When a divorce involves significant assets, the problems that cost the most money are rarely dramatic. They are quiet: an account that never shows up, a business valued on the wrong assumptions, an inheritance that was deposited into the wrong account ten years ago. Almost all of them can be prevented or caught early by someone who knows where to look. Here is what goes wrong most often in Florida, and what can be done about it.
Assets that are hidden or quietly undervalued
Both spouses must disclose their finances under oath under Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, and the duty continues as things change during the case. Even so, assets go missing. The warning signs are familiar:
- Money moved to relatives, friends, or new entities shortly before or after filing
- Business revenue that drops, or expenses that jump, right after the case begins
- Bonuses, commissions, or distributions that are delayed until after the divorce
- Cryptocurrency, foreign accounts, or cash businesses with thin records
- Personal expenses run through a business to lower reported income
How hidden assets are found
Florida discovery rules allow subpoenas to banks and brokerages, depositions under oath, and requests for business records. A forensic accountant compares tax returns, bank deposits, and lifestyle spending to find income that is not being reported. Under Florida Statute § 61.075(1)(i), money that was intentionally dissipated after filing or within 2 years before filing can be charged against the share of the spouse who moved it.
The earlier this work starts, the better. Records are easier to obtain, and the spouse moving money has less time to do it.
The business valuation fight
When one spouse owns a business or a professional practice, each side often hires its own valuation expert, and the two numbers can be far apart. The differences usually come down to a few judgment calls: what salary the owner should be treated as earning, which expenses are really personal, which valuation method fits the business, and how much of the value is goodwill.
Florida divides enterprise goodwill but not personal goodwill, the part of the value that depends only on the owner's own skill and reputation, under Thompson v. Thompson, 576 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 1991). Courts also watch for counting the same income twice, once to set the value of the business and again to set alimony. An expert who handles these points carefully is often the difference between a fair result and an expensive one.
Separate property that turned marital
Under Florida Statute § 61.075(6), assets owned before the marriage and inheritances or gifts received individually are generally nonmarital. That protection is lost more often than people expect. An inheritance deposited into a joint account and spent on family expenses, a premarital home refinanced in both names, or a separate investment account funded with marital salary can all become partly or entirely marital.
Growth in a nonmarital asset can also be marital when it comes from either spouse's work during the marriage or from marital money. The spouse claiming an asset is separate has to trace it, and tracing a decade of transactions is expensive. Keeping separate assets separate, and keeping the records, is the cheapest protection there is.
A prenuptial agreement that does not hold up
Florida enforces premarital agreements under Florida Statute § 61.079, and a well-made agreement usually holds. A court can refuse to enforce one if the challenging spouse proves it was not signed voluntarily, was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or was unconscionable when signed and was signed without fair and reasonable disclosure of the other spouse's finances.
The weak points are predictable: an agreement signed days before the wedding, a missing or incomplete financial disclosure, or a spouse who had no lawyer of their own. Whether you are relying on an agreement or challenging one, the circumstances of the signing matter as much as the words.
Alimony surprises after the 2023 law change
Florida Statute § 61.08 was rewritten in 2023. Permanent alimony is gone, durational alimony is limited by the length of the marriage, and the amount of durational alimony is capped at the lesser of the receiving spouse's reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference in the parties' net incomes. A spouse expecting lifetime support, or a spouse expecting to pay it, may be working from rules that no longer apply.
Income is also argued over. A court can look past a recent pay cut or an unexplained career change and consider what a spouse is able to earn. In high income cases, the true income of a business owner is often the most disputed number in the case.
Running out of money during the case
When one spouse controls the business and the accounts, the other can find it hard to pay for the case at all. Florida law addresses that. Florida Statute § 61.071 allows temporary support while the case is pending, and Florida Statute § 61.16 allows the court to order one spouse to contribute to the other's attorney's fees and costs based on need and ability to pay. Asking early keeps the case on equal footing.
Losing privacy in a public court file
Florida court records are generally open to the public. Financial affidavits, business valuations, and testimony about income can all end up in the file. Sealing records requires a specific showing under Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420, and it is not granted just because the details are embarrassing.
The practical answer is to settle as much as possible outside the courtroom. Mediation and the collaborative law process under Florida Statutes §§ 61.55 through 61.58 let the spouses resolve the finances privately, with only the final agreement filed with the court.
Questions about your own case?
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. offers a free first consultation, in English or Spanish, for families in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Orange, Hillsborough and Leon counties.
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This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. Full disclaimer.
