The use of a legally-incorrect date to determine the length of the marriage can trigger an avalanche of other legal errors regarding alimony and equitable distribution.

In a recent Florida case, the parties were married in 1996. They separated in 2008, but no divorce proceeding was filed until 2018. During the 10 year separation period, both parties lived separate lives with other people in long-term relationships. Was the length of the marriage only up to the 2008 separation date, or did it extend to the 2018 filing date, and what is the significance of the different dates?

The trial judge decided that the separation date effectively terminated the marriage. As a result, for purposes of alimony, the judge concluded that this was a moderate term marriage, and not a long term marriage. The judge further determined that the cut-off date for identifying the marital assets and liabilities subject to equitable distribution was the separation date, rather than the filing date by which time a greater amount of assets and liabilities had been accumulated.



However, on appeal, the appellate court cited Florida statutory law in deciding that the length of the marriage extends all the way to the filing date rather than the much shorter separation date. The trial judge had no authority to alter, modify, or reduce the statutory length of the marriage for any reason. Thus, the marriage was a long-term marriage for purposes of alimony; and the assets and liabilities subject to equitable distribution were the larger amount that had been accumulated up to the filing, rather than the lesser amount that had existed when the parties separated.