does not reflect existence of oral property settlement agreement through written stipulation, testimonial transcript or otherwise, court may not consider it as a basis for review), we reverse the property, alimony and attorney's fee provisions”

Establishes the requirement for factual predicate and record evidence to support property division awards

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Facts & Procedural History

The trial court met privately with counsel, then conducted a brief hearing where only Mr. Adelman's counsel testified regarding residency and Mrs. Ade…

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Opinion of the Court
BASKIN, Judge.

BASKIN, Judge.

Nancy Adelman appeals a final judgment of dissolution of marriage. We affirm the dissolution but reverse the property awards because the record lacks a sufficient predicate for the trial court’s disposition.

A review of the record discloses that the court met privately with counsel for both parties. The judge then stated “Let’s bring [Mr. and Mrs. Adelman] in and ask the cursory questions.” In the ensuing proceedings, Mr. Adelman’s counsel testified as to the parties’ Florida residency and Mrs. Adelman testified that the marriage was irretrievably broken. During the remainder of the hearing, neither party presented testimony; the court, counsel, and the parties informally discussed the distribution of assets and monetary awards. Mrs. Adelman objected when the court announced its disposition of the parties’ assets and the monetary awards. The record does not reflect that the parties entered into a property settlement agreement.

Finding no record support for the awards,1 see Barfield v. Barfield, 472 So. 2d 820 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (where there was no factual basis for the trial court’s finding, cause remanded for evidentiary hearing); Bird v. Bird, 436 So. 2d 981 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) (where record does not reflect existence of oral property settlement agreement through written stipulation, testimonial transcript or otherwise, court may not consider it as a basis for review), we reverse the property, alimony and attorney’s fee provisions,2 and remand with directions to the trial court to conduct a de novo hearing in which the parties are afforded an. opportunity to present record testimony, evidence, and other pertinent matters in support of their positions.

REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED.

. The wife appears to have been shortchanged. The trial court incorrectly stated that it could not award Mrs. Adelman the marital home and permanent periodic alimony. "[T]he award of the marital home as lump sum alimony may be coupled with other lump sum alimony or permanent periodic alimony awards if justified by the evidence.” Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1201 (Fla.1980), and cited cases.

. We agree with appellant that the record does not demonstrate that the parties entered a stipulation limiting the amount of attorney’s fees to be paid by the husband. Accordingly, we reverse the attorney’s fee award. See Fickle v. Adkins, 394 So. 2d 461 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Green v. Green, 484 So. 2d 1269 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). On remand, the court, in determining the attorney’s fee award, should comply with the dictates of Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla.1985). See, e.g., Kuse v. Kuse, 533 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Laurence Adelman v. Adelman, 561 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
    …appeal. This court, in turn, reversed the property, alimony, and attorney fee provisions of the final judgment for lack of any record support for same and remanded the cause to the trial court for a de novo evi-dentiary hearing. Adelman v. Adelman, 543 So. 2d 237 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). Upon remand, The Vogelsang Law Firm entered an appearance for Mr. Adelman before the trial court. After we issued our above-stated decision, Mrs. Adelman brought a legal malpractice suit against her ex-lawyer Fred Dellapa in whi…

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