Miami family law attorney blog
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Florida marital settlement agreement
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can someone named as a creditor in a Florida marital settlement agreement sue as a third-party beneficiary to the agreement? For example, if an agreement states one spouse will pay a debt owed to a family member, can the family member sue the spouse for non-payment of the debt? This was an issue in the case Helmick v. Taylor, 2D22-3658 (Fla. 2d DCA April 3, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Words are important in a Florida marital settlement agreement. It is important to capture the true intent of the parties in the language used because not doing so may have unintended consequences. This was an issue in the case Bartolotta v. Bartolotta, 2D23-645 (Fla. 2d DCA February 28, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a marital settlement agreement provides that any modifications must be in writing and signed by the parties, this provision will usually be upheld despite any oral agreements subsequently reached by the parties. This was an issue in the case Duchateau v. Duchateau, 5D22-2609 (Fla. 5th DCA June 2, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Generally, the clear and unambiguous terms of a Florida marital settlement agreement will be enforced despite unfair terms. Courts are not free to re-write an agreement reached by the parties. In this way, marital settlement agreements are enforced much like other types of contracts in Florida. This was an issue in the case Rosen v. Rosen, 4D22-922 (Fla. 4th DCA April 12, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What constitutes a settlement offer versus an invitation to negotiate in a Florida family law case? Sometimes, lawyers will send offers of settlement to each other to try to resolve the case. When correspondence about these offers indicates it is “not an offer”, this may be an indication that it is only an invitation to negotiate. This was an issue in the case Vera v. Toledo, 3D22-0969 (Fla. 3d DCA March 1, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
The terms of a Florida marital settlement agreement will be enforced under contract law. The unambiguous terms of a contract are enforceable as written, therefore it is important that the right words are used to convey the intent of the parties. A court cannot rewrite the terms of a valid and enforceable marital settlement agreement. This was an issue in the case Orth v. Orth, 3D21-458 (Fla. 3d DCA March 30, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
The words used (or not used) in a Florida marital settlement agreement are important. A court cannot rewrite the terms of the parties’ contract and must enforce the clear terms “as-is”. This is why it is important to be sure your agreement says what you mean. This was an issue in the case Grey v. Grey, 5D20-1809 (Fla. 5th DCA July 23, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What if there is a mistake in your Florida marital settlement agreement? How can it be fixed? Whether or not it can be fixed depends on how long ago the agreement was entered, and the nature of the mistake. In the case Asad v. Sheikh, 5D21-316 (Fla. 5th DCA July 9, 2021), the court considered an appeal concerning a retirement account in the parties’ marital settlement agreement.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Even after a Florida marital settlement agreement is entered, parties can be back in court for enforcement issues or clarification of terms of the agreement. When a party does not follow the agreement, that party may be subject to contempt of court or enforcement remedies. In the case Schuenzel v. Schuenzel, 3D19-2377 (Fla. 3d DCA February 17, 2021), former spouses were back in court on the issue of the former wife’s failure to pay certain expenses toward the marital home.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Most Florida jurisdictions require parties to a Florida family law case to attend mediation prior to their case being set for trial. Mediation is a meeting at which the parties and their lawyers, if any, try to reach an agreement on the issues in their case with a trained negotiator known as a mediator. Some parties prefer to save money and time, however, by negotiating directly between themselves or their lawyers. It is possible to resolve a case this way, and it is important to know when a binding contract is entered if this method is used. This was an issue in the case Thomas v. Thomas, 1D19-1259 (Fla. 1st DCA October 9, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Equitable distribution in a Florida divorce can sometimes become complicated when a marital asset is encumbered by multiple liens. This can be an issue even after the final judgment is entered or after the parties enter a marital settlement agreement. In the case Law v. Law, 3D18-1177 (Fla. 3d DCA March 4, 2020), the former wife sought to have the former husband follow the parties’ agreement as it relates to a debt on a marital asset.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can a Florida marital settlement agreement that was not ratified by a court order be enforced via a motion for contempt? In what was referred to by the appellate court as a “novel” case, a five-year lapse between an initial filing for divorce and a second petition for divorce created a tricky set of facts for a trial court to navigate in determining whether or not the former husband should be held in contempt of a marital settlement agreement. The case is Thilloy v. Ciccone-Capri, 3D18-1468 (Fla. 3d DCA November 27, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When the parties to a Florida divorce sign a settlement agreement, they are held to the terms of the agreement much like any other contract parties enter. In the case Forest v. Estate of Kohl, 4D18-3734 (Fla. 4th DCA October 23, 2019), at issue was a settlement release and the former wife’s effort to enforce it.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When parties in a Florida divorce enter a settlement agreement, that agreement is subject to the same laws concerning other contracts. Generally, in order for a contract to be formed, there must be an offer, an acceptance and what is called consideration. In the case Romaine v. Romaine, 5D18-2521 (Fla. 5th DCA October 18, 2019), an issue arose as to the enforcement of a marital settlement agreement purportedly entered between the parties.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
After a final judgment is entered in a Florida divorce case, parties probably expect to ride off into the sunset and be finished with a former spouse. However, it is common that parties will still have issues post-judgment, even if no children are involved. The case Lapciuc v. Lapciuc, 3D18-1804 (Fla. 3d DCA July 3, 2019) shows us how a dispute concerning a business owned by former spouses mushroomed into what was likely expensive post-judgment litigation.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Time and time again, we see cases in which parties’ marital settlement agreements are not fully clear as to intent. A paragraph about child support, for example, may say something, but when read years later, can cause different interpretations. These different interpretations usually lead to expensive post-judgment litigation as was the case in Quillen v. Quillen, 247 So.3d 40 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
We see time and time again how language in a Florida marital settlement agreement can be interpreted in multiple ways. Ultimately, how the court interprets the language is what controls, and how the court arrives at that decision is based on established Florida law. In the case Wells v. Wells, 239 So.3d 179 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018), an issue arose regarding the interpretation of a clause of a marital settlement agreement which gave the ex-wife possessory rights over the marital home for what turned out to be a disputed length of time.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
A trend is coming up in this week’s blog posts regarding recent appellate cases. The trend seems to deal with enforcement and interpretation of marital settlement agreements. In the case Walsh v. Walsh, 5D17-1655 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), the parties were involved in a dispute regarding alimony payments; specifically how the former husband’s gross income was to be defined when calculating his alimony obligation.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
In order to save money, some divorcing couples decide to go to a notary to have that notary fill out templates for divorce case documents. This may work in cases in which there are no children, no property and no financial support issues, but since a notary cannot give legal advice (unless the notary is also a lawyer), depending on one may cost you a lot more than you bargained for. In the case Rodriguez v. Roca, 3D17-1746 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018), the parties ended up in what was probably costly litigation after completing a marital settlement agreement with a notary.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
An agreement or order is only as good as the ability to enforce it. In a Florida divorce, parties may enter a settlement agreement. Both parties usually intend to honor the terms of the agreement and make certain promises in good faith reliance on the other party's compliance with the agreement. When a party does not uphold his or her part of the contract, the court must intervene to force compliance in most cases.
