BETTY S. POQUETTE (GOODE), APPELLANT,
v.
HAROLD POQUETTE, APPELLEE
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A former husband appealed from an order granting him relief from a child support modification judgment, claiming his ex-wife fraudulently misrepresented her financial circumstances by failing to disclose her impending remarriage. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the wife's conduct was not fraudulent and that anticipated future circumstances cannot serve as a basis for relief under Rule 1.540(b)(3).
The court reversed the order granting relief, holding that the wife's conduct was not fraudulent and that relief from judgment under Rule 1.540(b)(3) cannot be granted based on circumstances that might occur in the future. The court noted that child support determinations should be based on existing facts rather than anticipated future changes.
[1] A party seeking relief from a judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(3) must demonstrate fraud.
[2] A financial affidavit must reflect income and expenses as of the date it is signed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The financial affidavit necessarily reflected her income and expenses as of the date she signed it.”
Establishes that the wife's financial disclosure was not fraudulent because it accurately reflected her circumstances at the time of submission
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties' marriage was dissolved in 1978 with the wife receiving custody and the husband ordered to pay child support. In September 1981, the wife …
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GRIMES, Judge.
The wife appeals from a nonfinal order granting a motion for relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(3).
The marriage of the parties was dissolved in 1978. The court awarded custody of their child to the wife and directed the husband to pay child support. In September of 1981, the wife filed a petition to increase the child support and furnished a financial affidavit in support of her petition. The wife was deposed on October 7, 1981. A hearing on the petition was held on December 10, 1981. Judge Swanson entered an order on December 16, 1981, which modified the judgment by granting an increase in child support.
The husband later learned that on the date the order of modification was entered, the wife applied for a license to marry another man, and she remarried on January 1, 1982. Thereupon, the husband moved to set aside the modification order. He claimed that the wife had fraudulently misrepresented her anticipated expenses on the financial affidavit by not disclosing the reduction which would come about as a result of her impending marriage. Following a hearing, Judge Sanderlin ordered that the husband was entitled to a rehearing on the wife’s petition for modification. We reverse. The predicate for relief was fraud. Yet, even the trial judge declined to characterize the wife’s actions as fraudulent. He based his ruling upon the conviction that the forthcoming marriage was a factor which should have been considered at the hearing. See Birge v. Simpson, 280 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). Be that as it may, this was not a basis upon which relief from a final judgment could be granted under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540.
Clearly, the wife’s conduct was not fraudulent. The financial affidavit necessarily reflected her income and expenses as of the date she signed it. Even though the wife had stated on deposition that she had been seeing the man she ultimately married, she was never asked any questions at the final hearing concerning her intentions with respect to remarriage. Moreover, a court should base its determination of child support on existing facts rather than circumstances which might come about in the future.
Accordingly, we reverse the order granting the husband’s motion for relief from the final judgment. Our ruling does not preclude the husband from filing a petition for modification bottomed on changed circumstances occurring after December 16, 1981.
OTT, C.J., and BOARDMAN, J., concur.
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Martinez v. Martinez, 662 So. 2d 1319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…the motion to vacate as insufficient grounds were alleged to establish fraud on the court under the reasoning in Myers v. Myers, 652 So. 2d 1214 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Flemenbaum v. Flemenbaum, 636 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Poquette v. Poquette, 425 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). We therefore reverse the order granting the motion to vacate with directions to reinstate the original order of modification dated April 11, 1994, without prejudice to either party filing any additional motions to modify this ord…
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Quittner v. Quittner, 725 So. 2d 1168 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…presentations because he mistrusted her enough to investigate her boyfriend. Also, Mr. Quittner could have conducted discovery to obtain more information regarding his concerns before entering into the settlement agreement. See Poquette v. Poquette, 425 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Accordingly, we hold that the record does not establish sufficient grounds to justify relief from the agreement. See Martinez v. Martinez, 662 So. 2d 1319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). As the Flemenbaum court observed, “[i]n many cases,…
Authorities Cited
- Birge v. Simpson, 280 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973)