Divorce / Dissolution of Marriage

August 4, 2009

Divorce From A Child’s Perspective in Florida

Written by Whitney R. Lonker, Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.
wlonker@woodatter.com

Divorce affects everyone. From the parties to their extended family and even their friends. But divorce affects children differently from adults and children experience the pain of divorce differently at different ages. Here is a good article on what you can expect your child to experience emotionally during the divorce process. Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding cities such as Fernandina, Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, St. Augustine and Palatka all have classes that are required when going through a divorce with children. The class is quite helpful in teaching the parties how to behave in front of their children to help the children cope with the dissolution process. If you are experiencing the break-up of a marriage and have questions, please call our firm for expert advice and help.

July 30, 2009

Use of Emails & Text Messages in Divorce Proceedings in Florida: Are They Admissible?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by Whitney R. Lonker, Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.
wlonker@woodatter.com

Family law in Florida is probably the most personal of all areas of law in that we, as practitioners, delve into the deepest secrets of families in order to fight our case or to settle an issue. Many times the Husband or Wife will know the other’s passwords to bank accounts, email accounts or will intercept text messages of the other spouse. These things are all perfectly legal and can be used as evidence against a spouse in court in Florida. If a spouse has access to online email accounts or online banking information then it is perfectly legal for that spouse to access those accounts. If the account shows that the other spouse has been hiding money or spending money to further an affair, then that can be used in court as evidence. Text messages are the same. The moral of the story is this, if you don’t want your emails, text messages or banking information to be used against you in court in a divorce action in Florida, then don’t give your spouse the information necessary to access it. If you need advice on divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, adoption, modifications, equitable distribution of property or post divorce advice, please call our firm.

July 28, 2009

Military Family Law: Child Support, Alimony and Retirement

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Florida Family Law Attorney

latter@woodatter.com

In Jacksonville, Florida, as a family law and divorce lawyer, I represent a number of individuals who have been or are in the military. Military family law differs in that many different amounts of income are factored in for purposes of child support and alimony. In addition, retirement is based on the military’s determination of years in plus points earned during the time served in the Reserves.

July 27, 2009

How To Find A Family Law Attorney in Florida? What To Look For.

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by Whitney R. Lonker, Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.
wlonker@woodatter.com

The first thing I tell my clients when they come to me with an initial divorce is that in divorce, nobody wins. I mean, in the end, the marriage is broken, property is divided and time with the children is usually sacrificed by both parties. But there are things that you can do when experiencing divorce or after-divorce issues and the most important thing you can do is to get a GREAT family law attorney. The service that we provide to our clients is absolutely different from standard law firms. Immediately, the client can feel it. So many times I will have a potential client sitting in my office and they will tell me, “I’ve met with 3 other lawfirms and this firm is so different.” Its true. We look at our clients as colleagues. You know more about your case when you walk through my door & will serve as a more than valuable resource during our representation. We use a variety of communication methods to keep in real time touch with our clients and the most effective is through the use of text messaging. This communication avenue will give you access to your attorney at the touch of a button and will get the answers you need in a timely and less costly fashion. When time-sharing or custody is the main issue in the case, it is important to be able to talk to your attorney when your worries pop up. This is the only case to you and it is the most important case! Lawyer access and detailed attention to you is required. If you are experiencing a divorce, child support, child custody, alimony or post divorce problems then please call me and our firm. We perform a wide range of services for our clients from estate planning, medical malpractice, auto accidents, child-injury, franchising, business development to criminal law and family law. No matter what the issue, we are your one stop shop to help you and you will feel the difference!

July 23, 2009

Who Gets the Dog in Divorce in Florida?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by Whitney R. Lonker, Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.
wlonker@woodatter.com

Well, you’ve divided up your property, split the bank accounts, decided child custody or time-sharing and on the amout of child support to be paid but who gets the family dog or pet? Oftentimes this big little life is forgotten when dividing up the property in a dissolution and it turns out to be a really big deal in the end when deciding who will get the love of the family. There are no real statutes in Florida that deal directly with what to consider when deciding to whom the pet should go but it has always been my argument that the courts should use the best interests standard that is used in child custody/time sharing determinations. It is apparent that this little innocent life should be treated as any innocent life that can’t make decisions for itself. The party who can best provide for the little one and who has shown the most consideration for the animal’s best interests should be the party to get the animal at the end of the dissolution. But oftentimes, our furry little loved ones are treated as property and given an economic value in court. If the economic division of property is unequal, the courts may give our furry family member to a party to equalize the value of property distribution. Please think about this when you are in mediation and do not forget to discuss the furry members of your family and how they should be treated in the dissolution process. For more informaton on this issue, please call our firm for expert advice.

July 8, 2009

Divorce and Grandparents: Florida Family Law

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae Atter, Florida Family Law Attorney

latter@woodatter.com

Going through a divorce in Jacksonville, Florida or its surrounding areas can raise questions involving visitation, child support, alimony, etc. However, what about grandparents and the impact of divorce on them? In Florida, grandparents are not given a statutory right or any other right to the grandchildren, except as decided by the parent(s).

July 6, 2009

Stability in a Divorcing World: Florida Divorce

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In Jacksonville, Florida family law, I deal with cases involving children, divorces, support, visitation and custody, and as d a person interested in my work, I find different information helpful. What is most interesting, however, is that there are so many different statistics we can view, pieces we can read on the effects of divorce, societal changes and how they are affected, and multiple other news and information outlets regarding this topic. However, it does not seem like most of the information provided is from firsthand experience and what a child may have witnessed in their broken home(s).
Recently, I was reading an article in the Washington Post on, the book “The Marriage- Go-Round” and how Americans have a higher rate of divorce than any other country in the world. Not only that, Florida has a higher divorce rate than mid-west or western states. The article discusses the whys and why nots and stability’s role in our lives. “If you already have a child and you’ve broken up with the other parent, slow down. Take your time bringing new people into your household.” Andrew J. Cherlin, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist.
The issues raised in the book and the article are all factors in considering a “Parenting Plan,” which is now a requirement in divorces involving children. It allows you to factor in the many difficult decisions you and your exspouse will be making through your child(ren)’s life. It’s important to consider factors in dealing with new relationships and introducing them into your lives. It also allows you to consider birthday, graduations, weddings, etc.

July 3, 2009

Sanford and Sons: Florida Family Law

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

On Father’s Day weekend, Governor Sanford was not celebrating with his son, but with his mistress. In Florida divorces, while we recognize adultery as having an impact, we do still recognize “no fault divorce”. However, if Florida allows the affair to be acknowledged monetarily what about the consequences with children and visitation/timesharing?
Governor Sanford told his family that he needed a to the Appalachian Trail, but with four sons, the question still warrants whether the children were impacted by an absentee father for a national recognition of the same. Then, to add insult to injury for the children, it came out that Governor Sanford was no where near the Appalachian Trail, he was thousands of miles away visiting his mistress.
While we look to his wife for her response, the children remain the silent victims. I would have to assume, that even a no-fault divorce state, the emotional impact of Governor Sanford’s actions will actually play a role in the overall determination of who the children live with and how liberal Mark Sanford’s visitation will be.

June 29, 2009

Florida’s New Parent Timesharing Affects Schools

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Florida’s visitation is now timesharing and residential parent is now majority timesharing parent. As a Florida family law attorney I have focused on the parents and children going through this change, but it was brought to my attention that change in visitation and custodial parents is actually having an impact on the Florida schools.
I practice primarily in Jacksonville, Orange Park, Fernandina and St. Augustine, but an article in the Bradenton Herald caught my attention. The article, entitled “Schools Custody Policy Proposed: Custodial Parent Is No Longer Decision Maker In Schools” deals with the impact the new legislation has had on the schools determining which parent is the “go to” parent on school issues. Historically, a family would go through a divorce and the mother or father was determined the “Primary Custodial Parent”. In today’s world of timesharing, things have changed and the language needs to be tightened up to make things easier. The legislature did create “Parenting Plans” to help in this transition and determine the roles of the parents.
While the article states that timesharing is designed to give both parents 50/50 split, that is actually not true. Timesharing is a way for the parents to feel as if they both get the child and that one parent is not more important or greater than the other. The courts, at least in Jacksonville, still frown at the concept of children not having a stable environment.

June 26, 2009

Annulments: When a Void Marriage Becomes Voidable

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Getting an annulment in Jacksonville, Florida is possible if the marriage is void or voidable. A void marriage is one that is not legal, from the very beginning. For instance, if you are still married to someone else, then your new marriage is void. However, what happens when the “void” becomes “voidable?”

The scenario would be one where the original marriage was illegal or void at the time the “I dos” were said and then became legal along the way. This scenario would possibly unfold in a situation as follows:

Ann was married to Bob. Ann believed to have divorced Bob. Ann then marries Carl. During the marriage to Carl, Ann learns that the divorce to Bob was never finalized. Then Ann’s marriage to Carl is void. However, if during Ann’s marriage to Carl, Bob dies, then Ann’s marriage to Bob is over and the marriage between Ann and Carl is now voidable on the basis that at the time of the marriage, Ann was still married to Bob.