HELEN VERONICA DAVIS, APPELLANT/CROSS APPELLEE,
v.
GEORGE NEVILLE DAVIS, APPELLEE/CROSS APPELLANT
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The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to award child support and attorney's fees to the appellant, given the parties' disparate financial circumstances.
[1] A trial court abuses its discretion by failing to award child support when the requesting parent demonstrates a need and the other parent has the ability to pay.
[2] An award of attorney's fees and costs in a dissolution proceeding depends upon the relative financial circumstances of the parties.
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ARTHUR I. SNYDER, Associate Judge.
Appellant/former wife, appeals from an order modifying a final judgment in which she was to provide primary physical residence for their minor son Jeffrey, and that appellee/former husband would provide primary physical residence for their minor son Dustin. In addition, the final judgment provided that each parent would be responsible for the full support of the child residing with them. The order further stated that each party was to be responsible for their own attorney’s fees and costs. Appel-lee cross appeals that portion of the final judgment which states that appellant is to provide primary physical residence for Jeffrey.
On the cross appeal, we find no evidence of abuse of discretion by the trial court and therefore affirm this portion of the final judgment.
With regard to child support, the record reflects that appellant satisfied her burden of proof and demonstrated that she had a need for support and appellee had the ability to pay. See Douglass v. Rigg, 525 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); Shellmyer v. Shellmyer, 418 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). The trial court therefore abused its discretion in failing to award child support. Appellee’s income in 1987 was more than three times greater than the meagre $16,000 that appellant earned. Appellee therefore should make some contribution toward Jeffrey’s support in an amount to be set by the trial court upon remand.
Lastly, on the issue of attorney’s fees and costs, such an award depends upon the relative financial circumstances of each party. See Mandy v. Williams, 492 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). The record demonstrates that appellant’s financial position is substantially inferior to appellee’s financial position. Under these circumstances, a trial court’s failure to award attorney’s fees and costs constitutes an abuse of discretion. Barry v. Barry, 511 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), rev. denied, 523 So. 2d 576 (Fla.1988); Stowe v. Stowe, 502 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 511 So. 2d 1000 (Fla.1987).
AFFIRM IN PART; REVERSE IN PART; REMAND.
LETTS and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Moore v. Cezar Trevino, 612 So. 2d 604 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…al court’s failure to award appellant attorney’s fees and costs constitutes an abuse of discretion. See generally, P.A.G. v. A.F., 1992 WL 352968 (Fla. 4th DCA December 2, 1992); Bachman v. Bachman, 566 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Davis v. Davis, 547 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). Accordingly, we reverse the order on appeal and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. ALDERMAN, JAMES E., Senior Justice, concurs. FARMER, J., dissents with opinion. . At all times material to this act…
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Angeline Bachman v. Bachman, 566 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)…er other than the support furnished by appellee. Where a party’s financial position is substantially inferior in a dissolution proceeding, a trial court’s failure to award attorney’s fees and costs constitutes an abuse of discretion. Davis v. Davis, 547 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). We also find no support for the trial court’s finding that appellant’s attorney had been compensated. The court apparently did not consider that appellant’s attorney had paid for expert witnesses and reporting services and, of…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Mandy v. Williams, 492 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- Marianne v. Barry, 511 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
- Shellmyer v. Shellmyer, 418 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Gallub v. Nagelbush, 502 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
- Stowe v. Stowe, 502 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
- Stephen Chaz, Inc. v. The Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y of the United States, 525 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)