KELLEY B. AMOS, APPELLANT,
v.
WARREN RICHARD AMOS, APPELLEE
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In a marital dissolution case, the Florida First District Court of Appeal held that trial courts may consider intentional dissipation of marital assets occurring more than two years before filing for divorce under the catchall provision of the equitable distribution statute, even though the statute explicitly requires consideration only of dissipation within two years prior to filing.
A trial court may, in its discretion, consider intentional dissipation of marital assets occurring more than two years prior to filing a dissolution petition under the catchall provision of section 61.075(1)(j), which permits consideration of any other factors necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.
[1] A trial court may consider the intentional dissipation of marital assets occurring more than two years prior to the filing of a petition for dissolution under the catchal…
[2] The statutory enumeration of factors for equitable distribution does not preclude consideration of remote intentional dissipation of marital assets when such consideratio…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“intentional dissipation of assets more than two years prior to the filing of a petition, here three years beforehand, may fall within the catchall of subsection (j).”
Establishes the core holding that remote dissipation may be considered under the catchall provision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring her marriage, Ms. Amos acquired and retained sole ownership of shares in American Home Base, Inc., a small business she operated with her broth…
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Appellant Kelley Amos, the former wife, appeals the final judgment of dissolution of *980her marriage to Warren Amos, the former husband. Ms. Amos raises three issues, two of which we affirm without further comment. We also affirm as to the issue of remote dissipation of marital assets for the reasons set forth below.
During the course of the marriage, Ms. Amos acquired a small business now known as American Home Base, Inc. (AHB). She and her brother incorporated the business, listing him as the corporate president and her as the corporate vice president. Ms. Amos retained sole ownership of the corporation’s shares. After ten years of operation, but three years prior to filing the petition for dissolution of her marriage, Ms. Amos transferred all of her shares of AHB to her brother without consideration and without the knowledge of her husband.
The question presented is whether the trial court was permitted to consider whether the transfer of shares three years prior to filing the petition was an intentional dissipation of marital assets for purposes of distributing marital assets. The applicable law, section 61.075(1), Florida Statutes, describes nine enumerated factors that a trial court must consider when making an equitable distribution of marital assets, one of which is the “intentional dissipation, waste, depletion, or destruction of marital assets after the filing of the petition or within 2 years prior to the filing of the petition.” § 61.075(l)(i), Fla. Stat. Section 61.075(1) also has a catchall in subpart (j) that is broadly written and discretionary by which a trial court may consider “[a]ny other factors necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.” Id. § 61.075(l)(j). We hold that an intentional dissipation of assets more than two years prior to the filing of a petition, here three years beforehand, may fall within the catchall of subsection (j).
In doing so, we follow the Fifth District in Beers v. Beers, 724 So.2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), which held that a trial court may properly consider dissipation of marital assets beyond two years under the catchall provision. Section 61.075(l)(i) requires trial courts to consider intentional dissipation that occurs up to two years prior to filing the petition, but it is silent as to intentional dissipation that may have occurred more remotely in time. Read in isolation, subsection (i) would preclude a trial court from considering more remote dissipation of assets. Read in conjunction with the broadly worded and discretionary factor in subsection (j), by which trial courts may consider any factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties, however, we conclude that the legislature did not intend to preclude consideration of dissipations beyond two years. This reading of the statute does not render the two-year limit meaningless; instead, the statutory language distinguishes between what a trial court must consider and what it may consider. As the Fifth District has held, intentional dissipation of marital assets occurring more than two years prior to a petition for dissolution may be, in some instances, a factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties. We find the Fifth District’s analysis of remote dissipation in Beers persuasive and apply it to the instant case.
Because the trial court could, in its discretion, consider intentional dissipation occurring three years before the filing of the petition for dissolution in determining an equitable distribution of the marital estate, we find no abuse of discretion in imputing the dissipated asset to Ms. Amos. AFFIRMED.
BENTON, C.J., CLARK and MAKAR, JJ., concur.
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Martinez v. Martinez, 219 So. 3d 259 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)…the parties,” allows, but does not require, the court to consider the more remote dissipation of marital assets when equitably distributing the marital assets and marital liabilities to the spouses. Beers, 724 So. 2d at 114-15; accord Amos v. Amos, 99 So. 3d 979, 980 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (finding this court’s analysis of remote dissipation in Beers to be persuasive). Thus, Beers provides Susan the ability to pursue Jared for his alleged remote dissipation of their marital assets. Turning back to Isaac, we b…
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Michener v. Michener, 403 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025)…be otherwise entitled, we find no error in the trial court’s consideration of this factor under the broad catchall of “other factors necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.” See § 61.075(1)(j), Fla. Stat.; see also Amos v. Amos, 99 So. 3d 979, 980 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (“We hold that an intentional dissipation of assets more than two years prior to the filing of a petition, here three years beforehand, may fall within the catchall of subsection (j).”); Pachter v. Pachter, 194 So. 3d 567…
Authorities Cited
- Beers v. Beers, 724 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)