Barring the Killer Receiving Benefits Doctrine Gets Even Harsher
By Greg Giordano
Legislation is currently working its way through the Florida Legislature that will limit what perpetrators of heinous crimes can receive from their victims. The legislation filed by Senator Mike Fasano and Representative Richard Steinberg is modeled after a bill that passed in New Jersey in 2009. The bill seeks to plug holes in Florida’s existing “barring the killer receiving benefits” doctrine in current state law. The bill does so by expanding the doctrine in many ways.
“Florida should not allow criminals to benefit from those they have harmed,” Senator Fasano states. “This legislation ensures that criminals cannot take advantage of our legal system to benefit themselves after a crime has been committed.”
The expansion includes prohibiting a person from receiving alimony if that individual was convicted of certain crimes (i.e. first or second degree murder, manslaughter, DUI manslaughter) against a divorcing spouse, or a family member of the divorcing spouse, if the crime results in death, serious injury to the victim or creates a substantial risk of death. The bill defines family member as spouse, child, parent or sibling.
Additionally, the bill prohibits a person from receiving an equitable distribution of marital assets in a divorce proceeding if the individual was convicted of an offense involving an attempt to murder or conspiracy to murder the divorcing spouse.
The legislation also provides that a parent who criminally abused, abandoned, neglected or sexually abused his/her minor child loses the right to the intestate succession of any or all of the child’s estate. There is a provision that allows a court to determine if the parent/child relationship has been restored.
“A parent who seriously harms an innocent child should not be allowed to collect any money from that child’s estate,” said Representative Steinberg. “This legislation will help keep money out of the hands of criminals who should not be receiving it. I hope that my colleagues in the Legislature will join me in passing this important legislation.”
With the legislative session entering its seventh week, with only two more to go, the bills are now in their final committees of reference as both chambers enter the home stretch.
