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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Florida Supreme Court Family Law Changes

A recent Florida Supreme Court family law case changes the way that many judges divide real property in Florida divorce cases. Under Florida divorce law, your spouse may have a claim to a house that was owned by you prior to the marriage, even when the house is only titled in your name. Previously, there were two different methods to determine your spouse’s share of the appreciation of the market value of the house, and the amount that the mortgage was reduced.

Since there was a split among the districts in Florida, the Supreme Court has now resolved the issue. Unfortunately, the formula that the Supreme Court accepted is somewhat complicated for the average person. In addition, most people do not even realize that a spouse may have a claim to a premarital house until they are facing a divorce action.

The fairly simple solution to this issue is to enter into a premarital agreement (aka “prenup”) to establish how assets and liabilities will be divided should the marriage end. Of course, the key is to understand the need and benefits of a prenuptial agreement before entering into the marriage.

If you have questions regarding whether a prenuptial agreement would be beneficial for you, please contact The Law Offices of Wade P. Luther, P.A. at (407) 835-9900 or visit http://familylawoforlando.com