Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Florida Family Law Attorney

latter@woodatter.com

In a Florida divorce you have to choose whether to hire a lawyer. The divorce and hiring a lawyer can be expensive and you have to determine if it is worth the money. As a Jacksonville, Florida divorce attorney, I find a lot of clients asking this questions. It is one I cannot answer for you, but I can give you the answer I feel explains it best.

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

wlonker@woodatter.com

What used to be one of the biggest assets in a marriage in Florida is now one of the biggest liabilities due to the current market economy. What are you supposed to do with the marital home when the marriage is dissolving? There are some options which are as follows:

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

When parties divorce in Florida, the court orders that the marriage contract is broken. In an annulment action, the courts declare that the marriage never was. To obtain an annulment in Florida, it is much more difficult than obtaining a dissolution of marriage, and it occurs less frequently than dissolutions. However, if you require an annulment for religious reasons, you need to contact your rabbi, priest or minister as well as an attorney to complete the process. Certain grounds must be proven to the courts to obtain an annulment. An annulment cannot be obtained based on the fact that the marriage was short. The courts require more. The certain grounds that can be alleged in an annulment action are: 1) that a party did not know what he/she was doing when they got married due to intoxication, mental incapacity, etc. 2) that the marriage was illegal such as in Florida you cannot marry certain members of your family 3) that there was fraud involved in the marriage that goes to the substance of the marriage. If you think you may qualify for an annulment instead of a divorce, or you require an annulment for religious reasons, please contact our firm for expert advice on the dissolution or annulment process in Florida.

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

In Florida, a dissolution of marriage is the legal term for terminating a marriage. One party must file a Petition For Dissolution alleging “grounds” or reasons for the divorce. However, in Florida, only two legal “reasons” can serve as grounds for the divorce and those are 1) that the marriage is irretrievably broken or 2) that one of the parties to the marriage is mentally incompetent. Usually the first ground is the ground that is alleged in the Petition For Dissolution as the second ground can only be used if a spouse has been adjudged by a court to be incompetent for a period of at least three (3) years. While you may believe your spouse to be incompetent, if a Judge has not signed a judicial order indicating your spouse’s incompetency, then your spouse is not legally incompetent, and the ground cannot be alleged. If the marriage is irretrievably broken, this means that the marriage has so many issues and disputes that they cannot be resolved through any type of counseling or classes, and the marriage is completely and totally broken. If you feel that your marriage is irretrievably broken or your spouse has been adjudicated by a court to be incompetent causing the breakdown of your marriage, please contact our firm for expert advice in helping you navigate the dissolution process.

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

I get a lot of people sitting across from my desk in the initial consultation in my family law practice waffling about whether or not they should get a divorce. Obviously, if they are sitting across from me, things are NOT copacetic in the marriage. However, that doesn’t always mean that divorce is the only answer. How do you know when you should get a divorce or stay and try to work things out? Normally when parties begin the divorce process, one or both of the parties is not truly ready for the divorce. Here is a good article that asks eight questions to help you decide if you are ready to enter the divorce arena. If you are having trouble deciding on how to proceed in your marriage, or just need expert advice on the entire dissolution process, please contact our firm to arrange a consultation.