DANIEL E. TAYLOR, APPELLANT,
v.
KIMBERLY G. WOJTUSIK, APPELLEE
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Court affirmed contempt finding for failure to pay child support where ex-husband's assets (including an $18,000 Rolex watch) demonstrated ability to pay, and affirmed trial court's discretion to decline contempt sanctions for unpaid attorney's fees from divorce decree.
A trial court properly holds an ex-husband in contempt for failure to pay child support when sufficient evidence demonstrates his actual ability to comply with the payment obligation.
[1] Evidence of an obligor's purchase of luxury assets such as an expensive watch constitutes sufficient proof of present ability to pay a purge amount in a child support con…
[2] A trial court has discretion to decline to impose contempt sanctions, including imprisonment and purge amounts, for failure to pay an attorney's fee judgment from a divor…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceEx-husband failed to pay $11,376.10 in child support. Ex-wife testified that ex-husband showed her an $18,000 Rolex watch he had purchased, and ex-hus…
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WARNER, J.
We affirm the order holding appellant in contempt for failure to pay a support obligation, concluding that the trial court made sufficient determinations that appellant, the ex-husband, had the actual ability to comply with the order at all times. Appellee, the ex-wife, testified that the ex-husband showed her his Rolex watch and told her he paid $18,000 for it. Appellant offered no contrary proof. The proof of assets from which payment could be made was sufficient evidence of the ex-husband’s present ability to pay the purge amount of $11,376.10. See, e.g., Albright v. Albright, 788 So. 2d 1125 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).
Ex-wife cross-appeals the trial court’s failure to hold ex-husband in contempt for failure to pay a ten year old attorney’s fee judgment entered in the original divorce decree. An attorney’s fee award in a dissolution action may be enforced by contempt, see Wertkin v. Wertkin, 763 So. 2d 465, 466 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); however, the court has discretion in determining the remedy for contempt. See Nical of Palm Beach, Inc. v. Lewis, 815 So. 2d 647, 651 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). Here, the court determined that the ex-wife had an enforceable judgment and that the amount was not connected to either child support or visitation, but rather, the ability of the ex-wife to support herself. We, therefore, find no abuse of discretion in refusing to require imprisonment and to set a purge amount relating to the ex-husband’s failure to pay the attorney’s fee judgment.
STONE and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Lamar v. Justo Lamar, III, 889 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…oof on the former wife to demonstrate that the former husband had the present ability to satisfy the arrearage. Contempt was an available remedy for the attorney’s fees in this case in the same manner as unpaid child support. See Taylor v. Wojtusik, 844 So. 2d 801, 802 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Wertkin v. Wertkin, 763 So. 2d 465, 466 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). In the contempt proceeding, the former wife was entitled to the same presumption of the former husband’s ability to pay attorney’s fees that she enjoyed with rega…
Authorities Cited
- Nical OF Palm Beach, Inc. v. Lewis, 815 So. 2d 647 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
- Wertkin v. Wertkin, 763 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Albright v. Albright, 788 So. 2d 1125 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)