JOSEPH E. WHITE, APPELLANT,
v.
SANDRA G. WHITE, APPELLEE
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.
In a post-dissolution modification proceeding, the husband challenged the circuit court's award of half of his personal injury settlement proceeds to his ex-wife. The appellate court reversed this distribution, holding that compensation for future injuries and losses in a settlement constitutes the injured spouse's separate property, not marital property subject to equitable distribution.
The personal injury settlement was the husband's separate property, not subject to equitable distribution. Compensation for future loss of earnings, earning capacity, and future medical expenses are separate property of the injured spouse, even when a settlement release does not explicitly allocate funds to specific categories. The absence of itemized allocation in the release does not make the entire award unallocated marital property when unrebutted testimony establishes the award was intended for future damages.
[1] Compensation for future loss of earnings, earning capacity, and future medical expenses arising from a personal injury are the separate property of the injured spouse.
[2] An unallocated personal injury settlement award is not automatically considered marital property subject to equitable distribution.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The portion of the award considered marital property consists of the amount awarded for lost wages or earning capacity during the marriage, medical bills paid from marital funds during the marriage, and any other funds for which allocation cannot be made.”
Establishes the Weisfeld test for determining what portion of a personal injury award is marital property
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMr. White was injured in an accident approximately sixteen months before his wife filed for dissolution. The final judgment in April 1993 reserved jur…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Modification Of Alimony cases and more on FLexlaw
NORTHCUTT, Judge.
Joseph White challenges the circuit court’s modification of the final judgment dissolving his marriage. He raises points concerning modification of alimony, distribution of proceeds from a personal injury settlement, and the form of the modification order. We áf-firm without discussion on all issues, except those addressing the settlement proceeds.
Mr. White was injured in an accident that occurred approximately sixteen months before Mrs. White filed her petition for dissolution of marriage. In April 1993, when the court entered the final judgment of dissolution, it noted that at that time it was unable ‘ to determine the value of the husband’s claim or what portion might be a marital asset. It reserved jurisdiction to determine an equitable distribution of the claim in the future. , In July 1993, the husband settled his personal injury suit for $90,000. He received $45,-911.55, after his medical bills and other fees were paid from the settlement proceeds. In her petition for modification, the wife sought an equitable distribution of the settlement award. The circuit court found that Mr. White obtained an “unallocated distribution” as a result of the settlement, and that the distribution was a marital asset. It awarded Mrs. White one-half of the proceeds. The trial court erred.
In Weisfeld v. Weisfeld, 545 So. 2d 1341, 1346 (Fla.1989), our supreme court adopted an analytical approach to determine whether an award for personal injury was marital property, and thus subject to equitable distribution. Under this analytical approach, the portion of the award considered marital property consists of the amount awarded for lost wages or earning capacity during the marriage, medical bills paid from marital funds during the marriage, and any other funds for which allocation cannot be made. 545 So. 2d at 1345. Here, Mrs. White successfully argued that the entire amount Mr. White received was an unallocated distribution, and thus, marital property. Her contention was based on the fact that the release Mr. White was obliged to sign as part of the settlement did not specifically allocate the funds to any particular category. This position ignores Mr. White’s testimony that the money was to compensate for future injuries, losses and damages. Compensation for future loss of earnings and earning capacity and for future medical expenses are the separate property of the injured spouse. Id. While a jury verdict will often allocate dollar amounts for each type of damage, a release generally does not. The only testimony regarding the purpose of the award came from the husband. Mrs. White did not present any evidence to rebut his allocation. In fact, the release itself supported the husband’s position. It stated that the settlement covered “not only all known injuries, losses and damages, but any future injuries, losses and damages not now known or anticipated....”
The unrebutted evidence established that the personal injury award was the husband’s separate property, not subject to equitable distribution. We reverse and remand with directions to award the husband the entire amount of the settlement.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and ALTENBERND, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Gibbons v. Gibbons, 10 So. 3d 127 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)…sabled spouse after the dissolution of the marriage represent a substitute or replacement for the loss of future earnings. Compensation payable for future lost earnings is the separate property of the injured or disabled spouse. See White v. White, 705 So. 2d 123, 124 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998); Bollaci v. Nieporte-Bollaci, 863 So. 2d 440, 442 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). Thus, to the extent that benefits payable under a private disability policy represent a substitute for future lost income, such benefits are the separate…
-
Crawford v. Crawford, 731 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)…ay result from....” As the settlement proceeds were received, they were placed into the parties’ joint account. Because the settlement agreement did not allocate the settlement funds to any specific category, this case is similar to White v. White, 705 So. 2d 123 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). And while the deposit of funds received from the injury into a joint account might render such deposit a gift, it does not affect future funds not so deposited. We find the wife failed to demonstrate that the settlement from the…
-
Vinson v. Vinson (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)
Authorities Cited
- Weisfeld v. Weisfeld, 545 So. 2d 1341 (Fla. 1989)