Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

Can receipt of social security benefits form a basis for modification of Florida alimony? If an alimony recipient begins receiving social security benefits, the payor may be able to modify alimony payments if he or she can show there has been an unanticipated and substantial change in circumstances which warrants modification of alimony. This was an issue in the case Mahle v. Mahle, 4D20-2024 (Fla. 4th DCA May 25, 2022).

The parties previously entered a marital settlement agreement in their divorce case which had the former wife paying permanent alimony to the former husband. The former wife moved to modify her payments, alleging an unanticipated substantial change in circumstances based on the former husband’s eligibility to begin receiving social security payments. The trial court denied the former wife’s petition for modification, and she appealed.

The appellate court upheld the trial court’s ruling, holding “In Huertas Del Pino v. Huertas Del Pino, 229 So. 3d 838 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), we held that a trial court may not impute, as income to a recipient spouse, the value of that spouse’s eligible, but as-yet unapplied-for, Social Security benefits, if the evidence presented demonstrates that the receiving spouse ‘would receive larger benefits if he or she decided to defer benefits until a later time’ and if there is no evidence to suggest that the decision to defer receipt of the benefits was anything other than ‘a prudent investment strategy[.]’ Id. at 842. In the absence of a stipulation in the parties’ MSA or a finding in their divorce judgment contemplating retirement at a certain age, we find no distinction between this case and Huertas Del Pino. [. . .] Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court properly adhered to Huertas Del Pino in declining to impute the value of former husband’s eligible, but as-yet unapplied-for, Social Security benefits. We therefore affirm, because the trial court correctly concluded that the former wife failed to sufficiently prove the existence of a substantial and material change in the parties’ circumstances to warrant modification of the alimony award.”

Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to discuss alimony in your case and learn how the law may apply to your situation.