BETTIE LOU HARGIS BLANTON, APPELLANT,
v.
ZANE C. BLANTON, APPELLEE
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PATTERSON, Judge.
The wife appeals from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage which denies her equitable distribution, costs, and attorney’s fees based on the provisions of an antenuptial agreement. The trial court found the agreement to be enforceable and the wife has not appealed that determination. Because the agreement is valid and enforceable, we are compelled to affirm the harsh result in this case with one exception, that being the issue of the wife’s attorney’s fees. The trial court refused to consider the issue of fees and costs based upon a waiver contained in the agreement, which was error. A husband’s obligation to provide spousal support during the term of the marriage includes responsibility for the payment of attorney’s fees and costs when the normal criteria for the award of such fees and costs are met. This obligation cannot be waived or contracted away in an antenuptial agreement. Lawhon v. Lawhon, 583 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991).
We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings in which the trial court shall determine the wife’s entitlement to an award of attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to section 61.16, Florida Statutes (1991).
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and LAZZARA, J., concur.
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Citator
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Hartman v. Hartman, 761 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…ccording to established precedent, temporary attorney’s fees and support and attorney’s fees up to the point of the dissolution judgment cannot be waived in a prenuptial agreement. See Belcher v. Belcher, 271 So. 2d 7 (Fla.1972); Blanton v. Blanton, 654 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Veiga v. Veiga, 563 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Fechtel v. Fechtel, 556 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). On appeal, appellate counsel for both parties agree that Rosen v. Rosen, 696 So. 2d 697 (Fla.1997) sets the guidelines f…
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Shoshana Candiotti Schecter v. Schecter, 109 So. 3d 833 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…other's financial advantage’ ”) (emphasis added).); see also Lashkajani, 911 So. 2d at 1156-57 (reconfirming a spouse’s obligation as “including the responsibility for attorney's fees and costs,” which cannot be contracted away); Blanton v. Blanton, 654 So. 2d 1240, 1240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (stating that the "obligation to provide spousal support during the term of a marriage includes responsibility for the payment of attorney’s fees and costs” ... [and this obligation] cannot be waived or contracted away”); Ve…
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Lashkajani v. Hadi B. Lashkajani, 855 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…e, including the responsibility for attorney’s fees and costs, may not be contracted away by a prenuptial agreement. Belcher v. Belcher, 271 So. 2d 7, 13 (Fla.1972); Fernandez v. Fernandez, 710 So. 2d 223, 225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998); Blanton v. Blanton, 654 So. 2d 1240, 1240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Lawhon v. Lawhon, 583 So. 2d 776, 777 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Thus, a provision of a prenuptial agreement purporting to waive the spouse’s obligation to pay attorney’s fees and costs incurred during the marriage is unenforceabl…
Authorities Cited
- Lawhon v. Lawhon, 583 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)