Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

July 18, 2012

Florida Alimony to Equal Incomes in a Divorce

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

In Florida, alimony is generally a factor in a divorce where one spouse makes considerably more income than the other. In cases involving alimony, such as things as length of the marriage, contributions to the marriage, marital lifestyle and the like are factors to consider when deciding what type of alimony should be awarded and for how long. However, what are the factors the court looks at later when a modification or change to alimony may be necessary?

In order to modify a prior family law court order, the requesting spouse must file an action with the court and establish, within the document, that there has been a substantial change in circumstance. A substantial change in circumstance can be anything from the receiving spouse won the lottery to the paying ex-spouse being demoted. Whatever the change, it has to be significant to warrant a modification to the prior order and typically, a substantial financial change is a 15% increase or decrease in income.

July 16, 2012

Divorce and Paternity in Florida: Understanding Custody, Time-Sharing and Parental Responsibility

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

Issues involving children typically arise in Florida divorce and paternity actions. As a Jacksonville family and divorce lawyer, I often meet with clients that want to have sole custody of the child. However, sole custody is not what they imagine it to be. The confusion in the terminology typically leads itself down an unwanted path. The questions that need to be answered are whether both parents are fit to have shared parental responsibilities in making decisions regarding the child(ren) and what type of time-sharing or visitation they would most like to have with the child. Understanding the terms can be helpful when going through a divorce or paternity case because you better know what to fight for during the case.

Sole custody is actually no longer a term used in Florida family law cases. The implications of, “sole custody,” are that one parent wants the other parent to have absolutely nothing to do with the child. Typically, this is not the case. However, if you ask the court for, “sole custody,” then the judge is typically going to ask what it is about the other parent that makes him or her unfit as a parent. For example, if Mary and Frank are divorcing and Mary has a significant drug and alcohol addiction, then Frank may tell an attorney he wants sole custody. What Frank really means is that he wants to be the majority time-sharing parent, in accordance with Florida statutes. Also, Frank is saying that Mary is not capable of making decisions regarding the child’s welfare, including decisions related to education, medical attention and the like. Therefore, Frank actually wants to be the majority time-sharing parent and have sole parental responsibility for the child.

July 13, 2012

Divorce in Florida Requires Documents to be Provided

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

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In a Florida divorce, the assets and debts of the party are usually divided equally. Due to this aspect of a Florida divorce, many people believe that they can hide assets from their spouse in order to protect their own interest. In so doing, it is not only presenting false information to your spouse, but also to the court, which can have negative repercussions, such as later having the divorce overturned due to fraudulent activity. So, when someone asks if they should hide assets, the answer is going to be, “no.”

In a Florida divorce, the rules of family law procedure, which govern the proceedings, require that each party file mandatory disclosure items with the other party. The mandatory disclosure item requires each party to fill out and swear to the truth of their financial affidavit. A financial affidavit provides information regarding all forms of income and monthly expenses of the spouse. Each spouse is required to file his/her own financial affidavit. This document is sworn to, so you want to make certain it is filled out as accurately as possible so as not to lead to later discovered evidence that contradicts the form.

July 11, 2012

In a Florida Divorce Will My Business Be Given to My Spouse?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

In a Florida divorce, regardless of fault, the marital property, debts and assets are to be divided equally. Florida divorce requires that marital items be equitably distributed through the court if the parties cannot otherwise agree on the division of assets, debts, and the like, with few exceptions. The one thing that often can be left out when couples try to divorce on their own is the division of a business. Yes, in Florida, if you start and own a business during the marriage, then that is a marital asset (sometimes a liability) that should be divided by the parties. However, it also means that there is another party to your divorce, the actual business itself, because the business has an overall interest in the outcome of the case.

For example Wanda and Hank have decided to divorce after twenty (20) years of marriage. About five (5) years into the marriage, Wanda started her own bakery, Wanda’s Treats, and it has been successful since it opened. Wanda is now more of a managing owner, than acting as lead baker so the business is self-running at this point in their marriage. Hank files for divorce and in his petition, requests that the business be equitably divided between him and Wanda. Normally, in filing for a divorce, the case will only list the parties as Hank and Wanda. However, since Hank wants part of the business, the business itself actually has a stake in the divorce and should actually be named as an additional party to the suit. When that occurs, Hank not only needs to serve Wanda with divorce papers, but also serve Wanda’s Treats’ registered agent, separately. Mathis v. Mathis, 2D11-298 (Fla. 2nd DCA June 15, 2012). By doing so, the business can actually have its own attorney as well to make certain that the business valuation is fair to the business and that any division is done to preserve the integrity of “Wanda’s Treats.”

July 9, 2012

Florida Child Support; Understanding Child Support, Why It’s Necessary and How It’s Calculated

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

As a family lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida, I handle cases involving child support. Often when I meet with clients they are concerned not only about the visitation they will have, but also whether they will be required to pay child support. The next thing clients want to know is how much the child support will be. While I understand the financial concerns regarding child support, I try to also educate clients on what child support is meant to provide for the child. Basically, in Florida, child support is designed to help maintain a lifestyle for the child that is similar to that which she or he would have if the parents remained in the same household. So, what is considered in determining Florida Child Support?

First, Florida Statute 61.30 regards child support as a necessity for the child, which cannot be negotiated away. Since the benefit is for the child and not the parent, the parents are not supposed to negotiate the right to child support. The idea is that the child is not able to make such a determination and the parents’ role is to protect the child and look out for his or her best interests. In so doing, Florida believes that determining child support and paying child support is vital to properly caring for the child.

July 6, 2012

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes File for Divorce: Understanding the Divorce Process Ahead

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have entered the spotlight again, this time for divorce. The couple’s marriage has provided them a six-year-old child, Suri, which seems to be Katie Holmes’ biggest concern at the moment. Katie Holmes has made it clear to those around her, as published in multiple articles, that she is mainly concerned about the best interest of the child and making certain that she is provided for after the divorce. There are talks that the couple has a prenuptial agreement, but that rumor has not yet been confirmed. However, prenuptial agreements can lend to some changes when it comes to determining child support since circumstances of the parties most likely changed since entering the prenuptial agreement. In a Florida divorce, Katie Holmes’ concept of looking out for the best interest of the child is standard. Florida courts put an emphasis on children issues because the children cannot ultimately make decisions for themselves and the court finds it necessary to make certain that decisions made by sometimes emotional parties is actually in the best interest of the child.

For Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the process is just beginning. Normally, one must be a resident in the State where divorce is filed for a period of time. To file for divorce in Florida, at least one party must be a resident for six (6) months prior to filing for divorce, unless due to an emergency (i.e. escaping an abusive spouse and/or parent). While Cruise and Holmes primarily reside in California, Katie Holmes filed for divorce in New York. The idea of filing in New York was to avoid the public records laws of California. Since California public records allows for divorce proceedings to be accessed by the public, Holmes’s action was done in hopes of keeping the details of the divorce private, or at least as much so as possible. The courts will have to make the determination if New York is the proper venue or jurisdiction for the case, if not, then the case may be sent to California.

July 4, 2012

Florida Divorce and Parenting: Understanding Summer Visitation Issues Regarding Camp and Vacation

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law
Jacksonville Florida parents who go through a divorce can write a parenting plan to decide how they will divide their children’s time after a divorce. The plan provides a roadmap for the child’s future, and is the most important document in a Florida divorce involving children. Deciding how to best divide visitation can be challenging for parents, especially when dealing with all other aspects of the divorce. However, keeping children in the forefront of determining what is in their best interest can ultimately lead to right results for everyone. In addition, if there are problems with establishing the parenting plan, a parenting coordinator that is a neutral third party can be helpful to establishing communication between parents. While the school year may be an easy visitation schedule, often summers make for more interesting issues.

Summer time-sharing can be a challenge for parents because their normal time-sharing is often changed during the summer months. Often, the visitation schedule will allow for a parent to have one-half of the summer or for most of the summer, depending on the distance between the parents. When one parent has the children for six (6) consecutive weeks, the other parent is supposed to get the time-sharing normally exercised by the other. For example if Mary has the children the majority of the time and Dan has the kids every-other-weekend, then during the summer Mary would have alternating weekends and Dan would have majority time. Again, this is dependent on the parenting plan. A parenting plan approved by the court must at a minimum: describe how parents will share the child, the time-sharing schedule for holidays, school-related matters, other actives, and the methods and technologies that the parents will use to communicate with the child.

When dealing with summer time-sharing, parents often need to make plans for the children while parents go to work. Finding a camp or other activity for the child falls on the parent exercising his or her summer time-sharing. For example, if Dan works, then he may decide to put the child or children into camp during the weeks that he has them. The camp cannot interfere with Mary’s time-sharing, unless Mary agrees with the situation. So, if the kids want to go to an overnight, away camp that lasts a couple of weeks, then Mary and Dan may agree for them to do so without worrying about the normal time-sharing plan. However, Dan could not make the decision and infringe on Mary’s time-sharing without first speaking with her.

July 2, 2012

Paying Alimony When a Spouse Lives With Someone Else

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

Normally in a Florida divorce, when alimony is awarded is based on the single needs of one spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay. Generally, Florida alimony is based on a number of factors, including the length of the marriage, marital lifestyle, needs of the requesting spouse and the parties’ historical contributions to the marriage (homemaking, breadwinner, etc.). Also, alimony is normally contingent upon the requesting spouse living alone and there being provisions that allows for alimony to be modified or terminated if the spouse receiving alimony later cohabitates with someone or remarries. However, recent court decisions have made it clear that the provision allowing for modification in those situations does not automatically lead to the termination or reduction in alimony.

In some cases, alimony may be awarded in a Florida divorce even when the requesting spouse resides with someone else. In certain cases, there may not be many financial options for a spouse so his or her financial needs may be based on what his or her expenses are living with a roommate. In that situation, alimony is actually determined and calculated based on the requesting spouse’s actual financial needs for his or her portion of living expenses. For example, if Ann and Ben divorce and Ben cannot afford to rent his own place, then Ben may seek a living situation with a roommate. In that situation, Ben is still responsible for one-half the rent, utilities, cable, etc. Ben’s income may not be enough to cover even the one-half share of his new place and in the divorce he would show this to the judge. If Ben is awarded alimony based on his present needs, then that is alimony granted even though he cohabitates with someone else.

June 29, 2012

In a Florida Divorce, What Emotions May I Expect to Have and My Spouse to Have?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

Being married for years and then deciding to go your separate ways can be a challenge for any Florida couple. As a divorce lawyer in Jacksonville, I meet with clients that are in different stages of the grief process over their marriage. Normally, the spouse that leads the conversation to divorce is generally the one that has processed the situation surrounding the marriage and ultimately already grieved over the loss of the relationship. Understanding where you may in the grieving process versus where your spouse may be is helpful to dealing with the dramas that may plague your divorce process.

We have all heard of the stages of grief when dealing with loss and divorce grief is no different. The loss, however, generally occurs at different times for spouses because one may be unhappy or not content for a longer time before the other spouse knows of the unhappiness. When couples get to this stage, normally communication has already broken down, so the conversations of what a spouse may need are over and the acceptance of not having those needs met may have already set in. Complacency of one spouse can be part of the process for that spouse to go through the stages of grief, all the way from denial to acceptance. Once a spouse has accepted the possible fate of the marriage she or he may have a conversation with his or her spouse about the next step, possibly divorce.

June 27, 2012

Can Facebook and Other Social Networks Impact My Florida Divorce?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written by: Lenorae Atter, Attorney at Law

As a Jacksonville, Florida divorce lawyer I have seen social networking, such as Facebook, impact marriages and divorces significantly more in the last couple of years. In a Florida divorce, fault does not have to be alleged in a petition for divorce because Florida is a no-fault state. No-fault divorce is basically that the reason for the divorce is not generally necessary to be evidenced to the court. However, such things as gambling, adultery and the like can be alleged to show why one party should be awarded more than the other. Also, such things as disparaging comments about spouse, photographs of excessive drinking in front of children and the like can be used when parents are fighting over children. These allegations can be difficult to prove, but with social networking it can be much easier. In a recent article, “Can Facebook Ruin Your Marriage?” the issue seems to be impacting a number of marriages and divorces. Social networking sites have been used for many reasons including rekindling old relationships, developing new relationships, and posting dirty laundry of the marriage to friends and the world via page postings and status updates.

According to, “Can Facebook Ruin Your Marriage?” the word, “Facebook,” appeared in 33 percent of the 5,0000 divorces filed in 2011 for “unreasonable behavior” in Britain. This shows an increase from the 20 percent reported from a similar survey in 2009, thus showing the popularity of the site and its impact on divorces increasing over a short period of time. In the British study, the most common reasons that Facebook was cited in the divorce petition are as follows: