Background
Peter Molo, II appealed an amended final judgment dissolving his marriage to Diana Molo. The trial court permitted Former Wife to relocate with the parties’ child to Pennsylvania, awarded her $414.45 monthly in durational alimony for 36 months, and ordered Former Husband to pay $477.49 monthly in child support. It imputed $55,000 in annual income to Former Husband, plus $700 monthly in rental income from the marital home.
Former Husband challenged the support rulings on several grounds. The trial court later removed a $21,000 award of retroactive temporary alimony through a supplemental final judgment. Former Husband did not challenge the relocation ruling.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth District affirmed the trial court’s income-imputation rulings, including the imputation of $700 monthly in rental income. But it reversed the alimony and child-support rulings in part because the court failed to include the alimony award in Former Wife’s gross income when calculating child support, as Florida’s child-support statute requires.
The appellate court also found unexplained inconsistencies between the income figures in the amended judgment and the attached child-support worksheet. In addition, the trial court did not make all written findings required by section 61.08(2)(b) for alimony, and it failed to account for Former Husband’s approximately $500 monthly child-travel expenses when assessing his ability to pay support. Those expenses turned the stated monthly surplus into a deficit.
Key Takeaways
- Alimony awarded in the same dissolution case must be included in the recipient’s gross income for child-support calculations.
- Internal inconsistencies in income figures supporting a child-support award require correction or clarification.
- A trial court must address all applicable statutory alimony factors and may not impose support exceeding the obligor’s ability to pay.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that child-support and alimony calculations must be internally consistent and based on the complete financial picture, including court-ordered travel costs. On remand, the trial court must recalculate child support and reevaluate whether alimony is appropriate and, if so, its amount.