COURTNEY C. HURLOCK, APPELLANT,
v.
JULIET HURLOCK, APPELLEE
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A Florida court properly denied a former husband's motion to quash service of process in a dissolution of marriage action, though with limitations. The court has jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage and determine child custody, but lacks personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendant for claims regarding alimony, child support, and property division absent the required Florida contacts.
The trial court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant for claims of alimony, child support, and property division under Florida's long-arm statute. However, the court has authority to dissolve the marriage and determine child custody without personal jurisdiction over the defendant, as these matters require only subject matter jurisdiction and proper notice.
[1] A Florida court lacks personal jurisdiction over a non-resident former husband for purposes of alimony, child support, or property division if the petition for dissolutio…
[2] A Florida court has jurisdiction to dissolve a marriage even without personal jurisdiction over a non-resident former spouse, provided the non-resident spouse received su…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A non-resident's act of maintaining a marital domicile in Florida at the time of commencement of the action, or residence in Florida prior thereto, will subject that person to personal jurisdiction for proceedings regarding alimony, child support, or property division.”
Establishes the statutory basis for personal jurisdiction in family law cases under Florida law.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties married in 1982 and resided in New York at separation. The former wife moved to Florida while the former husband remained in New York. In …
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STEVENSON, Judge.
In this non-final appeal, the former husband, a New York resident, challenges an order of the trial court denying his motion to quash service of process where the former wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in Palm Beach County seeking alimony, primary residential custody of the couples’ children, child support, and equitable distribution of the marital assets. The trial judge was correct in denying the motion to quash because it asserted that he had no jurisdiction to grant any relief. He does have jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage and to decide custody of the children. We, therefore, affirm the denial with the limitation that he can only grant that relief.
The parties to this appeal were married in 1982 and, at the time of their separation, resided in New York. The former wife then moved to Florida, while the former husband remained in New York. In October of 1996, the former wife filed her petition for dissolution of marriage. The former husband was personally served, in New York, with a copy of the petition and a summons. In response, the former husband filed a notice of special appearance for the purpose of quashing service of process. Specifically, the former husband argued that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over him in that he had no contacts with Florida nor had the couples’ marital domicile ever been in Florida. The trial court denied his motion.
A non-resident’s act of maintaining a marital domicile in Florida at the time of commencement of the action, or residence in Florida prior thereto, will subject that person to personal jurisdiction for proceedings regarding alimony, child support, or property division. See § 48.193(l)(e), Fla. Stat. (1995).
However, in the instant case, not only does the petition for dissolution not allege these facts, but the former husband’s affidavit specifically refutes them, and there was no counter-affidavit filed by the former wife.
Thus, to the extent that the petition sought alimony, child support, and property division, the trial court erred in denying the former husband’s motion to quash as the Florida court lacked the required personal jurisdiction. See McCabe v. McCabe, 600 So. 2d 1181, 1184-85 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)(finding that where petition for dissolution failed to allege either that parties maintained a marital domicile in Florida or that former wife resided in Florida, service of process upon former wife under long-arm statute was void); Shefer v. Shefer, 440 So. 2d 1319, 1319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)(finding that since it was undisputed that the parties never maintained a marital domicile in Florida, long-arm personal service over the wife was an impossibility under section 48.193(3)).
Personal jurisdiction, however, is not required in order for the Florida court to adjudicate the petition to the extent that it seeks dissolution, see Arnstein v. Amstein, 422 So. 2d 1052, 1053 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), nor to the extent that it seeks custody of the parties’ minor children, see Warfield v. Warfield, 661 So. 2d 924, 925 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)(holding that “personal jurisdiction is not required to make an out-of-state parent a party to custody action where the state court has subject matter jurisdiction under the U[niform] C[hild] C[ustody] J[urisdiction] A[ct].”), review denied, 669 So. 2d 252 (Fla.1996), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 59, 136 L.Ed.2d 21 (1996).
Since the former husband admits that he was personally served with process in New York and does not complain that service was improperly made, we find that the former husband had sufficient notice of the dissolution and child custody proceedings to enable the trial court to proceed on these issues. See Arnstein, 422 So. 2d at 1053; see also § 61.1812, Fla. Stat. (1995).
This cause is hereby remanded so that the lower court may proceed to adjudicate the former wife’s petition to the extent that it seeks dissolution and child custody.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.
KLEIN and GROSS, JJ., concur.
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Anderson v. Anderson, 845 So. 2d 307 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…edings before he received the Notice of Overdue Support Payments dated July 7,1999. In order for the court to award child support, it was essential for the Florida court to acquire in personam jurisdiction over Mr. Anderson. See Hurlock v. Hurlock, 703 So. 2d 535, 536 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The petition for dissolution filed by Mrs. Anderson’s attorney in 1988 did not allege sufficient material facts to establish a basis to exercise personal jurisdiction over Mr. Anderson in Massachusetts. To be sufficient, th…
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Hesselton v. Hesselton, 935 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…issues concerning alimony and property rights; however, because the wife is a Florida resident, it does have jurisdiction to dissolve the parties’ marriage. See Latta v. Lotto, 654 So. 2d 1043, 1044 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); see also Hurlock v. Hurlock, 703 So. 2d 535, 536 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). Thus, the court correctly denied the husband’s motion to dismiss the petition. Accordingly, we reverse the portion of the trial court’s order finding that it has personal jurisdiction over the husband and denying the moti…
Authorities Cited
- McCABE v. McCABE, 600 So. 2d 1181 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- Arnstein v. Arnstein, 422 So. 2d 1052 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Warfield v. Warfield, 661 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Dalia Shefer v. Izhar Shefer, 440 So. 2d 1319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Sanford v. Sanford, 440 So. 2d 1319 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)