LISA KEMP, WIFE, APPELLANT,
v.
IAN KEITH KEMP, HUSBAND, APPELLEE
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In a dissolution of marriage proceeding, the wife appealed a non-final order granting monetary relief to both parties from marital accounts. The court reversed, holding that the trial court lacked statutory authority to order an interim partial equitable distribution without a verified motion, and therefore could not award funds to both parties as it did.
The court reversed, holding that an interim partial equitable distribution cannot be ordered absent a verified motion requesting such distribution as required by statute. The trial court's order effectively made an interim equitable distribution in violation of statutory requirements and improperly denied the wife's motion for attorney's fees by directing funds to both parties without statutory authority.
[1] A court may not order an interim partial equitable distribution in the absence of a verified motion requesting such a distribution.
[2] A trial court's order granting monetary relief to parties in a dissolution of marriage action, without a proper request for such relief, may be reversed and remanded.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Because an interim partial equitable distribution may not be ordered in the absence of a verified motion requesting such a distribution, we reverse and remand for reconsideration of the wife's motion for temporary attorney's fees.”
The core holding establishing the statutory requirement for a verified motion before interim equitable distribution can be ordered.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe wife filed a motion for temporary attorney's fees requesting approximately $25,000 in past-due fees and $43,000 in prospective fees. At the hearin…
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Lisa Kemp, the wife, appeals from a non-final order granting immediate monetary relief to her and Ian Kemp, the husband, in a pending action for dissolution of marriage. We reverse and remand for reconsideration of the wife’s motion for temporary attorney’s fees.
After a hearing on the wife’s motion for temporary attorney’s fees, at which she requested approximately $25,000 in past-due fees and $43,000 in prospective fees, the court issued an order finding that the husband lacks the ability to pay the wife’s attorney’s fees and directing that each party receive $25,000 from marital bank accounts that were previously inaccessible due to a court order. The court acknowledged that it lacked authority to order an interim partial equitable distribution because the statutory requirements for such an order were not met. However, the court also did not award attorney’s fees to the wife and provided monetary support to the husband when no request for such relief was properly before it. It ordered that both parties’ fees be paid from a marital account without indicating any intent to reallocate this money at a final hearing. Therefore, despite its intent not to do so, the court effectively made an interim equitable distribution and denied the wife’s motion for attorney’s fees. Because an interim partial equitable distribution may not be ordered in the absence of a verified motion requesting such a distribution, we reverse and remand for reconsideration of the wife’s motion for temporary attorney’s fees. § 61.075(5), Fla. Stat. (2014); Austin v. Austin, 120 So.3d 669, 675 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).
REVERSED and REMANDED.
THOMAS, WETHERELL, and RAY, JJ., concur.