Substantial Change In Circumstances

692 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 139 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Waskin v. Waskin
  484 So. 2d 1277· Fla. 3d DCA· 1986-02-18 ·cited 16×
  The court held that the clean hands doctrine barred the reduction of alimony and child support obligations when the husband's financial decline was caused by his voluntary act of soliciting his ex-wife's murder.
• Bess v. Bess
  471 So. 2d 1342· Fla. 3d DCA· 1985-06-25 ·cited 16×·via Changed Financial Circumstances
  In this domestic relations appeal, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of Barbara Bess's petition to increase alimony payments, but reversed and remanded the denial of her petition to increase child support. The court held that while a former sp
• Holloway v. J. B. Sys.
  609 F.2d 1069· 3d Cir.· 1979-11-26 ·cited 16×·via Substantial Change In Condition
  The court affirmed the district court's judgment, holding that while the admission of industry custom testimony was inappropriate in a strict liability case, it did not constitute reversible error, and the jury instructions on superseding causation were proper.
• Hendry v. Hendry
  340 So. 2d 942· Fla. 4th DCA· 1976-11-26 ·cited 16×
  The court held that the trial court erred in failing to make findings regarding the child's best interests when considering a modification of child support, despite the father's decreased net worth.
• Connors v. Connors
  327 So. 2d 877· Fla. 2d DCA· 1976-03-05 ·cited 16×
  In this custody modification case, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's award of permanent custody to the father because the mother was denied adequate notice and opportunity to be heard. The court held that due process requires notice and a meaningful he
• Bauchman v. Berta Bauchman
  253 So. 3d 1143· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-08-15 ·cited 15×
  Former husband appealed a trial court's denial of his petition to modify downward his alimony obligation and the award of attorney's fees to the former wife. The appellate court reversed, finding that the trial court erred in applying an incorrect legal standard regarding what co
• Suni L. Reed v. Reed
  182 So. 3d 837· Fla. 4th DCA· 2016-01-06 ·cited 15×
  A father appealed an order modifying a time-sharing agreement after five years, seeking a 50/50 schedule instead of limited visitation. The trial court found a substantial change in circumstances based on the father's stabilized life but failed to analyze the child's best interes
• Kozell v. Kozell
  142 So. 3d 891· Fla. 4th DCA· 2014-05-21 ·cited 15×
  In this family law case, the husband appealed the trial court's order denying his petition to modify child support obligations. The trial court found that although the husband's income had declined, the change was voluntary and foreseeable at the time of the original settlement a
• Maher v. Anne C. Maher
  96 So. 3d 1022· Fla. 4th DCA· 2012-08-15 ·cited 15×
  In this family law appeal, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of Mark Maher's petition to modify downward his child support obligation. The court held that Maher failed to meet the heightened burden required when seeking to reduce child support
• Clark v. Clark
  35 So. 3d 989· Fla. 5th DCA· 2010-05-21 ·cited 15×
  Mother appeals a trial court order temporarily transferring primary residential custody of the parties' ten-year-old son to the father following their dissolution. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reverses, holding that the father failed to plead and prove a substantial change
• Shaw v. Nelson
  4 So. 3d 740· Fla. 1st DCA· 2009-03-04 ·cited 15×
  A former husband appeals a circuit court order modifying child custody and child support, arguing the order lacks sufficient findings of fact to demonstrate compliance with statutory child support guidelines. The appellate court affirms, holding that detailed oral calculations in
• Jannotta v. Hess
  959 So. 2d 373· Fla. 1st DCA· 2007-06-13 ·cited 15×·via Substantial And Material Change In Circumstances
  The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by changing custody of one child without sufficient competent substantial evidence, particularly given the separation of siblings.
• Fredman v. Fredman
  917 So. 2d 1038· Fla. 2d DCA· 2006-01-11 ·cited 15×
  The Former Wife appealed the trial court's denial of her supplemental petition for modification of the final judgment of dissolution, which sought to modify visitation and child support provisions and relocate the children to Texas. The appellate court affirmed the denial of the
• Wyckoff v. Wyckoff
  820 So. 2d 350· Fla. 2d DCA· 2002-04-03 ·cited 15×
  The Second District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's modification of a custody arrangement that awarded the former husband primary residential responsibility of the minor children and required the former wife to pay child support. The court held that the former husband fa
• Mooney v. Mooney
  729 So. 2d 1015· Fla. 1st DCA· 1999-04-27 ·cited 15×
  Florida appellate court affirmed trial court's determination that neither party bore a heightened burden of proof in a child custody matter where the parties had agreed to a rotating custody arrangement pending the child's entry into kindergarten.
• Simzer v. Simzer
  514 So. 2d 372· Fla. 2d DCA· 1987-09-04 ·cited 15×
  In this divorce case, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's decision to void a prenuptial agreement and award the wife permanent periodic alimony, but reversed the award of lump sum alimony and vacated the attorney's fees award for reconsideration.
• O'Brien v. O'Brien
  407 So. 2d 374· Fla. 1st DCA· 1981-12-18 ·cited 15×·via Changed Financial Circumstances
  The wife appealed an order reducing the husband's child support obligation from $100 to $25 per week, nine months after the final divorce decree. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the reduction, treating it as a temporary five-month respite conditioned on the husband'
• Schmachtenberg v. Schmachtenberg
  34 So. 3d 28· Fla. 3d DCA· 2010-02-24 ·cited 14×
  Sally McHugh appeals from a trial court's modification of child support and permanent periodic alimony awards in her divorce from Lee Schmachtenberg. The court reversed the child support modification entirely, finding the marital settlement agreement's language requiring the husb
• Mesibov v. Mesibov
  16 So. 3d 890· Fla. 5th DCA· 2009-07-24 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the trial court erred in finding a substantial change of circumstances sufficient to warrant a modification of primary residential custody, as the evidence did not support the allegations or the trial court's findings.
• Mendes v. Mendes
  947 So. 2d 450· Fla. 4th DCA· 2007-02-21 ·cited 14×
  A complete discharge of permanent alimony is inappropriate where the former payor's income decline results from fluctuating market conditions, because the potential for those conditions to improve leaves open the possibility of earning recovery. Downward modification, not complet
• Chambliss v. Chambliss
  921 So. 2d 822· Fla. 2d DCA· 2006-03-03 ·cited 14×
  A former husband sought modification of an alimony award based on the former wife's increased earning capacity after obtaining a master's degree in nursing. The appellate court reversed, holding that the former wife's educational advancement and increased income were contemplated
• Shafer v. Shafer
  898 So. 2d 1053· Fla. 4th DCA· 2005-03-16 ·cited 14×
  A mother appeals a trial court's temporary injunction preventing her relocation from Lake Worth to Orlando with her nine-year-old son while she attends law school. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirms, holding that the detailed visitation schedule in the final judgment imp
• Graham Marquis Greene v. Suhor
  783 So. 2d 290· Fla. 5th DCA· 2001-03-09 ·cited 14×
  Father Graham Greene appealed a trial court's denial of his petition for primary residential custody of his eight-year-old son, claiming he failed to meet the substantial change of circumstances burden. The Fifth District reversed, holding that because the original custody order
• Laliberte v. Laliberte
  698 So. 2d 1291· Fla. 5th DCA· 1997-08-22 ·cited 14×
  The appellate court reversed the trial court's denial of a petition to modify child support and alimony, finding the former husband's reduction in income was involuntary.
• Griffith v. Griffith
  627 So. 2d 527· Fla. 2d DCA· 1993-10-20 ·cited 14×
  Catherine Griffith appealed a nonfinal order denying her motion to enforce a final custody judgment after she voluntarily relinquished custody of her three children to her ex-husband. The court affirmed, holding that a temporary custody order does not require a showing of substan
• Jacques v. Jacques
  609 So. 2d 74· Fla. 1st DCA· 1992-11-19 ·cited 14×
  In this marital dissolution appeal, the First District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded because the trial court failed to include written findings of fact supporting its alimony award, as required by Florida Statute § 61.08(1). The court could not review the merits of the wi
• Joyce v. Dinah F. Joyce
  563 So. 2d 1126· Fla. 1st DCA· 1990-07-10 ·cited 14×
  A former husband appealed the trial court's denial of his petition to modify a nearly twenty-year-old marital settlement agreement, arguing he could no longer afford alimony and college expense obligations due to job loss. The court reversed, holding that the alimony and educatio
• Candi Lee Antonetti v. Amato
  544 So. 2d 286· Fla. 1st DCA· 1989-05-24 ·cited 14×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's order granting the father temporary primary physical custody of a minor child pending a custody modification proceeding, holding that the order lacked required factual findings of substantial change in circumstances or
• Ginder v. Ginder
  536 So. 2d 1155· Fla. 1st DCA· 1988-12-28 ·cited 14×
  The former wife appeals an order conditioning her continued residence in Cuba with the children on relocating to Jacksonville by July 1, 1988, with the threat that failure to comply would result in a custody change to the former husband. The court vacated the contingent custody c
• Reaves v. Reaves
  514 So. 2d 1147· Fla. 2d DCA· 1987-11-06 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the wife's petition for continuation of rehabilitative alimony should not have been summarily denied, as she is not required to show a substantial change in circumstances but rather diligent efforts toward rehabilitation.
• Lowry v. Lowry
  512 So. 2d 1142· Fla. 5th DCA· 1987-09-24 ·cited 14×
  In this alimony modification case, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of Alexander Lowry's petition to modify permanent alimony payments, based on estoppel and the failure to establish a de facto marriage between his ex-wife and her boyfriend.
• Ned R. Fayson v. Fayson
  482 So. 2d 523· Fla. 5th DCA· 1986-01-30 ·cited 14×
  The trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the wife's petition for modification and to enter a money judgment for past expenses related to the marital home.
• Walfish v. Walfish
  383 So. 2d 274· Fla. 3d DCA· 1980-05-06 ·cited 14×
  Mother appeals trial court's order changing custody of two minor children from her to their father. The appellate court reversed, holding that the record did not support the change of custody because it failed to demonstrate the mother was unfit or that the change was in the chil
• Freeland v. Purcifull
  347 So. 2d 726· Fla. 2d DCA· 1977-06-15 ·cited 14×
  The court reversed a trial court order terminating alimony payments where the former husband claimed changed financial circumstances. The court held that the husband's increased expenses (house, furniture, and debts incurred after the divorce) did not justify terminating alimony
• Pope v. Generoso Pope
  342 So. 2d 1000· Fla. 4th DCA· 1977-02-04 ·cited 14×·via Material Change In Circumstances
  The court held that the trial court erred in denying any increase in alimony and child support when the wife established more than a prima facie case of changed financial circumstances.
• Garner v. Garner
  193 So. 2d 673· Fla. 2d DCA· 1967-01-13 ·cited 14×·via Material Change In Circumstances
  A Florida appellate court reversed a trial court's decision to modify child custody from the father and paternal grandparents to the mother, holding that the trial court failed to establish material changes in the mother's mental condition or show that changing custody would serv
• Cohn v. Mann
  38 So.2d 465· Fla.· 1949-01-28 ·cited 14×·via Changed Financial Circumstances
  The appellate court reversed a lower court's dismissal of a petition to modify alimony payments. The lower court had ruled that a property settlement incorporated into a divorce decree could not be modified, but the appellate court found that the statute allowing modification of
• Koski v. Koski
  98 So. 3d 93· Fla. 4th DCA· 2012-07-11 ·cited 13×
  In this alimony modification case, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded a trial court's order denying a former husband's petition to modify his alimony obligation. The court found that although the former wife's income had substantially increased from $1,710
• Pedersen v. Pedersen
  892 So. 2d 1125· Fla. 2d DCA· 2004-12-03 ·cited 13×
  The court held that a supplemental final judgment must be reversed if the trial court adopts a party's proposed judgment verbatim without making its own findings of fact and conclusions of law, especially when the judgment contains errors.
• McDANIEL v. McDANIEL
  835 So. 2d 1265· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-02-03 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the trial court erred in awarding retroactive child support based on non-exercise of visitation without meeting statutory prerequisites and in deviating from child support guidelines without required findings. The court also held the trial court abused its dis
• Matthews v. Matthews
  677 So. 2d 323· Fla. 1st DCA· 1996-04-23 ·cited 13×
  A mother appeals the trial court's denial of her petition to modify child support upward and her request for attorney's fees. The appellate court reverses, holding that a party seeking an increase in child support need not prove a heightened burden of changed circumstances simply
• Regan v. Regan
  660 So. 2d 1166· Fla. 3d DCA· 1995-09-27 ·cited 13×
  A trial court may terminate shared parental responsibility and award sole custody to the primary residential parent when the record demonstrates the parties' clear inability to agree on routine child-care matters, but must preserve reasonable visitation rights including overnight
• Desantis v. Smith
  634 So. 2d 796· Fla. 4th DCA· 1994-04-06 ·cited 13×
  Joseph Gregory DeSantis appealed a trial court order reducing his alimony obligation from $600 to $450 per month and awarding his former wife 75% of her attorney's fees. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial of retroactive modification but reversed the alimony red
• Bryant v. Meredith
  610 So. 2d 586· Fla. 2d DCA· 1992-12-11 ·cited 13×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's modification of child custody from mother to father, holding that the trial court erred in finding a substantial change of circumstances sufficient to warrant the drastic alteration of custody. The court emphasized tha
• Linn v. Linn
  523 So. 2d 642· Fla. 4th DCA· 1988-03-09 ·cited 13×
  The trial court erred in modifying permanent periodic alimony based on the husband's IRS collection efforts, as this did not constitute a substantial and permanent change in circumstances.
• Perkins v. McKAY
  460 So. 2d 531· Fla. 2d DCA· 1984-12-12 ·cited 13×
  Mother appeals trial court's order granting father's petition to modify visitation rights to allow extended summer and Christmas visits in Montana. The appellate court reverses, finding the father failed to establish either a substantial change in circumstances or that the modifi
• Waszkowski v. Waszkowski
  367 So. 2d 1113· Fla. 3d DCA· 1979-02-27 ·cited 13×
  In a family law matter, the Third District Court of Appeal reviewed a post-judgment order approving a general master's report on a motion to modify child custody. The court affirmed the order except for the child support award, which it reversed because the general master exceede
• C.N. v. I.G.C.
  316 So. 3d 287· Fla.· 2021-04-29 ·cited 12×·via Substantial And Material Change In Circumstances
  The Florida Supreme Court resolved a certified conflict among district courts by holding that a final judgment modifying a parenting plan is not legally deficient merely because it fails to provide specific concrete steps for a parent to restore lost time-sharing rights. The Cour
• Holland v. Holland
  140 So. 3d 1155· Fla. 1st DCA· 2014-06-30 ·cited 12×
  The trial court abused its discretion by modifying a time-sharing schedule without a final order, proper findings, or evidence of a substantial change in circumstances or the children's best interests.
• Morales v. Morales
  915 So. 2d 247· Fla. 5th DCA· 2005-12-02 ·cited 12×
  In this custody modification appeal, the former husband challenges a trial court order changing primary residential custody to rotating custody despite the court's finding of no substantial change in circumstances. The Fifth District reverses, holding that under the Cooper/Wade s