JESSICA VILMA MILLER, APPELLANT,
v.
MICHAEL VAN MILLER, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2016-03-16
No. 4D14-2208
MAY and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur.
186 So. 3d 1128 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2016) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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.

Synopsis

Jessica Miller appeals a final judgment of dissolution challenging the trial court's equitable distribution of marital assets. The court reverses in part, finding that the trial court failed to make a specific finding regarding whether the former wife engaged in intentional misconduct resulting in dissipation of marital assets—a necessary element to include dissipated assets in the equitable distribution scheme.


Holding

The trial court erred in failing to make a specific finding regarding intentional misconduct by the former wife resulting in dissipation of marital assets. The court reversed and remanded for the trial court to determine whether the wife engaged in intentional misconduct, noting that if the record provides sufficient evidence, the court may amend the final judgment without an additional hearing.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court must make a specific finding of intentional misconduct by a spouse that resulted in the dissipation of marital assets before assigning the dissipated asset…

[2] Dissipation of marital assets due to intentional misconduct can serve as a basis for assigning the dissipated asset to the spending spouse during equitable distribution.

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Key Quotes

“to include a dissipated asset in the equitable distribution scheme, there must be evidence of the spending spouse's intentional dissipation or destruction of the asset, and the trial court must make a specific finding that the dissipation resulted from intentional misconduct.”

Establishes the legal standard requiring both evidence of intentional dissipation and a specific finding by the trial court

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Facts & Procedural History

The parties were in a dissolution proceeding. During the proceedings, there was a question regarding whether marital assets had been dissipated. The t…

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Opinion of the Court
GERBER, J.

GERBER, J.

The former wife appeals from the circuit court’s final judgment of dissolution, raising several arguments. We find merit in only one argument — that the court’s equitable distribution of the .parties’ assets and liabilities did not include a specific finding that .the former wife engaged in intentional misconduct during the dissolution proceedings which. resulted in the dissipation of marital assets. ■

On that argument, "we reverse the final judgment with directions for the court to determine whether the wife engaged in such intentional misconduct. As our sister court stated in Roth v. Roth, 973 So.2d 580 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008):

As a general proposition, -it is- error -to 'include assets in an equitable distribution scheme that have been diminished or dissipated during the dissolution proceedings. However, kn exception to this general proposition exists when misconduct during the dissolution proceedings results in the dissipation of a marital asset. In that case, the misconduct may serve as a basis for assigning the dissipated asset to the spending spouse when calculating equitable distribution.
When considering whether the dissipation of an asset resulted from misconduct, the question for the trial court'is whether one spouse used marital funds for his or her own benefit and fór a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time when the marriage is- undergoing an irreconcilable breakdown. The mis*1129conduct necessary to support inclusion of dissipated assets in an equitable distribution scheme does not include mismanagement or simple squandering of marital assets in a manner of which the other spouse disapproves. Instead, to include a dissipated asset in the equitable distribution scheme, there must be evidence of the spending spouse’s intentional dissipation or destruction of the asset, and the trial court must make a specific finding that the dissipation resulted from intentional misconduct.

Id. at 584-85 (emphasis added; internal citations, quotation marks, and brackets omitted); see also § 61.075(l)(i), Fla. Stat. (2014) (“[I]n distributing the marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution based on all relevant factors, including ... [t]he 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.”).

If the record from the previous hearing provides sufficient evidence and arguments for the court to determine whether the wife engaged in intentional misconduct, it shall not be necessary for the court to conduct an additional evidentiary hearing or consider additional arguments. Instead, the court may amend the final judgment without an additional hearing or arguments.

On the remainder of the former wife’s arguments, we affirm without further discussion.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

MAY and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur.


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