Divorce / Dissolution of Marriage

June 19, 2009

Florida Divorce and Business

As a family law attorney in Jacksonville, Florida, I handle a number of different divorce cases. The issues are always different because individuals and their assets, debts, businesses, incomes and matters related to their children are always different. One thing I have noticed is the surprise of my clients when they discover a business that was started during the marriage is actually a marital asset or liability, depending on the company’s solvency.

In order to define the asset/liability, it is important to recognize what the business is and if the business is solely dependent on the spouse(s) work. A business valuation is typically a good idea, so that an outside, neutral party can determine the actual value of the property.

June 17, 2009

Florida Divorce and Preserving Your Rights

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In a Jacksonville, Florida divorce, just the entry of the, “parties are returned to the status of being single” does not bar a claim for child support, division of assets and liabilities and all other related issues. Basically, it is a tool often used so that the parties can declare themselves divorce, but the proceedings continue the path they were on.
The difficulty is, when one party sees this, it may cause panic, tears, concern and frustration. Actually going about the process correctly takes finesse, patience and understanding for the other party. Explain to them that they are not stopped from getting matters resolved, but simply taking care of one issue, the actual marriage that still holds them as “husband and wife.”
When going through such a process, make certain that you have certain things in place like a provision that the Final Judgment does not preclude further action. However, in regards to child support, Florida law makes it clear that you cannot actually negotiate away your right or responsibility to child support.

June 12, 2009

Filing Fees For Divorce in Jacksonville, FL: Can You Afford It?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In Jacksonville, FL and Duval County and the surrounding counties of Clay, Nassau & St. Johns Counties, the filing fee for a divorce is about $408.00. However, the Florida House & Senate are looking for ways to decrease the deficit by proposing to raise the filing fees for a divorce to $1,000.00 for couples with assets valued at $50,000-$250,000 and to $2,000.00 for couples with assets over $250,000.00! At this rate, nobody will be able to afford to file for divorce. This means that even people who choose to proceed without a lawyer in a divorce case will have to pay the clerk of court one to two thousand dollars just to file the Petition For Dissolution at the courthouse. If you have questions about the divorce process or child support, child custody, alimony, division of assets or liabilities, please call our firm at 904-355-8888 for help.

June 8, 2009

How To Avoid Divorce & Have a Happy Relationship!

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Here is an article that describes how to have a happy relationship in hope of avoiding divorce down the road. http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/relationships/24240/dating-advice-top-10-relationship-tips Because I work in the area of family law in Jacksonville, Florida, each and everyday, I enjoy helping people manage crisis in hopes of creating solutions that will be workable for all involved especially if the couple has children. I do not encourage divorce but unfortunately, it happens, and people need an impartial, non-emotionally involved practioner to protect their legal rights during the process as most people are way too emotional to think straight enough to make reasonable decisions. I provide the article above to help you avoid ending up in the courtroom. As an old proverb says, “you never truly know a woman until you meet her court”! Have a happy marriage but if you have questions regarding the dissolution process then please call our firm at 904-355-8888.

June 5, 2009

Out-of-State Father and Child Support: Florida Family Law

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In Florida, the statutes regarding paternity, child support, visitation and custody have different laws when dealing with an out-of-state parent. I am a Jacksonville area divorce and family law attorney and recently I had a case involving a mother and child that reside here and a father that lives out-of-state. The issue that was difficult to overcome is, “which court is proper to bring actions regarding the child?”

Florida Statute 48.193 requires that the out-of-state resident to have some form of contact with the State of Florida. While the presumed father has the option to prevail on this issue if he has not been in Florida, nor was the child conceived in Florida, that does not resolve the issue for the presumed father.

Once a child resides in Florida, the Florida courts have jurisdiction over that child through the UCCJEA and Florida Statute 61.514. Therefore, all actions dealing with visitation and custody must be brought in Florida, so an out-of-state court may be required by the presumed father, to determine paternity and possibly child support, but if the father wants visitation with the child, he will be required to file in Florida.

May 20, 2009

Jacksonville, Florida Divorce, A New Approach: Collaborative Law

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

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Written By: Lenorae C. Atter

Collaborative action for divorce, child support, visitation, alimony and other family law matters is not common in Jacksonville, Florida.

Collaborative Law is being practiced in most parts of the country, including South Florida, but has not found its popularity in Jacksonville yet. As a Jacksonville divorce lawyer who wants my clients walking away with a smile rather than the need for the spa, I am a huge advocate of this process. I don’t think children should be the victim of their parents’ inability to communicate, but should be healthier through divorce because the parents have a since of stability throughout the process. That is what is offered in a collaborative law setting. It’s the attorneys and the clients, from the very beginning, agreeing that a divorce process aimed at resolving the divorce, custody, child support, marital home, assets, and finances can actually be done amicably from beginning to end.

May 11, 2009

Moms vs. Dads in the Courtroom: Florida Divorce and Custody

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

As a divorce and family law attorney in Jacksonville, Florida, I am aware that even in today’s world, custody battles still have judicial biases. As an attorney who represents both men and women, moms and dads, I am disturbed by this court bias that exists. In determining custody, the judge is supposed to look at which parent is most likely going to foster a caring, loving and affectionate relationship between the child and the other parent. In addtion, it is important for the custodial or primary parent to work with the other regarding visitation or timesharing. However, in many cases the court can be given all inforamtion showing that the father is the right parent to provide these things and the mother is actually not fostering the relationship with the other parent, but the judge will still name the mother the primary residential parent.
I am shocked by the idea that one gender can still be given more weight than the other in a modern day judicial system. For the benefit and justice of the child, this prejudice seems unfair and archaic. So, how does one combat it? Truthfully, there is no silver bullet, simply evidence. The more you have on your side the better your case. However, the bias remains true and fast in today’s world and it is one that can really only be corrected, in time, by the general public’s involvment in the judicial campaigns in their area and state.

May 6, 2009

How To Obtain Success At A Family Law Mediation

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

If you are going through a dissolution proceeding or any family law proceeding that includes modifications of final judgements, child support issues, child custody issues, alimony issues, then most likely you will be required by the courts to attend a mediation. A mediation is a formal settlement conference where the parties sit down with a mediator who is an impartial person designed to help the parties reach an agreement regarding the issues in a case. To mediate issues properly, you should have your financials available such as cost of children’s health insurance, cost of your own health insurance, the cost of daycare, if any, the cost of private school expenses, the cost of extra-curricular expenses for the child and decide who will get the IRS deduction. You should also have the values of any real property as well as the value of any personal property in dispute. If there is any debt in dispute, you should know who’s name the debt is in, proof of the amount owed, and whether the debt was acquired during the marriage or before the marriage or acquired during the separation of the parties. Having all of this information available for the mediator will make the mediation run more smoothly and give you a better chance to reach a settlement with which each party can live.

For more information regarding mediation services, please call our firm at 904-355-8888.

May 4, 2009

The Divorce: How to Avoid Insanity In the Dissolution Process

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In my experience as a divorce attorney in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, nothing can bring on acts of insanity in otherwise reasonable people like a nasty divorce proceeding. Whether the issues are child custody, child support, alimony or the division of assets and liabilities, when parties split, emotions run high and otherwise reasonable people can tend to engage in some insane antics. Here are the top three stories gathered from other dissolution proceedings to show the importance of keeping your cool as well as your mind when going through a dissolution proceeding.

#3 A Couple in Cambodia Divides the Marital Home: After a Cambodian man suspected that his wife was having an affair with a local police officer, he and his extended family loaded up some chain saws and literally drove to the marital home and cut the house in half right down the middle. The Husband then took his half of the house and transported it to his parent’s house for safe keeping.

#2 Japanese Wife May Face Criminal Charges for Killing Off Her Husband’s Online Gaming Character: After a Japanese Wife discovered her Husband was having an online gaming affair by having his online character have relations with another online gaming character, the Wife hacked into the Husband’s computer and “killed off” i.e. “deleted” his online character and over a year’s worth of purchasing costumes for the character and buying weapons for online battles and such. The Husband contacted the police who realized that in Japan this was actually a crime. Now the Wife is facing serious criminal charges for “murdering” the Husband’s online gaming character.

May 1, 2009

Florida Divorce and Communicating with Your Child

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Florida Family Law has a new requirement for a Florida Parenting Plan for any divorce involving children. As a Florida Family Law attorney, I think this is a great way for parents to put the children first in their divorce. However, it’s just as important to communicate with your children when you’re going through a divorce.

We all think that divorce or issues involving our kids is an “adult” issue. The truth is that children feel the affects from beginning to end. As much as divorce may have impacted your life, their life is impacted even more. During a divorce, it is important to keep an open line of communication with your children. Remind them that this is not their fault, remind them that you are both their parents regardless of what mom and dad decide to do. Remind your children that they will still see the other parent.

Think of divorce as a way to learn new communication skills with not only your soon to be ex-spouse, but your children too.