ISADOR D. SCHACHTER, APPELLANT,
v.
SYLVIA SCHACHTER, APPELLEE
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In this dissolution of marriage case, the Florida appellate court reversed and remanded the trial court's final judgment on equitable distribution of assets because the judgment contained internal inconsistencies and lacked proper factual support. The court found that the trial court's characterization of assets as marital or non-marital was logically inconsistent with its own findings and required clarification on remand.
The court reversed and remanded, holding that the trial court failed to provide sufficient factual findings and logical consistency in its asset classification. The trial court must address all applicable statutory factors, separately classify all assets and liabilities with appropriate explanations, and separately address temporary relief compliance, parties' contributions to the marriage, and other relevant factors.
[1] A trial court must address each applicable factor in section 61.075(1)(a) through (h), Florida Statutes, when fashioning an equitable distribution in a dissolution of mar…
[2] Assets and liabilities not included in lists of a particular class of items must be separately classified as marital or non-marital with an appropriate explanation by the…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Even so, we cannot be sure that the final judgment as amended by a subsequent order accurately reflects the allocation of assets intended by the trial court and whether that allocation is supported by the evidence.”
Establishes the court's concern that the judgment lacks clarity regarding the trial court's intent and evidentiary support for asset allocation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThis is a dissolution of marriage case involving equitable distribution of marital and non-marital assets. The trial court's final judgment listed ass…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a final judgment in an action for dissolution of marriage. The parties place at issue various aspects of the scheme of equitable distribution adopted by the trial court. Also in contention are specific characterizations of certain assets as either marital or non-marital.
We have carefully reviewed the materials presented by both parties. Even so, we cannot be sure that the final judgment as amended by a subsequent order accurately reflects the allocation of assets intended by the trial court and whether that allocation is supported by the evidence. For example, the final judgment lists assets in the sole name of the husband, deducts therefrom a mortgage and an additional amount for gifts made by the husband to his children from a prior marriage, and concludes with calculation of an amount of “non-marital” assets. Thereafter the court entered a post-judgment order changing this characterization from “non-marital” to “marital” assets. This result does not seem logically to follow from the factual premises which precede the characterization in the original order nor does it find support in the evidence.
The foregoing is but one example of the problems presented by the final judgment and the record in this case. Because of these difficulties, we reverse and remand. The trial court may take additional testimony or may rely on the record already made if sufficient to accomplish the following requirements. See 3 Fla.Jur.2d Appellate Review § 411.
The trial court shall address each of the applicable factors in section 61.075(l)(a) through (h), Florida Statutes (1991), in fashioning an equitable distribution. Assets and liabilities not included in lists of a particular class of items also shall separately be classified as marital or non-marital with an appropriate explanation by the trial court. See Walsh v. Walsh, 600 So. 2d 1222, 1223 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) (trial court’s lack of specific findings in dissolution action as to which assets and liabilities were marital and which were non-marital required reversal of order as to distribution thereof and remand for further proceedings).
Lastly, the final judgment shall separately address the following issues: temporary relief and whether court orders concerning required payments were complied with by appellant; the respective contributions of the parties to the marriage; and, such other factors as will permit this court to make an enlightened evaluation of the financial circumstances of each of the parties at the time of the marriage, at the conclusion of the marriage, and as envisioned by the final judgment.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
GLICKSTEIN, C.J., LETTS and HERSEY, JJ., concur.