Freezing Your Assets Off: A Powerful Remedy on Thin Ice

In family law cases, a court can freeze a person’s assets without warning if they are trying to take their money out of the state or hide it to avoid paying alimony or support. This has been a law in Florida for a long time, and some courts make it a standard part of every divorce case, even if there isn’t much evidence to support it. It’s a pretty powerful thing that can happen in family law cases. There is a law that allows courts to freeze assets to make sure someone pays spousal support after a divorce. But some courts have been using this law to also freeze assets for dividing property in a divorce, even though the law doesn’t say they can do that. This started with a court case called Sandstrom v. Sandstrom, but even that case said the law only applies to spousal support, not dividing property. The law hasn’t been changed since the rules for dividing property in a divorce were made, so it still only applies to spousal support. In family law cases in Florida, it is not easy to get a court order to freeze someone’s assets before a final judgment. This is because the law considers this to be an extreme and drastic measure, and there are strict requirements that must be met. One of these requirements is that there must be a clear legal right to do so. In family law cases, this usually means that one spouse has a right to a fair share of the marital assets. However, this right doesn’t exist until a judge actually says so in the final judgment of divorce. So, before that point, it’s not possible to freeze someone’s assets to preserve them for distribution, because they are not legally considered marital assets yet. In family law, if one party claims the other is going to take or hide money or assets, they can ask the court for an injunction to stop it. But they have to have specific proof that it’s really going to happen, not just a guess or fear. It has to be a real and immediate threat. Just thinking it might happen isn’t enough. In simple terms, when a law specifically allows for an injunction, the person asking for the injunction doesn’t have to prove that they’ll suffer irreparable harm. This is also true in Florida. For example, in cases where one person has to pay alimony or support to another person, the law assumes there will be irreparable harm if the payments aren’t protected. This makes it easier to get an injunction. However, in divorce cases where assets are being divided, it’s harder to get an injunction because simply not getting the assets isn’t considered “irreparable harm.” In those cases, it’s usually enough for the person asking for the injunction to show that the law is being violated. Simply put, there is not a strong legal basis for stopping someone from transferring their assets in a divorce to protect fair distribution. The government may need to make new laws to address this issue, like they did in California. But any new laws would also need to follow the rules in the constitution. In Florida, there are laws that allow courts to prevent people going through a divorce from using up or hiding their money and property. This is meant to make sure that there’s enough money for things like child support and alimony. Some courts have rules in place to stop people from doing this, and the rules are set out in different parts of the law. There are also cases where people have tried to hide or spend money during a divorce, and the courts have had to step in to stop them. There are lawyers in Florida who specialize in this kind of law and can help people going through a divorce. To teach its members about the importance of doing their job well and helping the community, and to make sure the legal system is fair and just.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/freezing-your-assets-off-a-powerful-remedy-on-thin-ice/