Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Permanent alimony in Florida is usually reserved for long-term marriages of 17 years or more. Permanent alimony may still be awarded in marriages of shorter duration when there is a finding of exceptional circumstances. For example, if a spouse in a shorter marriage becomes disabled and unable to work, this may be a factor that supports granting permanent alimony. This discussion is highlighted in the case Odom v. Odom, 1D20-2154 (Fla. 1st DCA March 18, 2021).
The parties were married for about four and a half years by the time a petition for divorce was filed. There were no minor children born of the marriage. The former wife sought permanent alimony. The former husband was 50 years old by the time of trial, working for the postal service. The former wife suffered strokes and had brain surgery during the marriage, but she held multiple jobs after that. At trial, the former husband testified that the parties lived together through the divorce proceedings and he observed her moving around the house fine, going on cruises and going to parties with friends. He also submitted evidence of video the former wife posted on Facebook showing her dancing.
The former wife was receiving social security disability benefits. She offered the testimony of her treating physician stating the former wife could not work and evidence of 15 medications she was taking. The trial court entered a final judgment granting the former wife bridge-the-gap alimony for a period of nine months, finding her testimony that she was unable to work was not credible. She was imputed to minimum wage based on her description of her job history and based on the fact that the physician who testified had last treated her 2 years prior to the trial date, and the physician was unaware of the former wife’s work history after the strokes and surgery. The former wife appealed.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision, holding it was supported by competent, substantial evidence. The court held “In addition to downplaying her work history on direct examination, the Former Wife told [her physician] that she was unemployed. [Her physician] testified that if the Former Wife had any job for a period of time during their course of treatment from January 2015 to August 2018, that would alter her opinion about the Former Wife’s ability to work, explaining that the symptoms that would lead to an inability to work are internal and are based on patient reports as they cannot be observed or measured. The trial court found [her physician’s] testimony in that regard significant and found that the Former Wife’s testimony about her inability to work was not credible. We defer to the trial court’s credibility determination as it would be inappropriate for us to reweigh the evidence and the credibility of witnesses, which is in the trial court’s exclusive purview.”
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