Articles Posted in Uncategorized

This is a question that comes up fairly often…the engagement is off, the marriage ceremony is not going to happen and I want my ring back! Question is: Are you entitled to get it back? The answer: it depends. Normally, Florida views engagement rings in a contractual sense. The ring is given in contemplation of marriage and if the marriage does not occur then the ring should be returned. However, there have been many articles regarding the moral vs. legal obligation in reference to engagement rings. The moral argument has been that if the man has broken off the engagement then he should leave the engagement ring alone and allow the female to keep it. If the woman has broken off the engagement, she should return the ring. In sum, it appears that the ring should be returned, both morally and legally, if the marriage does not take place and especially if it is the woman who calls the whole thing off.

Most people know that divorce is hard on the emotions and the finances, but not everyone is aware that it can negatively affect your health. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University have found that divorced people are 20% more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic health conditions than those who are still married. The increase in disease may be attributed to stress; divorce is the second most stressful event a person can go through (the first is bereavement). Neglecting one’s health during the divorce may also be a culprit.

A recent article outlines some steps people can take to shore up their health during and after a divorce. Tips include reducing conflict, avoiding detrimental coping habits like drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, balancing work and home life, taking initiative to monitor your own health, taking charge of your finances, and reaching out to friends and family for support. They also recommend getting expert help from counselors and support groups. Read more tips on how to keep healthy during and after divorce at How divorce hurts your health.

If you are considering divorce, please contact our firm for expert family law counsel.

Governor Jim Gibbons of Nevada and his wife, Dawn Gibbons, have been involved in a very public divorce. But they recently agreed to suspend further action in the case so that they could negotiate a few issues surrounding the divorce. One of the biggest issues has been that Gibbons moved out of the Governor’s mansion and into the couple’s home in Reno, leaving Ms. Gibbons to live in the mansion. The Nevada residents are not happy and point to state laws that require the Nevada Governor to live in Carson City, and that require the Governor’s mansion to be the home of the “state executive.” Under the latest agreement, Ms. Gibbons will move into a guest house of the Governor’s mansion, and Gibbons will return to the home as its primary resident.

Gibbons has requested that the divorce be sealed and kept private; under Nevada law his request for a closed divorce hearing has been granted. But Ms. Gibbons is fighting him on making the issue private, and has filed a motion to open the case, saying that the privacy law does not apply to public figures. You can read more about the divorce of the Nevada Governor and first lady at Gibbons divorce on pause.

Of course, people who are not well-known public figures may want to keep their financial documents and dirty laundry out of the public domain, too. In the state of Florida there are ways to keep a divorce settlement confidential. Our law firm knows how to keep divorce proceedings confidential in Florida. If you want to keep the details of your divorce, private, contact our firm for legal counsel.

According to Murrieta, Georgia Police Sargeant, Jon Flavin, police were called to respond to a fight taking place late one morning. When they arrived at the scene, they found a woman, bleeding from a cut near her right ear. She reportedly told police that she had been attacked with a knife by an acquaintance of hers, during a heated exchange over a child custody issue. Apparently there were children present during the fight. They allegedly witnessed the attack and were put in danger because of it. The suspect, Terri F. Scott, was not at the scene when police arrived. They found the woman at her home and arrested her sometime later. Ms. Scott has been charged with attempted murder and child endangerment, and is being held on $1 million bail. Find out more about the fight at Woman who knifed another woman during child custody exchange held on one million dollars bail.

Divorce and subsequent child custody battles can raise very heated emotions. While people sometimes feel that they can’t control their emotions, it is never appropriate to use violence. At the least it will harm that person’s case, and at the worst someone could be injured or killed and the attacker will be sent to prison instead of awarded custody.

If you going through a child custody battle, please contact our firm for expert, compassionate legal counsel.

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

In September 2009, new census reports came out showing that the divorce rate in Florida is higher than any other state in the nation! Indiana came in a close second. The counties that had the highest number of divorces in Florida for 2009 were Pinellas and Putnam counties. Many of these divorce cases involved children and contained issues involving child support, custody, social investigations, formerly known as custody evaluations, which can oftentimes cost in excess of $2,500.00. If you live in Florida and have a question regarding a divorce or child custody, child support or social investigations, please call our firm at 904-355-8888 to speak with me for advice.

When Michael Gough’s ex-wife moved to Wisconsin from Utah with their 4-year-old daughter, Gough knew he had to do something to keep in touch with his child. He has pioneered the concept of virtual visitation, reading his child stories and even watching her open Christmas gifts over the internet. It wasn’t easy though – Gough had to convince a judge that he should be entitled to electronic contact with his daughter in addition to face-to-face visits.

In 2004, Utah made history by making virtual visitation part of divorce legislation. Wisconsin, Florida and Texas have followed suit. Pennsylvania, Florida and Illinois have also developed programs to allow incarcerated mothers to connect with their families online when they can’t come to visit in person.

While virtual visitation can never take the place of real contact, there is no doubt that it can ease the stress on children when they move far away from a non-custodial parent. The technology available today is a vast improvement over telephone calls, allowing parents to interact with their children face-to-face even when they are far away.

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

Many children in North Florida and the Jacksonville, Florida area are born out of wedlock. I often receive calls from unmarried fathers and mothers who mistakenly believe that since the father’s name is listed on the birth certificate, that the father has established his paternity or legal parentage. That is not so! Florida law differentiates between paternity and parentage. Unmarried fathers must petition the Courts to obtain their parental rights and have a judicial order signed by a Judge that grants them paternity of the child. Establishing paternity by court order grants to the father timesharing or visitation rights, the right to be involved with important decisions regarding the child’s future, etc. If you are an unmarried father or mother looking to establish paternity in the Jacksonville, Orange Park, Fernandina or St. Augustine, Florida area, please call our firm for advice and answers. We look forward to helping you.

Written by Whitney R. Lonker, Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

wlonker@woodatter.com

If you are going through a Divorce in Florida, I can tell you that you should live as though were standing at the foot of the cross! Especially if there are children involved and custody is at issue or time sharing is at issue in the case! In this age of social networking, character is easily spied upon. With sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc., the internet is the common-man’s paparrazi, and the courts and the opposing spouse can discover all kinds of activities of the other spouse that may be relevant in a custody or time sharing dissolution proceeding. Every posting can be relevant in a court of law and can often be used against you. I have used this discovery method myself in several cases and have found the opposing spouse’s pictures posted on adult porn websites posed in precarious positions that did not bode well for that spouse in court. So, when you are going through a divorce, it is important to keep things in the privacy of your own home and off of the internet. Do not post comments regarding your spouse or the dissolution proceedings and certainly do not post pictures of yourself in precarious poses or engaging in morally questionable acts. These posts may just end up as an Exhibit in open court. Below is an article regarding social networking posts and using the sites responsibly. If you have a question about a dissolution matter including custody, child support, time sharing, alimony, equitable distribution, paternity, adoption or grandparent rights, please call our firm at 904-355-8888 for the help you need.

Many times in my family law practice in Jacksonville, Florida, I have men who think that they have no rights when it comes to their children in divorce cases, child custody cases or paternity cases. In Florida, 33% of children are born to men and women who are unmarried at the time of the child’s birth. Florida gives fathers rights and has certainly been recognizing more and more the importance of fathers in the lives of children. Before a man can have any rights to a child, however, he must first be determined, by a court of law with a judicial order signed by a Judge, to be the father. The fathers name on a mere birth certificate will not suffice to give the child and father a legal bond and heir at law status. To accomplish this, if the parties are unmarried at the time the child is born, one party must file a Petition For The Determination of Paternity. I always tell my clients, whether my client is the mother or the father of the child, that with obligation (such as child support) comes rights (such as visitation and parental responsibility). Here is a helpful site regarding resources for fathers to provide some useful information regarding their rights. If you or someone you know needs help in determining any parental issues such as child support, child custody, visitation, paternity, or any other matter, please call our firm at 904-355-8888 for help.

So often I hear the same questions in my family law practice in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. One of those recurring questions is how does my wife or husband’s affair or marital misconduct affect the divorce proceedings? Will he or she be punished for cheating on me and this marriage? While that issue is quite emotional and understandably the slighted spouse wants some vindication in court, in counties like Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns as well as other Florida counties, fault just doesn’t matter. Florida is considered a “no fault” divorce state. As such, a spouse could have 100 affairs and it won’t matter to a judge in Florida. It simply is not relevant. We can, however, attack marital misconduct financially. If your spouse spent marital funds in the furtherance of the affair, then the Florida courts allow for an unequal distribution of assets and debts to make up for the money spent on the affair. There are other areas in which marital misconduct may be relevant in a divorce proceeding including the determination of alimony. But don’t expect the courts to vindicate you by “punishing” your spouse for marital misconduct. It simply won’t happen in Florida. Do you think this is good law in Florida or do you think a spouse should be held legally accountable for marital misconduct? I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any questions about the divorce process please call our firm at 904-355-8888.