A Florida Court recently held that retirement accounts distributed to parties might be considered income for the purpose of determining alimony.
In Stolztfus v. Stoltzfus, No.2D14-2083 (Fla. 2nd DCA August 12, 2015) a Former Husband challenged the Court’s calculation of permanent periodic alimony awarded to his Former Wife. The Former Husband argued that the trial court failed to consider income available to the Former Wife when determining the Former Wife’s need for alimony. In challenging the Former Wife’s income as calculated by the Court, the Former Husband argued that the trial court failed to consider two 401K accounts that were distributed to the Former Wife as a source of income available to her.
The Court acknowledged the mathematical error made in the calculation of the Former Wife’s need for alimony and held that retirement accounts distributed to the parties should be considered income for the purpose of determining alimony “where the court can reasonably conclude that the principal of the retirement account will not be invaded for the purpose of support.” The Court stated that this applies regardless of whether the party has attained the age at which funds may be withdrawn without penalty.
If you are facing an award of alimony or have any questions regarding spousal support or require legal assistance in other areas of Family Law you may always contact Damien McKinney of The McKinney Law Group to discuss your case further. He can be reached by phone at 813-428-3400 or by e-mail at [email protected].