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No papers have been filed yet, but Ronald Cummings, the father of missing Jacksonville, Florida child, Haleigh Cummings, reported to CNN that he and his wife Misty will be getting a divorce. While Misty at first did not want to go along with Ronald’s decision, she finally agreed to it earlier this week.

The two are the parents of 6-year-old Haleigh Cummings, who has been missing from her Jacksonville, Florida home since February 9th, 2009. Ronald attributes the divorce to the stress of their daughter disappearing while under Misty’s care, Misty’s story about the events of that night, and the stress of being hounded by the public. Misty is not expected to contest the divorce.

There is no question that the loss of a child can have a devastating impact on a marriage. If your marriage has suffered an irreparable harm, please contact our firm for legal counsel.

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Terengganu, an eastern state in the country of Malaysia, is offering free second honeymoons and counseling to troubled couples in the hopes of saving their relationships. The state hopes it will slow their skyrocketing divorce rate.

The conservative Muslim state follows the Islamic custom where divorce is legal, but still considered a distasteful act. The program has already been tested on 25 couples, with favorable results.

It is easy for couples to fall out of touch with each other over the course of many years of marriage. With kids and work and other responsibilities, a marriage can suffer from neglect. It will be interesting to see if this program is successful at bringing couples back together. A week’s romantic vacation seems like a good place to start.

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Gay marriage is only recognized in a handful of states, which can cause some interesting legal problems when those couples move to another state. To date, six US states have legalized gay marriage and two more states will recognize same-sex marriages entered into in another state. Washington DC recognizes gay marriages and is expected to allow them soon, while California only recognizes the few marriages that were allowed to take place in that state before same sex marriage was voted down last November.

When two men who were legally married in Massachusetts in 2006 moved to Texas and later decided to file for divorce, they ran into a legal issue that state seemed ill-prepared to deal with. The Texas Attorney General stated that the two could not divorce in Texas, since they were not considered to be married while residing there. The couple could not simply divorce in MA since they were no longer residents. The problem is that, until they can legally divorce, they are still considered married in eight other states and in Washington DC.

One Texas judge viewed this as a discriminatory hardship, and ruled that the state should recognize the marriage for the limited purpose of divorce. The ruling is not expected to stand.

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Written By: Lenorae C. Atter

Family Law Attorney with Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

The Florida Disestablishment of Paternity statute allows for reputed “alleged” dads to tell the Court they have reason to believe they do not have a financial obligation to a child for whom they pay child support. The statute lays out many factors to be proven by the alleged father because there is a public policy interest that children not be without a father.

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Paternity actions in Florida are common because there is a strong belief that children need two parents and child support. Many men are faced, on a daily basis, with a woman informing them they have a child, or a court document greeting them at their home delivering the stork’s news. Once the court gets involved, there is a need to establish the father of the child legally, child support and time sharing. So, what happens when you find out, after a few years of this financial and emotional obligation that you, in fact, are not the baby’s daddy?
In 2007, the Florida legislature passed the Disestablishment of Paternity Statute. This law allows for men to have the right to petition that they no longer have the obligation to a child if new evidence has come to light. However, there are multiple restrictions on the men for them to prove their case to a judge. It is important to contact a family law attorney to discuss your options and the actual expectation that you will be successful in pursuing this matter.

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

In my family law practice in Jacksonville, Florida, as a divorce and family law attorney, I have a vantage point that most people don’t have. I see people everyday going through the most confusing and emotional issue of their lives. Oftentimes, spouses change after the marriage and parties quickly go from “I do” to “I don’t”. An annulment may be possible in this case but annulments are difficult to obtain. In fact, a divorce is easier to obtain in some cases. In an annulment action, the courts are basically saying that the marriage never took place and as such there are very strict guidelines that must be followed in obtaining an annulment. There are two types of annulments, one is civil and one is religious. There are different requirements for each type of annulment. If you are in an “I Don’t” situation, please call our firm for advice on how to protect your interests.

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

So you and your spouse just love Florida Gators football right? Well what happens when each of you keep your love of football and your favorite team and season tickets but not for each other? Who gets the season tickets? In Florida the courts use a concept called equitable distribution to equitably or “fairly” divide marital assets. If the season tickets were bought during the marriage then they become a marital asset subject to equal division by the courts. But who wants to go to the game and have to sit by their ex? In a situation such as this, the Courts will use equitable distribution to place a value on each ticket and if one spouse gets both tickets then the courts will give the other spouse some other item similar or equal in value to equalize the award. If you or your spouse want to keep your season tickets so you can watch your favorite team become Rosebowl bound, then please call our firm to discuss options in your dissolution.

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

Time after time with my child custody cases in Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding counties such as Nassau, St. Johns, Clay and Putnam, the parties will enter into a stipulation or an agreement where each will retain all rights as mother and all rights as father and share in the parenting responsibilities of the child or children. Shared parental responsibility means that each parent retains full rights to have a say or input in major decisions regarding the child’s life just as if the parents were still residing under the same roof. The question then becomes what qualifies as a major decision? Decisions such as will the child get braces, will the child get glasses, what religion will the child practice if any, to what school will the child go, how will the child be treated medically and by whom all fall under the major decision category. The gray areas appear regarding the child’s hairstyle, clothing, etc. It is a good rule of thumb when the parties share parental responsibility to attempt to include the other parent in as many decisions as possible that will have an extreme affect on the child. If you have any questions regarding a divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, or modification of a final judgment matter, please call our firm for advice and support.

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