Kangas v. Kangas

• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: GRIMES
• Citation: Kangas v. Kangas, 420 So.2d 115 (Fla. App. 1982)
• Decision Date: 08 October 1982
• Docket Number: No. 82-598,82-598
• Parties: David C. KANGAS, Appellant, v. Mary Jo KANGAS, Appellee.

Page 115

420 So.2d 115

David C. KANGAS, Appellant, v. Mary Jo KANGAS, Appellee.

No. 82-598.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Second District.

Oct. 8, 1982.

Ronald L. Collier of Rosin, Abel, Band, Brown & Russell, Chtd., Sarasota, for appellant.

No appearance for appellee.

GRIMES, Acting Chief Judge.

Reciting that the husband was unemployed at the final hearing, the final judgment of dissolution ordered him to pay the wife support of $10 per week for each of their three children but provided that after he became employed, his child support obligations would increase to $35 per week per child. The husband had recently lost his job when the State of Florida abolished compulsory motor vehicle inspections. The husband contests the contingent future increase in child support.

Judgments providing for automatic changes in alimony and support payments upon the occurrence of future events have not usually found favor in Florida. Stoler v. Stoler, 376 So.2d 253 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Reid v. Reid, 365 So.2d 1050 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Richter v. Richter, 344 So.2d 889 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); McNaughton v. McNaughton, 332 So.2d 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). There is no evidentiary basis for the determination of future events, and there is an adequate procedure for modification when changes in the circumstances of the parties do occur. Stoler v. Stoler. However, certain prospective modifications have been upheld when they were carefully conditioned upon specifically articulated changes in circumstances which would virtually preclude the possibility of unfairness to either party. See Mills v. Mills, 417 So.2d 298 (Fla. 1st DCA July 23, 1982) (alimony increased by one half of the gross of increases in husband's military retirement income); Spotts v. Spotts, 355 So.2d 228 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978) (child support increased $10 per month per child for each $1,000 annual increase in husband's income).

While clearly intended to be a practical vehicle to obviate the need of the...