The term “custody” in the context of parent/child relationships is no longer a term that is recognized by Florida law. The term was eliminated a few years ago from Florida Statutes in every situation where it previously appeared in context. The concept of “custody”, as previously known, is now divided into two separate and distinct […]
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 […]
Can Joint Custody Reduce Child Support?
First, it is important to understand that Florida no longer uses the term custody. Parents and children now enjoy timesharing. One of the factors that determines how much child support is paid is the amount of timesharing each parent enjoys with the children. Timesharing is normally calculated by counting the number of overnights exercised by […]
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 […]
Communicating With Your Ex on Custody Issues
After a relationship ends, there are often hard feelings between the parties. Communicating with your ex is usually the last thing you want to do. However, if you have children together, you will need to have discussions with your ex. Keep in mind, that when deciding parental responsibility (decision making authority) for your child(ren), the […]
Shared Parental Responsibility
In Florida, parenting is separated into two distinct areas. One is timesharing – the amount of time the child(ren) spends with each parent. The other is parental decision making – which parent makes major, non-emergency decisions about the child(ren). There are three types of decision making: 1) shared parental authority; 2) shared with ultimate decision […]
Modifying Final Judgments Part II:
Don’t just settle to get this over…Get it right the first time and fight for what you want in your divorce or paternity case right now. Last week, we discussed the fact that equitable distribution judgments are generally non-modifiable. This week we will examine modification of custody orders. Fla. Stat. 61.13(3) states, “…A determination of […]
Forssell v. Forssell
In Forssell vs. Forssell, the appellate court reversed a non-final order suspending time-sharing because the trial court did not indicate what if any steps would be required of the father to reinstate his time-sharing. The appellate court also reversed and remanded an order denying the dismissal of a separate domestic violence injunction. Both parties requested […]
Modifying Final Judgments Part I:
Don’t just settle to get this over…Get it right the first time and fight for what you want in your divorce or paternity case right now. For some men the attitude is, “I just want this over. Let’s just settle. She can have what she wants right now, and we can talk about changing things […]