Indeed, this tends to be a particular concern in divorce cases involving individuals with significant wealth. In Florida, if a spouse intentionally wastes or depletes marital assets within two years before filing for divorce (or after filing), the court can make an unequal distribution to account for the dissipation.
Florida’s equitable-distribution statute starts at 50/50, but it permits adjustments for intentional dissipation, waste, depletion, or destruction of marital assets in the two-year lookback or post-petition. Courts commonly counterbalance misused funds by awarding them to the non-offending spouse, a process often called recapture or claw back.
What evidence persuades
Bank and credit statements, wire logs, large cash withdrawals, brokerage activity, crypto movement, spending on an affair, gambling losses or transfers to friends/family can support a dissipation or claw back claim. Though, each must be tied to intentional misconduct. Florida appellate decisions stress the need for family law courts to make a specific finding of intent because mere bad spending or failed investments is not enough.
Practice tips
If a Floridian thinks they may qualify for a claw back in their divorce, there are some practice tips. First, pull at least 24 months of statements and build a timeline keyed to the two-year window. Next, seek temporary relief (injunctions, accountings, etc.) if active waste is suspected. Third, request findings on intent and an unequal distribution at trial under Florida Statute, Section 61.075(1)(i). Remember that the burden is on the accusing spouse, and judges often require granular tracing.
Dissipation claims succeed when the proof shows deliberate depletion, not simply unwise spending (or normal spending during the pendency of the divorce). Plead with specificity, marshal records early and tie each outflow to non-marital purposes within the statutory window to maximize the chance of a corrective offset.
