My spouse is withholding support. What can I do?

Withholding or deserting support from a spouse has been made a felony of the third degree by Florida’s statute.  However, the sheer act of physical separation without the element of withholding support will not constitute the offense.  There must be an act of abandonment along with a refusal or neglect to maintain and provide for the spouse without just cause.  One who has been found to have willfully failed in providing support which he or she has the ability to provide and who knows that he or she is legally obligated to support has committed a misdemeanor of the first degree.  If it is found that the accused does not have neither the means of support nor the ability to acquire such means, then a guilty verdict cannot be found.