MARK STEVEN ARD, APPELLANT,
v.
DONNA J. ARD, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court reversed a temporary alimony award because the record lacked competent, substantial evidence of the wife's present need for support, as the award was based on anticipated future expenses rather than current necessity.
Temporary alimony awards must be supported by competent, substantial evidence demonstrating the recipient's present need for support and the payor's ability to pay, and cannot rest on anticipated future expenses.
[1] Temporary alimony awards must rest on competent, substantial evidence of the recipient's present need for support, not on anticipated future expenses the recipient may in…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn a dissolution of marriage proceeding, the wife had been living rent-free in her mother's home for almost four years since separation, and the trial…
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In this dissolution of marriage proceeding, Mark Ard (the Husband) appeals from the nonfinal order awarding Donna Ard (the Wife) temporary support. Because the record does not contain competent, substantial evidence to support the Wife’s need for temporary alimony, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Although temporary awards of alimony are within the trial court’s broad discretion, they must be supported by competent, substantial evidence that demonstrates the need for support and the paying spouse’s ability to pay. Breitenbach v. Breitenbach, 838 So.2d 1266, 1267 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Driscoll v. Driscoll, 915 So.2d 771, 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); see § 61.071, Fla. Stat. (2016). The alimony award in this case was not accompanied by any findings concerning the Wife’s need for support. Nevertheless, it appears that the award was based, in significant part, on “anticipated” household expenses the Wife testified she would incur when she moved from her mother’s home, where she had been living rent free for almost four years since the parties’ separation. The record is devoid of any evidence concerning when the Wife would actually move from her mother’s home and begin incurring these expenses. Accordingly, we conclude that there is insufficient evidence in the record to support the Wife’s present need for temporary alimony.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
B.L. THOMAS, RAY, and OSTERHAUS, JJ., CONCUR.
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Pflanz v. Charla Denise Pflanz, 332 So. 3d 1044 (Fla. 1st DCA 2021)…wing a marriage of short or moderate duration.” § 61.08(7), Fla. Stat. First, however, the trial court must make factual findings concerning one party’s need and the other party’s ability to pay. § 61.08(2), Fla. Stat. (2017); see also Ard v. Ard, 208 So. 3d 1288, 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) (explaining that alimony awards must be supported by competent, substantial evidence demonstrating one spouse’s need for support and the other spouse’s ability to pay). Then, the trial court may address the amount of alimo…
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Ehiabor v. Ehiabor (Fla. 1st DCA 2026)…substantial evidence (1) a need for temporary alimony and (2) the other party's ability to pay the temporary alimony. Williams, 365 So. 3d at 1238; De La Piedra v. De La Piedra, 243 So. 3d 1052, 1053 ---PAGE 10--- (Fla. 1st DCA 2018); Ard v. Ard, 208 So. 3d 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017). Section 61.08, as revised, now expressly includes temporary alimony in subsection (1)(a): “In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the court may grant alimony to either party in the form or forms of temporary, bridge-the-g…
Authorities Cited
- Driscoll v. Celeste Driscoll, 915 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
- Carey v. State, 838 So. 2d 1266 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
- Breitenbach v. Breitenbach, 838 So. 2d 1266 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)