The death of a four-year-old girl, Kristina Hepp has raised new questions about how cases handled by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) are handled. Kristina was born in July 2004 to her mother Elizabeth Hepp, 16-year-old, and immediately concerns were raised over the care of the child. DCF…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. Florida Department of Children and Families is the state entity responsible for protecting children from abuse, neglect, and other actions that are detrimental to the child’s well-being. When DCF gets involved with a family, they typically start an investigation…
Florida children that are the product of divorce are now a familiar with visitation planning. Florida timesharing plans came into law in 2008 and were introduced to help ease the need for a custodial parent to be determined. It was also developed to keep the children’s interest in the forefront…
Florida paternity is established by marriage or the Court, not by signing a Birth Certificate. A Birth Certificate does nothing more than give the presumption that you are, in fact, the father of your child. If you are not married to the mother ( at least 10% of couples living…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Family Law Attorney latter@woodatter.com Are you paying child support after your rights have been terminated? Child support, according to Florida law, is the right of a child with parents living in separate households. The child support obligation begins at the child’s birth if the parents…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Florida Family Law Attorney latter@woodatter.com As an attorney Jacksonville, Florida I have handled stepparent adoptions and seen the incredible impact and purpose it has for a family. If you are married and your child views your spouse as their parent, then you are probably wanting…
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Florida Family Law Attorney latter@woodatter.com In Jacksonville, Florida, as a family law attorney, I receive questions about terminating parental rights. This is not an easy process since there are many protections in place for parents. I will probably do a series of blogs on this…
WHO IS MICHAEL JACKSON’S BABIES’ MAMA??? In fact, who is Michael Jackson’s babies’ father??? News reports have surfaced that neither Debbie Rowe nor Michael Jackson are the biological parents of the three Jackson children. Thus the question arises: Who Will Get Custody of These Children? News reports are stating that…
International adoptions are popular not only among Madonna and Angelina Jolie, but Jacksonville, Florida residents as well. As a family law attorney I have clients call once they adopted out of the country and they want to make certain their adoption is legal in the U.S. and in Florida. Once…
International adoptions, like Madonna’s, have made the news for years in Jacksonville, Florida and throughout the country. As a family law attorney in Jacksonville, I have clients call to find out the process for such adoptions. The reality is, as evident in Madonna’s current court case in Africa, each country…