DANIEL CRAIG JARRELL, APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
DIANE JARRELL, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT

Fla. 4th DCA | 1994-01-05
No. 92-1963
DELL, C.J., and STONE and WARNER, JJ., concur.
630 So. 2d 626 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1994) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Synopsis

In this family law appeal, the court addressed whether a trial court had jurisdiction to award alimony in a marriage where the husband had not finalized his divorce from a prior spouse. The court affirmed the alimony award and custody determination but reversed and remanded the child support calculation, finding it should be apportioned according to statutory guidelines rather than imposed entirely on the father.


Holding

The court affirmed jurisdiction to award equitable alimony despite the questionable validity of the marriage. The court reversed the child support award because it should have been calculated as 87% of the guideline amount ($901.32) rather than the full amount ($1,036), absent findings justifying deviation from the statutory formula. The court affirmed the trial court's discretionary denial of life insurance but remanded for inclusion of the medical insurance provision the father had agreed to maintain.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court has subject matter jurisdiction to award equitable alimony even if the marriage was not valid due to a prior undissolved marriage.

[2] Child support calculations must multiply the minimum child support need by each parent's percentage share of the combined income.

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Key Quotes

“the trial court has jurisdiction to award equitable alimony”

Establishes that the court rejected the father's argument that lack of valid marriage eliminated the trial court's subject matter jurisdiction to award alimony.

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Facts & Procedural History

Daniel Craig Jarrell and Diane Jarrell disputed custody, child support, alimony, and attorney's fees for their minor child. Jarrell had not finalized …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal and cross-appeal of a final judgment awarding custody of a minor child to the mother and awarding the mother child support, “equitable alimony” and attorneys’ fees. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

The father complains that the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to award alimony because the marriage was not a valid one, due to the fact that the husband had not finalized his divorce from his fourth wife before entering into the marriage with appellee. We affirm, holding that the trial court has jurisdiction to award equitable alimony. See Burger v. Burger, 166 So. 2d 433 (Fla.1964); Kindle v. Kindle, 629 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993).1

We reverse the final judgment with respect to child support.

The trial court deter mined that appellant’s monthly income represented 87% of the parties’ combined income and appellee’s the remaining 13%. Based upon the combined total income the trial court found that the guideline support amount was $1,036.

The trial court then ordered appellant to pay the entire amount in child support. Calculated properly, appellant’s share should have been 87% or $901.32. We expect that this was merely a clerical error on the part of the trial judge, because section 61.30(9), Florida Statutes (1991) provides that “Each parent’s actual dollar share of the child support need shall be determined by multiplying the minimum child support need by each parent’s percentage share.” While the statute permits the court to adjust the share of either or both parents’ share of the support, the findings of the trial court explained why he was not reducing the relative positions of the parties.

Therefore, there were no findings or justification for the burden to be placed entirely on the father. We remand for correction of the amount of child support to be paid.

On cross-appeal the appellee/eross-appellant claims it was error for the court not to order the appellant to maintain medical insurance and life insurance for the benefit of the child.

With respect to medical insurance, section 61.13(l)(b) provides that each order for child support shall contain a provision for health insurance for the minor child when insurance is reasonably available. In this case, such insurance was not only available but the appellant agreed to continue it.

However, with respect to life insurance, section 61.13(l)(e), Florida Statutes, provides that the trial court may order the obligor to maintain life insurance to secure the support obligation. Such an award is discretionary, and we do not see an abuse of discretion in the trial court refusing to require the life insurance under the circumstances of this case, even where the father indicated a “desire” to continue it for his child. See Mitchell v. Mitchell, 477 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 6th DCA 1985). On remand the trial court should amend the final judgment to include a provision for medical insurance.

We affirm as to the remaining issues on the appeal and cross-appeal.

Affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

DELL, C.J., and STONE and WARNER, JJ., concur. . The trial court awarded lump sum alimony in an amount equal to the money appellee put into the marriage. We note that appellant in this appeal does not challenge the form of the alimony award or claim that it was not alimony but a property division.


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Citator

Cited By

  • McDANIEL v. McDANIEL, 653 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
    …life insurance, we held in Mitchell v. Mitchell, 477 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985), that: “there is nothing in the law that requires a spouse to maintain insurance unless special circumstances dictates its advisability.” See also Jarrell v. Jarrell, 630 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 639 So. 2d 978 (Fla.1994); Frechter v. Frechter, 548 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). Here, there was no showing of special circumstances. Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment of dissolution as to child support. On…
  • Gilvary v. Gilvary, 648 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
    …s claims relating to the parties’ property and finances remain pending below. . Of course, on remand Kathleen will have to demonstrate both her need for, and Joseph's ability to pay, the support and fees requested. . See, e.g., Jarrell v. Jarrell, 630 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (trial court had jurisdiction to award "equitable alimony” even though marriage was not valid); Kindle v. Kindle, 629 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (putative wife entitled to award of permanent alimony following annulment, where…
  • Jarrell v. Jarrell, 630 So. 2d 627 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …[*628] PER CURIAM. We affirm the order finding the appellant in contempt in this case for failure to pay an alimony award. In Jarrell v. Jarrell, 630 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), we have affirmed the award of alimony to the appel-lee. We noted that appellant did not contend that the award was a property division. Instead he relied on the argument that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to…

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