Gerthe v. Gerthe, 2D01-5737.
| Decision Date | 10 October 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 2D01-5737.,2D01-5737. |
| Citation | 857 So.2d 306 |
| Parties | Geraldine Leann GERTHE, Appellant, v. Chris Allen GERTHE, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Geraldine Leann Gerthe, pro se.
Jane H. Grossman of Law Office of Jane H. Grossman, St. Petersburg, for Appellee.
Geraldine Leann Gerthe, the former wife, appeals the "Order Modifying Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage (Child Support and Specified Visitation)." We agree that the trial court erred when it imputed income to the former wife and reverse that portion of the trial court's ruling. In all other respects we affirm the trial court's order.
The parties were divorced in 1991. An order was entered in May 2001 which changed the primary residence of the parties' two minor sons from the former wife to the former husband, Chris Allen Gerthe. In August 2001, the former husband filed a motion in which he requested that the trial court establish a new visitation schedule for the boys and award child support from the former wife.
At the hearing on the former husband's motion, the trial court properly restricted the testimony presented to only those matters which were then pending before the court. After hearing testimony regarding the extreme difficulties encountered by the parties due to the liberal visitation schedule instituted upon the dissolution of the marriage, the trial court established a rigid schedule.
A trial court has great discretion in creating a visitation schedule. Keitel v. Keitel, 724 So.2d 1255, 1257 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). We hold that the trial court, in the present case, did not abuse its discretion in setting the visitation schedule and in eliminating the flexibility which created problems for the parties.
With regard to the former wife's ability to pay child support and the imputation of income, the evidence presented at the hearing demonstrated that she was unemployed at the time of the hearing. She had a high school education but had not been employed since 1994. In February 2000, the former wife was injured when she was struck by a large branch from a tree that was being cut down. She testified that she had difficulty walking, sitting, and standing, and that she had migraine headaches as well. Two letters from doctors were admitted into evidence to support the former wife's statements concerning her physical condition. The former wife had been prescribed narcotic analgesics which she took regularly to relieve pain. The former wife indicated that she had applied for social security disability insurance (SSDI), but those benefits had been denied. However, she testified that she was continuing to pursue SSDI benefits and was attempting to obtain job training.
The trial court order states that...
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Burkley v. Burkley, 5D04-2172.
...lower courts did not have sufficient evidentiary bases for imputing income against partially disabled spouses. See Gerthe v. Gerthe, 857 So.2d 306, 307-308 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (reversing the trial court's finding that the wife could work at least part-time, though she suffered migraines and ......
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Elliott v. Elliott, 5D02-1997.
...authority. See Jones v. Jones, 633 So.2d 1096 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Doyle v. Doyle, 789 So.2d 499 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Gerthe v. Gerthe, 857 So.2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). There are, however, two aspects of the final judgment which require First, in determining alimony and child support, the ......
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Andrews v. Andrews, 5D02-3091.
...there must be substantial competent evidence in the record to support the level of income imputed to a spouse. See Gerthe v. Gerthe, 857 So.2d 306, 307 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); LaFlam v. LaFlam, 854 So.2d 809 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). In this case, the only evidence regarding Rebecca's income was her ......
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Reno v. Reno, 4D03-3787.
...and in establishing the terms of the visitation. See Keitel v. Keitel, 724 So.2d 1255, 1257 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Gerthe v. Gerthe, 857 So.2d 306, 307 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). The appellate court will not reverse a trial court's order regarding visitation absent a finding of abuse of discretion. ......