In Floyd vs. Gray, the appellate court was called upon to consider whether or not a relationship between two teenagers was the equivalent of “dating” as defined under the dating violence injunction statute. The court concluded that it was, even though the middle school “couple” only considered themselves to be boyfriend and girlfriend but did […]
Tag: Men’s Rights
My child says that he/she wants to live with me. Can’t the court just let my child decide where he/she wants to live?
The court will not simply take your child’s preference on where he/she wants to live as the only controlling factor to consider. Children are generally not capable of knowing what is in their own best interest. It is up to parents, or the Court, to make the necessary decisions for the minor children, until they […]
Back to School
It is that time of year again: time for children to head back to school. It’s important to remain involved with your child(ren)’s schooling even though you and the other parent may not be together. If parents have a friendly relationship, staying involved should be fairly easy, but what if you and your child(ren)’s other […]
Drouin v. Stuber
In Drouin v. Stuber (a paternity case), the mother sought to vacate a 2011 judgment that had declared another man to be biological father despite the fact that the child had been born during an intact marriage. The appellate court reversed the order setting aside the earlier order, because it was the legal father’s rights […]
Suleiman v. Yunis
In Suleiman v. Yunis, the Former Husband had obtained an ex parte order changing the children’s custody to him. The Former Wife moved to vacate, which was denied by the trial court. This was error. Former Wife correctly argued that Former Husband did not allege that the children were being threatened with physical harm or […]
Before, During and After the Divorce
You’re getting a divorce. Divorce is often a long, emotional, stressful process. Many times, people are so focused on the divorce process that they forget about the parts of their life that will not be covered in the divorce proceedings. Matters such as health care directives and estate planning will likely not be fully addressed […]
Overcoming Anger and Resentment
How essential is the ability of parents to put aside their personal feelings about each other and put the needs of their children first? You only need to look to Florida Statute 61.13 to see that the Court places great importance on parents being able to separate the feelings they have for each other with […]
Another Disappointing Year Without Alimony Reform In Florida
The Alimony Bill of 2015 is dead, a casualty of the budget battle in the Florida Legislature. Hopes were running high that this year the legislature would amend the alimony statute to make it more predictable and more fair to Florida citizens, but those hopes were dashed when the legislative session expired without the bill […]
Arquette v. Rutter
The followingis a child support modification case under UIFSA. The Florida court never obtained subject matter jurisdiction allowing it to modify the foreign court’s child support order, so the modification was void. UIFSA has specific requirements to grant a state the jurisdiction to modify a foreign court’s child support order, none of which was satisfied […]
Ellisen v. Ellisen
The trial court in the attached case misconstrued the pleadings, and denied a petition for modification of alimony based upon the wrong legal standard. When modification of an existing order of support is sought, the proof required to modify a settlement agreement and the proof required to modify an award established by court order shall […]