Stantchev v. Stantcheva

Summary

The Florida appellate court affirmed the permanent alimony award but reversed and remanded portions of the equitable distribution plan. It directed the trial court to exclude a nonmarital bank account, allocate equally the loss in value from converting funds to Bulgarian leva, and credit the former husband for one-half of marital funds used for the former wife's attorney-fee payment. The judgment was otherwise affirmed.

Holdings

1. The permanent alimony award of $5,300 per month is affirmed.
2. The account was a nonmarital asset belonging to Former Husband and must be removed from the equitable distribution plan.
3. The trial court abused its discretion by valuing the account as of the date it was transferred to Bulgaria and assigning Former Husband the full resulting loss. On remand, Former Wife must bear one-half of the $8,985 loss in value, and any expense of converting the Bulgarian leva back to U.S. dollars must also be shared equally.
4. Former Husband is entitled to a credit for one-half of the $3,958 in marital funds used by Former Wife as the down payment for her attorney's fees.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court erred by awarding Former Wife $5,300 per month in permanent alimony because the award allegedly was not based on actual need.
2. Whether the trial court improperly included Former Husband's $23,660 CCB AD account as a marital asset.
3. Whether the trial court used an improper valuation date and allocation method for the decrease in value of the account transferred to Bulgaria.
4. Whether Former Husband was entitled to a credit for one-half of the $3,958 in marital funds used by Former Wife as an attorney-fee down payment.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded