Often times, a couple’s largest asset and/or liability is the marital home. In many cases, when a couple contemplates divorce, they agree to sell the home and use the proceeds to pay off their marital debt and divide whatever is left. However sometimes, one party wishes to keep the marital home. This can affect the […]
Category: Divorce
Men’s Divorce Survival Guide – Top Ten List of Tips
10. Don’t wait, file the papers. A lot of men go back and forth on whether to go through with divorce. Others know their marriage is over, but they simply procrastinate. If you know for certain that your marriage is over, and it is in fact irretrievably broken, don’t wait to file the petition for […]
Do-It-Yourself Uncontested Divorce
We are often asked “can I do an uncontested divorce myself?” The short answer is yes, but there are caveats. The forms for an uncontested divorce are widely available, sometimes for a fee. The Supreme Court of Florida’s website (www.flcourts.org) has them available at no charge, and many of the forms (which are approved by […]
Divorcing – What Am I Entitled To?
The purpose of a divorce is to terminate a legal relationship that was created upon marriage. Marriage is a joinder of separate legal entities (persons) into a collective entity. So, at a minimum, in your divorce the marriage will be dissolved, resulting in the once-spouses no longer having any obligations toward one another except as […]
Filing for Divorce after Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence is a very unfortunate reality in our society. When communication breaks down, people often resort to physical violence to express their frustrations. You would hope that after all these years you and your spouse could both remain amicable as you trudge through this overwhelmingly emotional time, but neither of you can, because it […]
Realistic Custody Expectations in Florida Family Court
Often, potential clients enter an attorney’s office with high hopes and lofty goals. Many want their “day in court” and do not wish to settle for less than 100% of their original goal. The reality is that the Court is not in business to make you happy. The Family Court is a court of equity. […]
Perez vs. Fay
You may recall the decision from last year that reversed an order by Judge Elisabeth Adams which, among other things, restricted the mother from speaking Spanish to the child. In that appellate case the mother had prevailed on 7 of the 8 issues that she appealed. When she sought to tax appellate costs on remand, […]
Addie vs. Coale
Addie vs. Coale has a history in the 4th district. When it was first appealed, it was remanded for reconsideration of the alimony and child support aspects of the final judgment. On remand, the successor trial judge entered an alimony and child support award, but it was deficient in that findings were not made on […]
McGlynn vs. Tallman-McGlynn
In McGlynn vs. Tallman-McGlynn, we are reminded that if you include bonus income in your financial affidavit but want to argue that it should not be included in net income for alimony or child support, you should be prepared to present evidence supporting the claim that the bonus income is non-recurring. Also, the Former Husband […]
Lathrop vs. Lathrop
In Lathrop vs. Lathrop, the trial court rightfully awarded alimony, but it erred in requiring that the alimony be secured by life insurance. In the absence of special circumstances, a spouse cannot be required to maintain life insurance for the purpose of securing an alimony obligation. A final judgment of dissolution must set forth sufficient […]