Holloway v. Washburn
Holloway v. Washburn
Opinion of the Court
We have for review a corrected final judgment of dissolution of marriage. We reverse the following aspects of this corrected judgment.
The trial court erred in awarding rehabilitative as opposed to permanent alimony to the wife. This was a fifteen year marriage during which the husband, a college graduate, worked as a systems analyst and the wife remained at home caring for the couple’s two children. The wife has minimal job skills. The record establishes a substantial income disparity between the parties. The alimony issue is controlled by our decision in Young v. Young, 677 So.2d 1301, 1306 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).
Because the imputation of income was also employed in calculating child support, the award of child support should be revisited on remand.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED.
Concurring in Part
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur with the majority opinion in full. I would simply add thereto that on remand the trial court should reconsider the propriety of awarding the former wife some or all of her attorney’s fees. There is a wide disparity of income and income-earning ability between the parties. See White v. White, 575 So.2d 767 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). The former wife should not have to use her assets obtained through equitable distribution or alimony to pay her attorney’s fees under these circumstances. See Flemming v. Flemming, 742 So.2d 843 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). However, this is an issue that should be considered on remand, in connection with the amount of permanent alimony set by the court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.