Former Husband Appeals Marital Settlement Including Award For Permanent Alimony

Florida has recently changed the rules regarding permanent alimony. Beforehand, it was not necessarily common for the courts to issue an award of permanent alimony, but it did happen. New Florida laws have done away with permanent alimony in favor of durational alimony. Durational alimony can be periodically renewed if the court finds good reason to do so. It is generally awarded for a set period of time based on factors like the receiving party’s need, the paying party’s ability to pay, and the length of the marriage.

In a recent Florida case, Ferrer v. Larrinaga, the former husband appealed a final judgment of dissolution that awarded his wife permanent periodic alimony in the amount of $1,000 per month, his entire interest in the marital home as lump sum alimony, and 50% of the funds in his 401(k). One significant factor here is that the couple was married for less than 7 years which is technically considered a short-term marriage.

Generally speaking, permanent alimony was difficult to acquire in a short-term marriage. Today, the amount and duration of durational alimony is based on how long the marriage lasted. For obvious reasons, a party receiving alimony would be entitled to more alimony the longer the marriage lasted.

Alimony awarded in cases of short-term marriage 

When permanent alimony was still on the books, there was a presumption that the courts would not award it in cases of short-term marriage. However, the presumption was rebuttable, meaning that an individual could raise arguments against it in court. In this case, the wife argued that because she was disabled (and became disabled during the marriage) she was entitled to recover permanent alimony from her husband. The courts were required to consider whether or not there would be a “genuine inequity” without permanent alimony or (more specifically) whether the requesting spouse was “without the means to self-support as a result of something that happened during the marriage.” In this case, the wife argued successfully that she was incapable of supporting herself without permanent alimony.

The appeal 

The husband appealed the court’s decision for the award of permanent alimony, forfeiture of his equity in the family home, and half of his 401(k). He argued that the trial court abused its discretion in gifting the wife such a large alimony award given the length of his marriage and other factors. In this case, the appeals court sided with the wife and denied the husband’s appeal. In terms of permanent alimony, the appeals court found that there were enough “exceptional circumstances” to merit awarding the wife permanent alimony even though the marriage only lasted 7 years. In this case, those exceptional circumstances included the wife’s inability to support herself.

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