Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

Re: cashed checks

I am not a family law attorney, but it seems to me that your live-in friend needs to square up with you, and should also send his ex-spouse a letter, by certified mail (return receipt requested) and regular mail confirming that the two checks she was asked not to cash (and which she did) will now be applied to future alimony payments, and that way the ex-spouse will not benefit from her wrongdoing (other than the benefit of getting money earlier than anticipated). The cashed checks themselves will prove how much money the ex-spouse received, which will serve as a defense in the future if the ex-spouse attempts to bring a frivilous motion before the family court to enforce the terms of the divorce/alimony agreement. Seek the advice of an attorney and good luck.

Re: cashed checks

Courts are going to be rather unsympathetic and recourse to the court is not going to make you happy -- likely would cost more than the checks in issue, and even if the court grants your request, likely will be after the two months that were (effectively) paid in advance. It is common knowledge that, when checks are allegedly lost and have not been negotiated, the drawer should instruct his bank to STOP PAYMENT on the checks before issuing replacement checks. Thus, I think it highly unlikely that a court will act to bail you out because your BF tried to save a few $$ in stop payment fees.

Yes, technically, XW's conduct probably consitutes fraud or larceny by trick, or some such petty crimes and/or torts, but you'll never interest a DA in pursuing them, and damages on the civil side are really the amount of interest on the advance payments (since they would have been made in due course anyway).

Effectively, your BF is now two months ahead in his payments, and he can cite this episode the next time his XW decides to ask for a higher amount of alimony. But don't expect too much outrage from the judge, who will see a lot worse every day.

Best wishes,

LDWG