Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

October 8, 2012

In a Florida Divorce, How Do Incomes Factor Into Alimony?

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

When dealing with Florida alimony in divorce cases, often as a Jacksonville divorce lawyer, I find it helpful to review cases to prepare not only for trial, but also to prepare my client for what may happen. Understanding the legal changes that occur not only by the Florida legislature, but also by the courts can be helpful to clients because cases actually use real people in real scenarios. So, much like providing examples of what may happen, the courts actually show us what does happen when A and B occur.

Florida alimony is based on a number of factors, including the length of the marriage, the contribution of each spouse during the marriage, the incomes of the parties, the potential earning capacity of the spouses, educational/work experience, need, ability to pay and much more. Since there are so many factors that the court may look to in its determination of awarding alimony, understanding the law and how it may be applied can be very helpful to both the lawyer and the client.

October 3, 2012

Consequences to Selling Marital Property Before or During Divorce in Florida

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

When you file for divorce in Jacksonville and other cities in Florida, there is a standing court order that gives rules to the parties. The order requires that the parties not dissipate (i.e. selling, eliminating, etc.) marital assets. So, if you are married and then file for divorce and think that you are going to drain the bank account or sell your car for $1, you are sadly mistaken if you believe there will not be consequences.

In a Florida divorce, the court may actually look at marital assets and determine what the value of the assets are at the date of separation. However, the court also has discretion to go back further than two (2) years from the date of filing for divorce, if it can be shown that one of the parties hid assets or destroyed assets in anticipation of marriage. In a divorce, you are required to provide bank statements, financial statements of investments, and much more. In that discovery process, if it is shown that a spouse hid assets before the date of filing for divorce, then that spouse could be on the hook for reimbursing the other spouse 50% of the total value of that asset.

October 1, 2012

Should a Rapist Have Parental Rights of a Child Conceived Due to the Rape?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

Do rapists have rights to a child conceived during the rape? That is a question being asked in a Massachusetts court. The question arose after the now, 24 –year-old male, who was 17 at the time, raped a 14-year-old girl that subsequently had a child. Jamie Melendez was sentenced to 16 years of probation after admitting his guilt to the rape.

The question on everyone’s mind is, “How does he stand a chance?” Well, the judge that oversaw the criminal case basically sent a portion of the case to the family law court system to have child support ordered. By establishing a child support obligation, the judge basically gave this rapist parental rights to the child that was conceived out of force. When biological parents are unmarried, a man’s rights to the child are typically established through a paternity action. When the State takes the reigns on establishing child support, it is generally done solely for the purposes of child support, which was the case here. Now, however, the family law case opened the door for this guy to seek visitation rights, since he is claiming that if he has to pay support who should be able to have a relationship with the child.

September 28, 2012

Divorce in Florida Right the First Time to Save Money

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

In a Florida uncontested divorce many people decide to draft papers on their own without meeting with or hiring a lawyer. With the invention of Internet forms people often believe that their divorce will be less expensive and go faster if they do not use a lawyer. Often, this is not the case. The fact is that you would most likely not fix your transmission unless you were a mechanic and you would most likely not perform your own surgery, even if you were a surgeon. So, why is that people thinking that they will do a better or equal job to an attorney in drafting their own documents for divorce? The answer most likely boils down to expense, but what happens is that such a money saving experiment can cost you thousands of dollars in the end, and sometimes substantially more than you would have paid initially. Why? Because often parties think that they are being reasonable, but really they are creating more problems for themselves.

For example, a married couple decides to divorce. The Wife has been the primary breadwinner during the marriage and it’s a 20-year marriage. The Wife, in trying to be nice and to work things out to just get the divorce done, decides to buy Husband a house. Wife later starts making less money and realizes that she cannot afford to buy Husband a home. Once that occurs, Husband may file an action with the court to require that Wife do what was previously ordered. Husband then decides to hire an attorney since he really needs the house and needs Wife to provide it since he does not have the credit history and established income to afford a house of his own. Wife then hires an attorney because she does not want to be held in contempt by the court and honestly feels that she does not have an ability to buy a house for Husband.

September 24, 2012

In Florida, Can Alimony Increase Due to Inflation?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

As a Jacksonville divorce lawyer, I often educate my clients on the fact that alimony in Florida is modifiable given a substantial change in circumstance, unless agreed by the parties as nonmodifiable. Inflation is an involuntary change in the economy and impacts living expenses, including utilities, food prices, etc. As such, inflation may impact the amount of alimony necessary to sustain an individual from day to day. When permanent alimony is awarded, such as in long-term marriages (greater than 16 years of marriage) or in cases where a spouse has a permanent disability and the ex-spouse has an ability to pay alimony, inflation may be grounds for an alimony modification. In Florida, to modify alimony, there must be a substantial change in circumstance. For alimony modifications due to inflation, there are more steps that must be proven.

Inflation has been warranted to create a substantial change in circumstance because it decreases the value of a dollar. So an alimony award in 1990 would not spend the same in 2012 and the courts recognize this issue. However, the courts also recognize that a change in circumstance cannot just be the impact inflation has on the value of a dollar, but on the impact that change has on the individual seeking the modification. Since alimony is designed to provide support for a spouse to have shelter, clothing, food, and other necessities, the receiving party has to show the court how inflation has made it more challenging to fulfill those needs.

September 21, 2012

Offered a Job and Have to Move? What You Need to do in Florida Divorce or Florida Case Involving Kids

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae Atter, Attorney

Moving for a job, family or any other reason can be more challenging if you have minor children in Florida. As a Jacksonville divorce lawyer, clients often ask me whether they need to notify the other parent if they intend on moving out of town and/or out of state. The answer is, “yes.” When there are minor children, Florida does have a notification requirement for the parents to follow in relocating since it will impact the time-sharing plan ordered with the court. So, what do you have to do if you are moving with minor children?

First, in accordance with Florida Statute 61.13001, the move must be outside of a 50 mile radius to qualify under the statute. Therefore, simply moving down the street or within the same city will not give rise to this requirement.

September 19, 2012

Establishing Father’s Parental Rights of Child in Florida

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae Atter, Attorney

Establishing paternity in Florida can and normally does require that both parties participate in DNA testing of the child and presumed father. The reason for DNA testing is to know with certainty that the father is actually the biological father of the child at issue. Not having the DNA test can lead to additional court action down the line if biological findings later show that that the individual that was ordered to pay child support and established a relationship with the child is actually not the father. Therefore, when an action to establish paternity is brought by either the potential father, the mother or the Department of Revenue on behalf of the mother, then the court will most likely order DNA testing.

The Department of Revenue may bring an action to establish paternity and child support and they normally do so if either the mother asks for such assistance, or if the mother applies for government assistance for the child’s benefit. Before the State will allow for a child to get on government assistance the State may require that paternity be established so that the biological father of the child can actually assist the child instead of the state. The Florida Department of Revenue may ask the mother to fill out forms to show who the potential father or fathers may be and the State may then take action in filing a petition to establish paternity against those listed.

September 14, 2012

Florida Alimony in a Divorce and What May Be Awarded

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae Atter, Attorney

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Alimony can be an issue in a Florida divorce and is often base on need and ability to pay. The Florida legislature has made drastic changes to the alimony statute to make it easier for the courts to apply the right type of alimony in a divorce case. Given that there are multiple forms of alimony, the Florida legislators were hoping to narrow the field for length of time that alimony may be awarded. In accordance with Florida Statute 61.08 alimony may be applied by Florida courts to either party and may be awarded in many different forms including the following: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, lump sum, permanent, or an alimony award may be a combination of more than one form (i.e. rehabilitative to pay for schooling and periodic for a certain duration).

Bridge-the-gap alimony is an unmodifiable alimony award that provides a party financial assistance to aid that party in transitioning from being marriage to being single. It is designed to assist the party with any legitimate and identifiable short-term needs. The length of any bridge-the-gap alimony award may be granted in a short-term marriage, generally under 7 years and may terminate upon the death of either party or if the receiving spouse remarries.

September 12, 2012

Florida Divorce, Visitation & Custody: How to Navigate Through the Divorce Process

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

As a Jacksonville, Florida family law attorney, divorce, visitation and custody issues are part of my daily practice. Visitation and custody are usually emotional and working with a client on their parental demeanor is vital in moving forward and eventually going to court. When dealing with custody and visitation of a child it is important that the court sees that you are willing to cooperate with one another in an effort to look out for the best interest of the child(ren).
As of October, 2008, the Parenting Plan Statute went into effect with the purpose of countering bad behavior. The time-sharing and parenting statute requires all parents to file and have the court approve a parenting plan that lays out exactly how all issues of time sharing with the minor children are going to be handled. Instead of limiting yourself to only two options, winning it all or losing, there is another, more productive way to approach the custody issue. The approach may require more maturity than some parties can muster, but, for those able to shift gears, think rationally and be patient, the following approach can be rewarding for them and their children. These steps can lead to a better solution for all, especially the children.
Think about, discuss and decide what your ultimate goals are for the kids. What outcomes would you like to see? Many people would want some of the following (or similar) goals:

1. Family Relationships
a. The kids having a great relationship with both parents
b. The kids having a great relationship with their extended families
c. Financial security for the children
d. Having a safe, secure home for the children
e. Having good schools for the kids
f. Providing for a college education for the children
g. Providing sports opportunities for the children
h. The opportunity for the kids to learn music, art or other interests

Each parent can decide what he or she thinks would be important goals for their children. Broader, underlying goals are more helpful and meaningful. If both parents think of goals in broad terms, they often can agree on them.

2. Look at the big picture.

a. Financial abilities of the parents
b. Parental/family member time available
c. What homes and schools are available and affordable
d. What the parents’ neighborhoods are like
e. The existing relationships between parents and children and the roles each parent plays with the children
f. What community resources are available
g. What special needs, if any, a child has
h. What interests the child has

September 10, 2012

Using a Florida Social Investigation or Parenting Coordinator in Your Divorce or Paternity Case Can Be a Helpful Tool

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Paternity cases and divorces in Florida have a standard of review by the court when children are involved, which is, “What is in the best interest of the child?” By changing things from “custody” to “time-sharing” and “custodial parent” to “majority time-sharing parent, “ the Florida legislature tried to help parents approach such subjects from a less adversarial position. As a Jacksonville divorce and family law attorney, I can attest to the fact that people seem to understand that visitation matters need to be addressed a little more openly, but it does not change the fact that parents sometimes want to fight over the time-sharing plan for many different reasons. That means that when parents disagree, which they often do, then the Court may appoint a parenting plan coordinator or social investigator to help them work out their differences.

The court, through Florida law, is allowed to appoint a parenting coordinator. The parenting coordinator will actually meet with the parents and the children to help determine what issues may be impacting the family, though a separated one. In so doing, the coordinator may be able to help the parents work through some of their issues that may be creating a communication challenge for them. Also, the parenting coordinator may be able to address issues with the children and parents that may have gone overlooked by the parents through the divorce or paternity action. There are psychological and emotional issues that can be associated with any type of family matter, the least of which is not divorce. The parenting coordinator is often trained in dealing with such matters and can help the parents and children reach a level of comfort with one another to express such issues. By doing so, the parenting coordinator may ultimately help the parties in reaching an agreement about the time-sharing and parenting plans that need to be filed with the court.

If the parents are in complete disagreement with one another from the beginning, the court may appoint a social investigator. The investigator’s role is to meet with the parents and the children. However, it is different from the parenting coordinator in that she/he actually interviews the parents and tries to seem each parent interact individually with the kids. Also, the investigator may employ psychological tools, evaluations to help determine any underlying issues the parents or children may have. Furthermore, the investigation may require home visits, which allows the investigator to see what the home life is like for the children and ultimately make a recommendation to the court based on all aspects of the investigation. If there are questions about the truthfulness of one or both parents, then the investigator may actually interview others and check up on the parents in their work-life, if it is deemed necessary. The investigation can help the court to better understand each household and to assess what type of time-sharing and parenting plan truly is in the best interest of the children.