Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog
Fort Lauderdale, Florida divorce Judge Arthur Birken ruled that Palm Beach Circuit Judge David French should not have to pay his former wife $3,400.00 a month in permanent alimony because she has been living with another man for nearly 20 years. Judge Birken also ordered the former wife to repay $151,000.00 that she received in alimony since August 2006.
Judge David French was divorced from his former wife in 1988. In 2006, Judge French requested that his alimony obligation be abated after the Florida Legislature enacted Florida Statute 61.14(b) which permits modification or termination of alimony to recipients living in a supportive relationship. The trial court denied this request in August 2006.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s August 2006 ruling and found that the former wife was in a supportive relationship and should not continue to receive alimony from Judge French