Smith Family Law Florida Case Law Update: Week of December 4, 2017
Dennis v. Dennis, Fla 1st DCA, December 7, 2017:
Trial court’s refusal to allow attorney’s fees on a contempt motion for actual failure to pay alimony because the court “did not find Former Husband to be in contempt, and declines to award attorney’s fees and costs” was insufficient as there was no hearing on the issue of fees and no findings regarding the financial situation of the parties. Matter was remanded for the court to consider these issues.
Dogoda v. Dogoda, Fla 2nd DCA, December 6, 2017:
Trial court erred in denying modification of alimony based on changes in circumstances occurring before entry of Final Judgment but AFTER signing of Marital Settlement Agreement. In cases involving a marital settlement agreement the effective date of the agreement establishes the date to which a trial court should look in determining whether a substantial change in circumstances was contemplated by the parties (especially in cases such as this where there is a long delay).
Posted by Roy Smith on Dec 11th 2017
