What Is Imputed Income, and How Does the Court Determine It?

In the simplest possible terms, imputed income is hypothetical income. It is how much the judge determines that the (currently non-working) spouse would be earning if that spouse were working. Imputed income usually factors into a case when a spouse is not working at all, but sometimes the spouse is working, but the judge determines that the spouse is intentionally earning a lower income than he or she could earn, specifically to prevent the court from imposing a heavier financial burden on him or her. The court can impute income to a supporting spouse or to a supported spouse. The goal is to prevent the supporting spouse from evading his or her responsibilities to support his or her children and ex-spouse and also to prevent the supported spouse, if he or she is able to work, from representing an unnecessary financial burden to the supporting spouse. Imputed income can be used in cases of alimony or child support.

Notable Cases Involving Imputed Income

In the case of Koscher v. Koscher, Daniel and Marcie Koscher divorced after 30 years of marriage. Because of the length of the marriage, and because of Marcie’s health problems that prevented her from working, the judge and both spouses agreed that Marcie should receive permanent alimony. Daniel was laid off from a well-paying job shortly before the divorce was initiated. He spent the next four years trying to start his own business, but never earned anything close to the income he had received from his previous job. The court ruled that Daniel was voluntarily unemployed; four years was long enough for him to find a job with a steady paycheck, entrepreneurial dreams or not. Therefore, it imputed income to Daniel based on what he had earned over the span of his career.

In the case of Hua v. Tsung, the court refused to grant permanent alimony to Nancy Hua, a healthy woman in her forties who had been a stay-at-home parent for most of her marriage. It awarded her rehabilitative alimony to pay for nursing school and then imputed income to her based on what she could be expected to earn after graduating.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez About Disputes Over Alimony and Child Support

Judges must use their individual discretion when imputing income to a parent or former spouse.  Contact Bundza & Rodriguez, P.A. in Daytona Beach, Florida if you think you have reason to contest the amount of alimony or child support awarded in your divorce case.

Resource:

edca.4dca.org/DCADocs/2015/2432/152432_DC08_09212016_100935_i.pdf

How Does Collaborative Divorce Work?

In the summer of 2017, the state of Florida passed new legislation regarding collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce is different from litigation, where the parties argue their respective cases in front of a judge. It is also different from mediation, where they argue their cases in front of a mediator, but the mediator’s decision is not legally binding. Instead, in a collaborative divorce, the two spouses work together every step of the way.

Usually, in a collaborative divorce, each spouse hires a lawyer. They meet with their lawyers individually, but the process also involves meetings of all four people: both spouses and both lawyers. They also meet with other experts who give them professional advice about various aspects of their divorce. A financial expert often advises them on how to divide their property equitably. If the couple has minor children, then an expert in the mental health of children helps the parents develop a parenting plan that will help the children thrive. A collaborative divorce can involve a lot of people, but no judges are involved, except to pronounce the marriage legally dissolved at the very end.

Collaborative Divorce Pros and Cons

Having the option of collaborative divorce will come as a great relief to many couples. Litigation is stressful and expensive, and when litigation is involved, it is easy for things to get very ugly, even among couples who originally approached their divorce with the best of intentions for getting through it amicably. In a collaborative divorce setting, it is easy to feel that the experts and lawyers are there to help both spouses. The divorce does not take place in the framework of one spouse against the other. Some couples also choose collaborative divorce because they feel that it allows them more privacy.

When there are very difficult issues involved, collaborative divorce does not work. If the marriage ended because of physical or financial abuse, collaborative divorce is probably not an option. Likewise, if aspects of the parenting plan are hotly contested, litigation is usually the only choice.

Reach Out to Us Today for Help

Having a divorce attorney you really trust can contribute greatly to the success of your collaborative divorce. Contact Bundza & Rodriguez, P.A. in Daytona Beach to see if collaborative divorce is right for you.

Resources:

flcourts.org/core/fileparse.php/293/urlt/995a.pdf

prnewswire.com/news-releases/groundbreaking-florida-collaborative-divorce-law-effective-july-1-2017-300482227.html

What Is No Fault Divorce?

In Florida, couples can divorce because of irreconcilable differences. “Irreconcilable differences” is an intentionally vague term; it essentially means that a couple can divorce simply because they no longer wish to be married to each other. Even reasons as small as “she buys too many shoes” or “he forgot my birthday,” which would have seemed utterly frivolous to judges a century ago, can count as irreconcilable differences.

The “no fault” part comes in because judges no longer have to spend time determining which party was at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Each party probably feels that it was the other spouse who ruined the marriage. No fault divorce is something of an acknowledgement that it takes two people to make a marriage succeed or fail.

When Adultery Does Matter

Despite the fact that all married couples in Florida have the right to divorce, with or without adultery, evidence that one spouse had an affair can affect the court’s decision on some matters. When it comes to child custody, simply starting a new long-term relationship before legally divorcing one’s spouse usually does not count as being an unfit parent. If you can prove that your spouse’s extramarital affairs are part of a pattern of unstable, irresponsible, and impulsive behavior, however, the court might grant your spouse less time with the children.

As regards property division, adultery on the part of one spouse can affect the judge’s decision about how to apply the doctrine of equitable distribution. Florida courts must divide a couple’s jointly owned property in a way that is fair (equitable). Misconduct, that is, intentional misuse of marital property, can lead judges to favor the innocent spouse (the one who did not commit the misconduct) in property division decisions. Spending money on an extramarital affair can count as misconduct.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez About Your Options If Your Spouse Committed Adultery

It is normal to feel betrayed if your spouse committed adultery, but the purpose of the family court system is not to punish one spouse or even, in most cases, to decide who is to blame. If you have just found out about your spouse’s extramarital affair, or if you are tired of living in an adulterous marriage, contact Bundza & Rodriguez of Daytona Beach, Florida. Corey Bundza and Michael Rodriguez will help you rebuild your life after adultery.

Prenuptial agreements can actually prevent conflict between spouses. The reason so many marital conflicts are about money is because so many people do not have honest discussions about their financial plans, their assets and debts, and their values about money before they get married. Successfully drafting a prenuptial agreement means not hiding wealth or debts from your fiancé.

Motivations for Drafting a Prenuptial Agreement

One could argue that every engaged couple should discuss their financial status and financial goals to the extent that they can jointly issue a written statement about how they plan to respond to various changes in financial status. When you need a prenuptial agreement the most is when one spouse stands to suffer a great financial setback in the event of a divorce. The more complicated your finances are, the more you can benefit from a prenuptial agreement. Couples in the following situations are most in need of prenuptial agreements:

• One spouse has a much higher income than the other
• One spouse has a much higher net worth than the other at the time of marriage
• One spouse has many thousands of dollars in debt obligations at the time of marriage, but the other does not
• One or both spouses have children from a previous relationship
• The couple plans for one spouse to be a stay-at-home parent, therefore having very little income for many years
• One spouse owns a business individually or with partners

Inheritance can likewise be a thorny issue in divorce. Florida law tends to treat inherited assets as non-marital property. It is possible for non-marital property to become marital property. If you use your inherited money to support your spouse during the marriage, the judge might not be so easily convinced that it is really non-marital property.

Prenuptial Agreements Are a Serious Legal Matter

A prenuptial agreement is a legal document on which judges and mediators will rely heavily in determining how to divide property in a divorce. It is a good idea to have a lawyer help you draft a prenuptial agreement. If you and your fiancé write the agreement without a lawyer’s help, at least have a lawyer review it. This way, you will be sure that you understand the legal implications of the document you are signing.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez About Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements are detailed financial plans for couples. While they are used as guidelines in divorce cases, they are also important for reasons that have nothing to do with divorce. Contact Bundza & Rodriguez in Daytona Beach, Florida, for help drafting or interpreting your prenuptial agreement.

Factors that determine what type of alimony is awarded include the length of the marriage and the current and potential future income of each spouse. If you are trying to reach an agreement with your spouse about how to transition out of the financial partnership you shared during your marriage, keep reading to see which type of alimony seems most appropriate to your situation.

Types of Alimony in Florida

As mentioned above, Florida recognizes a variety of different types of alimony, including the following:

• Temporary Alimony – This type of alimony, paid in monthly installments, lasts only as long as the divorce case is ongoing. Once the court issues the divorce decree, the alimony payments stop.

• Bridge the Gap Alimony – Bridge the gap alimony can last no more than two years, and it begins when the divorce is finalized. Its purpose is to help the supported spouse tie up loose ends financially, such as selling the marital home. A good candidate for bridge the gap alimony is a former stay at home parent who needs to renew her professional license to return to her previous career after the divorce.

• Rehabilitative Alimony – Rehabilitative alimony requires the supporting spouse to pay for the supported spouse’s professional training in order to make the supported spouse financially self-sufficient. It requires the spouses to draft a plan indicating how long the chosen program of education will take and how much it will cost.

• Lump Sum Alimony – The supporting spouse pays the supported spouse the entire amount of alimony as a one-time payment, usually at the time the divorce is finalized.

• Durational Alimony – Durational alimony is new in Florida as of 2010. It is paid in monthly installments for a finite period of time. The duration of the alimony payments varies from one couple to another, but it cannot exceed the amount of time that the couple was married.

• Permanent Alimony – Permanent alimony is where the supporting spouse pays the supported spouse a monthly payment as long as both of them are alive. It is usually awarded only to people who were married for more than 17 years. Most recipients of permanent alimony have reached the age of retirement or will reach it soon. Judges tend only to award this type of alimony to people younger than 60 if they have a chronic medical condition or other life circumstance that would prevent them from working full time or earning a sufficient income.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez with Questions About Florida Alimony

Do you have questions about alimony in Daytona Beach? Our skilled attorneys have significant experience in Florida family law, and we are eager to advocate aggressively on your behalf. Contact us today at Bundza & Rodriguez for professional assistance.