According to Florida law, whether your spouse is entitled to your personal injury settlement in Florida depends on the specific allocation of the settlement funds. If the settlement includes compensation for lost wages or medical expenses paid during the marriage, those portions would be considered marital property. If the settlement is for pain and suffering or future losses (future medical expenses or future loss of earnings), those funds may be considered nonmarital property. If no specific allocation is made, the entire settlement may be presumed to be marital property.
In classifying personal injury awards acquired during the marriage, Florida follows the “analytical approach.” See Weisfeld v. Weisfeld, 545 So. 2d 1341, 1346 (Fla. 1989) (adopting the “analytical approach,” which considers the purpose of the portions of the personal injury award when classifying them as marital or nonmarital). Under the analytical approach, “the marital property subject to distribution includes the amount of the award for lost wages or lost earning capacity during the marriage of the parties and medical expenses paid out of marital funds during the marriage.” Id. at 1345. The nonmarital property belonging to the injured spouse includes the portion of the damage award for pain and suffering. Id. In Weisfeld, our supreme court instructed that if there are any personal injury funds for which no allocation can be made, the funds should be classified as marital. See id.
Here, the trial court did not make any findings as to the portions of the personal injury award that, based on their purpose, could be classified as marital or nonmarital pursuant to Weisfeld. But the court cannot be faulted for failing to parse details it did not have; neither party introduced any evidence showing the components of the award.1 Nevertheless, the funds should not have been classified as the Former Husband’s nonmarital funds because the Former Husband did not overcome the statutory presumption that the funds are marital in nature. See § 61.075(8) (stating that there is a presumption that funds received during the marriage are marital assets); see also Weisfeld, 545 So. 2d at 1345 (“The marital property should also include those funds for which no allocation can be made.”).
See: Roth v. Roth, 312 So. 3d 1021 and Florida Statute 61.075(8) regarding the statutory presumption that funds received during the marriage are marital assets, and the burden is on the injured spouse to overcome this presumption.
Related:
- Marital vs. Non-Marital Property in Florida
- Can I have marital and non-marital assets in one account?
- How to Divide Marital Assets in Florida During a Divorce
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