Constructive Service, a Nonresident Husband, and Foreign Assets
Wife has lived in Miami for four years. Husband moved to London three years ago after the parties lived together in Florida for two years. They married in New York 15 years ago. Wife files for dissolution in Miami, seeking alimony, attorney's fees, and distribution of the Florida condo titled in her name, a $250,000 joint bank account in New York, a North Carolina vacation home, and husband's UK pension. Husband has a Florida driver's license, a car registered in Florida, and has not visited Florida since moving. Wife served him by publication after mailing notice to his last known London address; he did not appear. The court is asked to enter a default final judgment. Wife's affidavit states husband's income is unknown but he is a UK solicitor. Husband has no other Florida contacts. The parties have no minor children.
1. Does Florida have personal jurisdiction over husband under section 48.193(1)(e) and due process? Address matrimonial domicile and minimum contacts.
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Section 61.021 requires wife's six-month Florida residence, which she meets. Personal jurisdiction over husband is separate. Section 48.193(1)(e) supplies long-arm jurisdiction in a matrimonial cause if the defendant was a Florida resident when the action accrued, maintained a matrimonial domicile in Florida when the cause accrued, or has Florida property. Husband lived in Florida for two years and the marital relationship was centered there, so the statutory basis is arguable. But long-arm is not enough: due process requires purposeful availment and fair play. Husband's prior Florida residence, driver's license, and car registration are contacts, but they may be stale after three years in London. The court should not confuse dissolution status with money judgments. If husband is not personally served and does not appear, minimum contacts cannot be litigated, and any personal judgment is vulnerable.
2. What is the effect of constructive service by publication on the court's power to dissolve the marriage, award alimony and fees, and divide the listed assets?
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Constructive service by publication can support dissolution of the marriage under Chapter 49 if the affidavit and notice comply, and if husband's last known address was used and mailing was made. It does not confer in personam jurisdiction. Therefore the court may dissolve the marriage but cannot award alimony, attorney's fees, or a personal money judgment against husband. Property division is generally in personam; without personal jurisdiction, the court should not distribute the New York account or UK pension. The Florida condo may be addressed only if the court has in rem jurisdiction properly perfected by notice describing the property and the action seeks title, not a personal obligation. Because husband is in the UK, service must comply with the Hague Service Convention; publication is not a substitute for personal service if wife wants alimony and fees.
3. What should the court do with the UK pension and North Carolina home?
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The UK pension is outside Florida's in rem power and requires personal jurisdiction over husband or a foreign enforcement proceeding; a Florida QDRO cannot reach a UK plan. The North Carolina home is also outside Florida; only a North Carolina court can adjudicate title in rem. The Florida condo can be dealt with if title is properly before the court, but the safest course is to personally serve husband in London and establish long-arm and minimum contacts, or to sever the status divorce from the property claims. The court should not enter a default judgment that purports to distribute all assets; it should limit the decree to dissolution and preserve wife's rights. If husband appears, the court can then determine whether it has personal jurisdiction and whether forum non conveniens applies.