Volosin v. Volosin, 79-882

Decision Date19 March 1980
Docket NumberNo. 79-882,79-882
PartiesMildred VOLOSIN, Appellant, v. Robert VOLOSIN, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

John M. Strickland of Livingston, Patterson & Strickland, P.A., Sarasota, for appellant.

Alan J. Kerben, Tampa, for appellee.

ULMER, RAY E., Jr., Associate Judge.

Mildred Volosin appeals the terms of a final judgment of dissolution alleging in part that the lower court erred in failing to award her permanent alimony. We agree and reverse.

The parties were married in 1973, at a time when appellant was employed in a furniture store. She brought to the marriage a car, some furniture, and $4,000.00 in cash. Between the years 1973 and 1975, appellee worked sporadically as a trucker, and appellant supported both herself and her husband during appellee's periods of unemployment. In 1975, appellee and a partner commenced operation of a truck brokerage firm in the state of South Carolina. In 1976, appellee formed his own truck brokerage firm in which appellant worked. The financial matters with respect to the truck brokerage firm and the parties individually were rather loosely handled in that business and personal funds were co-mingled; and, despite a business gross of up to $47,000.00 in 1978, appellee testified that their actual net income amounted to only $10,000.00. It was also established in the record that the parties owned a 1978 Lincoln automobile and apparently lived rather comfortably in motels and hotels while engaged in the operation of the truck brokerage firm in and among several states.

Appellee occasionally beat appellant while he was under the influence of alcohol. After one such beating in August 1978, appellant left appellee, taking with her approximately $17,000.00 from various business accounts. At the time of the final hearing, appellant listed no income and few assets, with expenses totaling $1,400.00 per month. Appellant testified that she suffered from spinal arthritis and as a result could no longer follow her previous line of work because she could not stand for the long periods of time necessary to fulfill the duties of a sales person. Appellee, at the time of final hearing, was still operating the truck brokerage firm and testified that it was $20,000.00 in debt. Nevertheless, appellee offered no evidence before the trial court to show an inability to make alimony payments.

The trial court ordered that appellant return $6,600.00 of the business funds to appellee, denied a claim by appellant for a special equity in the truck brokerage business, denied permanent alimony, awarded appellant rehabilitative alimony in the amount of $400.00 per month for twelve months, and awarded each party the personal property they then had in their possession.

The factors governing alimony contained in Section 61.08(2), Florida Statutes (1979), control the award made by the trial judge. Those factors include the parties' standard of living, age, and physical condition, financial resources, contributions to the other's career, duration of the marriage, and ability of the parties to find suitable employment. Although the parties apparently enjoyed a rather comfortable living standard during the marriage, and although appellant worked actively during the course of the marriage in appellee's...

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7 cases
  • Levy v. Levy, No. 2D03-2903
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • April 29, 2005
    ...DCA 1998). However, the short duration of the marriage does not preclude such an award. Cullen, 884 So.2d at 305; Volosin v. Volosin, 382 So.2d 733, 735-36 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980); Echols v. Elswick, 638 So.2d 581, 582 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). In considering the propriety of an award of permanent al......
  • Siegel v. Siegel
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • July 12, 1990
    ...evidence showed wife's need for support included her status as a psychiatric patient, and husband's ability to pay); Volosin v. Volosin, 382 So.2d 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) (court abused its discretion in failing to award permanent alimony to sixty-one year old wife at conclusion of five year ......
  • Lagstrom v. Lagstrom
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • November 15, 1995
    ...of discretion, we affirm the award of permanent periodic alimony. Simzer v. Simzer, 514 So.2d 372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Volosin v. Volosin, 382 So.2d 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980); Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197 (Fla.1980). We also affirm the injunction against the husband's pension, which s......
  • Cullen v. Cullen, 2D02-Z5698.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • August 20, 2004
    ...seven years militates against awarding alimony. But the short duration of a marriage does not preclude such an award. Volosin v. Volosin, 382 So.2d 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980). Indeed, ample case law demonstrates that a number of circumstances may justify an alimony award notwithstanding that th......
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