Sharon A. LANGEVIN, Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
v.
Robert E. LANGEVIN, Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Robert L. Bogen of Law Offices of Robert L. Bogen, Boca Raton, for appellant/cross-appellee.
Karen A. Gagliano of Karen A. Gagliano, P.A., Boca Raton, for appellee/cross-appellant.
WARNER, Judge.
This is an appeal of a final judgment of dissolution of marriage. The wife raises seven issues on appeal. The husband raises three on cross-appeal. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
The wife challenges the trial court's determination that an insurance business started by the husband before the marriage *602 was only partly marital, and she also disputes the methodology of valuation. The husband's CPA expert testified both as to the characterization of the premarital portion of the business and as to its valuation. The wife presented no testimony as to valuation. The trial court accepted the expert's testimony. As a finder of fact, the trial court may accept such testimony. See McDaniel v. McDaniel,
The husband concedes that the trial court erred in requiring the wife to reimburse the husband for one-half of a joint tax liability, because the court already accounted for the liability in the equitable distribution. We therefore reverse as to this point and direct the trial court to eliminate this requirement from the marital liability distribution in the final judgment.
We find no error in the denial of permanent alimony to the wife. The marriage was of eleven years duration, and the parties were of approximately the same age and general physical condition, despite the claims of the wife that she had chronic back problems. She worked throughout the marriage, as did the husband, and each party leaves the marriage with about $450,000 in assets. The wife had substantial, non-marital, income-producing assets, while the husband had few liquid assets. Although the husband's income was higher, this finding alone does not justify an award of permanent alimony. See Aresty v. Weinstein,
On cross-appeal, the husband contends that the trial court erred in determining that the parties' shares in an employee stock option plan were subject to equitable distribution as of the date of the final judgment. The wife agrees that the trial court's determination is contrary to section 61.075(6), Florida Statutes (1995), which provides that the date for determining marital assets and liabilities is the earliest of the date the parties entered into a valid separation agreement or the date of filing a petition for dissolution of marriage. In Huber v. Huber,
We affirm as to all other issues not specifically addressed in this opinion.
POLEN and GROSS, JJ., concur.
