Lafaille v. Lafaille, 1D01-5142.
| Decision Date | 17 February 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 1D01-5142.,1D01-5142. |
| Citation | 837 So.2d 601 |
| Parties | Eddy LAFAILLE, Appellant, v. Carolyn LAFAILLE, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Frantz Olivier, Miami, for Appellant.
John O. Williams, of Williams & Holz, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellee.
Eddy Lafaille, the former husband, appeals a final judgment of dissolution of marriage on the grounds that the trial court abused its discretion by making an inequitable distribution of assets and liabilities, contrary to section 61.075, Florida Statutes (2001); and by imputing income to him for purposes of determining the parties' respective child-support obligations under section 61.30, Florida Statutes (2001). We affirm.
The parties were married in July 1987 and have four children, all of them minors. After nearly 13 years of marriage, the appellant petitioned for a divorce. The former husband currently lives in Miami and is employed as a school teacher in the Miami-Dade County system. Carolyn Lafaille, the former wife, lives in Tallahassee and works as an academic administrator at Florida A & M University. The former marital home is located in Tallahassee.
In his petition for dissolution, the former husband asked the trial court, inter alia, to award custody of the children to the former wife, to divide all outstanding debts equally between the parties, to award child support, and to order the sale of the former marital residence and equally divide the proceeds from the sale. Both parties testified at the dissolution trial, which is not transcribed.
In its final judgment, the trial court found that the former husband earned $2,195.70 bi-weekly ($57,088.20 annually) as a teacher as of October 2000; and that he had earned, currently earned, or had the continuing ability to earn, an additional $500.00 monthly ($6,000.00 annually) from non-teacher employment. Additionally, the court found that the former husband has the ability to earn $2,000.00 monthly ($8,000.00 annually) during the summer months when he is not regularly employed as a teacher. The court calculated his earnings at $5,923.01 monthly ($71,088.20 annually). The former wife's earnings were found to be $4,309.74 monthly ($51,716.88 annually). The final judgment states that the parties maintained retirement accounts through their respective employers and that no evidence of discrepancies was presented regarding the values of their respective accounts. The court found that the former husband had incurred $36,000.00 in personal non-marital debt prior to the parties' separation, whether in his own or her name. The court found no evidence either from the financial affidavit or from the evidence presented at the hearing to support the former husband's claim to have incurred additional debts in the form of school loans.
Under the terms of the final judgment, the former wife was awarded primary parental responsibility for the children. She was made responsible for paying for day care and for before- and after-school care, which she listed as $385.00 and $560.00 monthly, respectively, with the former husband to share the costs proportionately according to Chapter 61, Florida Statutes. Commencing December 1, 2001, the former husband was ordered to remit to the former wife $1,584.84 monthly for child support based on the calculation that their respective parental financial responsibilities are 56.4% (his) and 43.6% (hers) under the statutory guidelines. § 61.30(9), Fla. Stat. He was adjudged in arrearage in the amount of $28,527.12 for child support, to be paid in $250.00 increments monthly commencing at the same time. The former wife was ordered to maintain health and dental insurance coverage for the children, with the parties sharing equally any unreimbursed treatment. Each of the parties was ordered to maintain existing or comparable life insurance naming the other as a beneficiary, to protect the children financially. No alimony was awarded.
The court awarded the former wife the former marital residence along with the current household furnishings. Each party was awarded right, title, and interest in the personal property current in his or her possession, subject to any indebtedness. To the extent that the debts for such items are joint, the party retaining the item was instructed in good faith to seek to have the other's name removed from such...
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