Cardillo v. Cardillo, 97-00194
| Decision Date | 23 January 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-00194,97-00194 |
| Citation | 707 So.2d 350 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D365 Joann C. CARDILLO, Appellant, v. Paul T. CARDILLO, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Catherine M. Catlin of Catherine M. Catlin, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant.
Karol K. Williams and Allison M. Perry, Tampa, for Appellee.
This case arises out of a divorce proceeding involving Joann and Paul Cardillo. Our review of the record convinces us that the trial court erred in refusing to consider the most recent income shared by the parties in making its determination of alimony. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The parties were married fourteen years and had two children. Toward the end of the parties' marriage Mr. Cardillo began to experience some success in his law practice, and the family's income increased substantially. Nevertheless, the parties' relationship deteriorated and they sought dissolution. Based on her years of marriage, her financial condition relative to her husband's, and her long absence from the workplace, Ms. Cardillo sought permanent periodic and rehabilitative alimony. In calculating the amount of alimony, Ms. Cardillo argued that the court was required to consider the income most recently shared by the parties.
Reasoning that a consideration of the income shared by the parties for the majority of the marriage was appropriate, the trial court ordered rehabilitative alimony and refused to consider the parties' most recent income. This decision was error. The applicable standard of living which Ms. Cardillo is entitled to maintain is a pivotal consideration in an alimony analysis. A review of the decisions on this issue indicates that the standard to be considered is the most recent standard of living shared by the parties. Bible v. Bible, 597 So.2d 359 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Lanier v. Lanier, 594 So.2d 809 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Pfaffko v. Pfaffko, 559 So.2d 1204 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). The trial court's refusal to examine the parties' most recent standard of living, a standard they had enjoyed for over two years, warrants reversal.
Additionally, we note the trial court awarded rehabilitative alimony without making any findings concerning a rehabilitative plan or goal. The court simply said the wife was in need of retraining and ordered $700.00 per month for twenty-four months. There is no indication that this sum is to cover training for a medical career or training to update her teaching credentials. There is nothing to indicate how this $700.00 figure was calculated.
On remand, the trial court should also reconsider the type of alimony to which Ms. Cardillo is entitled. Permanent periodic alimony is appropriate where one spouse has foregone a career to stay at home and raise the children for...
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