Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

I have had my business just go down since about 2001 - to where last year 2008 i had a taxable income around 50k. so far this year my gross receipts are 18k!!!

i have a house on the market for 1.6 million in this awful market i owe 1.1 million on it - i have 127k in credit card debt that i have been making minimum payments on for years.- my monthly expenses are about 15k!!! i have been borrowing from parents to keep everything rolling til the house can sell and i can pay off all debt if it sells??? my wife and i talk for hours about everything but when she turns stuff over to the attorney things get changed - i didnt even hire an attorney cuz we cant afford one but she did. my parents mentioned filing bankruptcy 6 months ago - but i was worried that my wife would have nothing for her if we didnt give the house a chance to sell - it went on the market 6 months ago - a mediator - yes court appointed mediator - even though we have no kids , no money, no saving, just a ton of debt - but equity left in the house - her attorney recommended that. the mediator told me i should see a bankruptcy attorney immediately and stop throwing borrowed money down the well. i offered my wife 75k no matter what and her attorney is adding in all kinds of stuff and saying i will pay all kinds of alimony - yet i am so broke and trying to help her. i feel threatened by all this. My net income last year was probably 50k and so far 8 months into this year my GROSS income is 18k! Do they base alimony payments off of what u earn - we have been upside down for a few years now.


Asked on 8/14/09, 4:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

Alimony is not usually based on income but on the lifestyle of the marriage, though your inability to pay can be a defense to alimony. The problem with this picture is that she has a lawyer and you don't. Spend some of this money you're borrowing on a lawyer, and you'll probably come out much, much better in the long run. It's very possible that you won't owe any alimony at all.

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Answered on 8/21/09, 10:42 pm


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