Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

In Florida you may be required to pay child support even if you are unemployed. You might ask, “how do they calculate my income for child support guidelines if I do not have an income?” The answer is that income may be imputed or attributed to you in certain circumstances. For instance, if you became unemployed voluntarily, the court may impute income to you at the level you were last earning. That means if you quit your job, decided to change fields and became unemployed as a result, or moved to a different market where you can’t find a job, the court may attribute income to you at the level you were earning or are currently capable of earning.

In order for the court to impute income, there must be competent substantial evidence supporting the imputation. Quinones v. Quinones, 870 So 2d 108 (Fla 2d DCA 2003) The imputation of income must be supported by specific findings of fact indicating the amount and the source of the income. Burkhardt v. Bass, 711 So 2d 158 (Fla 4th DCA 1998) The court may also find that a person is underemployed if they have taken a job that is below their skill set with no reasonable explanation. Lascaibar v. Lascaibar, 658 So 2d 170 (Fla 3d DCA 1995)

The burden of proof in a proceeding that calls this issue into question is on the spouse claiming that the other spouse is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. If the unemployment is not voluntary and you do not have the ability to pay child support, the court will not require you to pay. However, there are few instances where a party has absolutely no source of income and does not have the ability to work.

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Rehabilitative alimony is a type of alimony allocated to a spouse to provide assistance while her or she regains the ability to become self supporting. There must be a finding by the court that the dissolution of marriage will affect the requesting spouse’s ability to be self supporting for a period of time. If the marriage will not affect the spouse’s ability to obtain employment then rehabilitative alimony is unwarranted. The party seeking rehabilitative alimony has the burden of proof as to how they will gain training, what the object of the training will be, the length of the plan, and the cost. In addition it must be examined how this plan will make the spouse self supporting.

If a spouse is seeking rehabilitative alimony it may be necessary to call an expert witness to testify as to what the rehabilitative plan will be. The court will need to make a finding that the evidence presented is sufficient to make a factual finding that rehabilitative alimony is warranted. It may be a good idea to write the plan out and present it to the opposing spouse’s attorney prior to mediation.

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This is the number one question I get from new clients. The answer is not easy to give. There a a number of factors that can increase the cost of a divorce. Divorces are very emotional and often times the reason they cost more is that couples can’t come to terms with the reality of their situation. An uncontested divorce where both parties are represented will easily cost about $2,500 per person just to iron out the terms of the marital settlement agreement. This is because it takes time to draft all of the documents, schedule the final hearing, and correspond back and forth to make sure the parties agree on everything and are all informed as to their rights in Florida and all matters are addressed in the agreement.

If the divorce is contested then all bets are off. Starting legal fees for each party will typically be around $4,000 to $5,000. In addition, Jacksonville judges typically require the parties to go to mediation. If the case doesn’t settle at mediation then the parties will have to have a trial or final hearing.

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Judges in Florida family law cases are big proponents of family law mediation. It is estimated that 90% of family law cases are actually settled at mediation. If that is accurate it means that a majority of family law cases are taken off of the court’s docket before they go to a final hearing. This has the effect of freeing up the judges’ dockets for other cases that cannot be resolved through mediation. It’s no mystery then that judges in Florida family law cases promote mediation for family law clients. Most judges in Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns counties require mediation before you can even attend a final hearing.

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that uses negotiating through a disinterested third party to forge a resolution among the parties. Generally the mediator is a lawyer themselves and has practiced family law in the past or may still practice family law. This is helpful because they have a good understanding of what the laws are and how judges in your jurisdiction interpret those laws. A good mediator can help you understand what a judge might do in your particular situation if you go to trial.

At mediation the parties are usually in the same room for the mediator’s introduction and then split into different conference rooms with their respective attorneys for the negotiation process. The mediator has a discussion with each party and their attorney and goes back and forth between the parties with settlement offers on the issues involved. If the parties reach an agreement the mediator types up a settlement agreement and consent final judgment for the judge to sign and the case is concluded with a non-adversarial final hearing with the judge. The terms of the mediated agreement become effective as soon as it is signed.

A settlement reached at mediation is often preferred to one at trial because the parties are able to set their own terms. This is not to say that you get everything you want at mediation but you know exactly what you are getting and can make a conscious decision to either reach an agreement or an impasse. If there is no agreement then the case simply goes to trial and the judge decides your fate.

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