DELLA PAGE HONEYCUTT, APPELLANT,
v.
ROBERT ELWOOD HONEYCUTT, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1996-03-15
No. 95-1299
PETERSON, CJ. and DAUKSCH, J., concur.
669 So. 2d 1098 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1996) 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

In this divorce appeal, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded a final judgment of dissolution to address the trial court's improper calculation of child support, incorrect treatment of mortgage payments as credits, and failure to account for the fair market rental value of the marital home occupied exclusively by the wife.


Holding

The court held that: (1) child support must be recalculated based on the most recent financial affidavits with specific findings supporting any deviation from statutory presumptive figures; (2) the husband is not entitled to credits for mortgage payments made pursuant to a court order in lieu of temporary child support; (3) a separated spouse enjoying exclusive occupancy of the marital residence should be debited for one-half of the fair market rental value; and (4) the trial court must on remand identify whether the credit union account was marital property and distribute it accordingly.


Headnotes

[1] Child support calculations must be based on the most recent financial affidavits in the record, and any deviation from the presumptive support figure requires a specific…

[2] A spouse is not entitled to a credit for mortgage payments made during the pendency of a dissolution case if those payments were made pursuant to court order in lieu of t…

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Key Quotes

“The husband is not entitled to a credit for mortgage payments he made during the pendency of the case since these payments were made pursuant to court order in lieu of temporary child support.”

Establishes the court's holding that mortgage payments made pursuant to court order cannot be credited, distinguishing them from voluntary payments.

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Facts & Procedural History

The case involved a dissolution of marriage where the trial court ordered the wife to pay all expenses related to the marital residence (mortgage, tax…

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Opinion of the Court
COBB, Judge.

COBB, Judge.

The wife appeals several financial aspects of a final judgment of dissolution of marriage. We reverse and remand the cause for reconsideration.

On reconsideration, the court shall recalculate the child support obligation of the husband based on the most recent financial affidavits in the record. Any deviation from the presumptive support figure found in section 61.30 shall be supported by a specific finding. See § 61.30(l)(a), Fla.Stat. The court shall also refigure the credits awarded the parties against the sale of the marital home. The husband is not entitled to a credit for mortgage payments he made during the pendency of the case since these payments were made pursuant to court order in lieu of temporary child support. See Roth v. Roth, 611 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Fitzgerald, v. Fitzgerald, 558 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). The wife also contends the trial court erred in entering the following provision:

From the date of this Final Judgment until the date of any closing and sale of the real property, the Wife shall be responsible for all expenses relating to the use and ownership of said real property, including but not limited to mortgage payments (including principal and interest), taxes, insurance, homeowners association dues or fees, utilities, repairs and maintenance expenses. The Wife shall receive a credit of one-half (½) of all principal reductions made by her. The Wife will be responsible for all routine repairs and maintenance; provided, however, if the cost of any one repair exceeds $200.00, the cost shall be shared equally by the parties.

The wife argues that she is entitled to a credit for one-half of her post-decretal payments (mortgage, insurance, taxes, dues and repairs) against her husband’s one-half of the net proceeds upon sale of the property. She relies on cases from three other district courts in support of this argument. See, e.g., Breland v. Breland, 565 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Fischer v. Fischer, 503 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); and Delehant v. Delehant, 442 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). The underlying rationale appears to be that, even though one party is deprived of occupancy of the jointly-owned property, the value of that occupancy cannot be considered because the equity of the ousted spouse should not be enhanced by the interim payments made by the occupant spouse.

We disagree with the above argument, and adhere to our holding in Pearce v. Pearce, 626 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). Therein we held that a separated spouse enjoying exclusive occupancy of the marital residence after separation should be debited for one-half of the fair market rental value of the residence during that period.

There is no factual finding in the instant case that one-half of the post-decretal payments (exclusive of principal reduction) required by the wife in respect to the home will be off-set by the value of her exclusive occupancy of the home during the period. We believe such express findings and valuation requirements are mandated by section 61.075(3), Florida Statutes, which was enacted effective July 1, 1991. See Plyler v. Plyler, 622 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Bussey v. Bussey, 611 So. 2d 1354 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993).

Finally, the trial court shall on remand identify whether the Florida Hospital Credit Union account was a marital asset and, if so, distribute said asset.

REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION.

PETERSON, CJ. and DAUKSCH, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Green v. Green, 16 So. 3d 298 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
    …. 2d 635 (Fla.1986). If Mr. [*301] Green’s mortgage payments were an aspect of child support, then the exception applies and credit for the payments is not available. Benson v. Benson, 800 So. 2d 739, 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Honeycutt v. Honeycutt, 669 So. 2d 1098 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); Roth v. Roth, 611 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Fitzgerald v. Fitzgerald, 558 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Appellee asserts that the Pastore exception applies only if an order or settlement agreement overtly states that the…

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