Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

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

Collaborative law is a relatively new area of practice in Jacksonville, Florida, that gives parties an opportunity to divorce or to settle another family law issue out of court in a private and respectful manner. The parties agree up front to forego a trial on the issues but each party has their own attorney to represent their interests in the dissolution. The parties may also employ mental health experts, financial planners and accountants depending on the issues involved in the case. The parties will have a series of short meetings with all professionals for each side present and will set goals and reach agreements in those meetings which are set at a mutually agreeable time instead of when the court sets the dates. The parties will have complete control of the process and most importantly, the outcome. The Court will only be used to finalize the agreement, if one is reached. Our firm is on the cutting edge of utilizing this area of practice in resolving family law cases in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida and the surrounding counties. If you have a family law case or issue that needs resolution, please contact our firm to discuss all options for your case.

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

The older and more experienced I get, I have been researching articles on good health and good health practices, and surprisingly, I have found many articles that state that marriage is good for your health! Obviously divorce is quite stressful and the effects of stress on the body and your health is well documented as being so harmful on the body and on overall health. Studies have shown that those who are married give higher value to their health opposed to those who have never married. Those who have been married and have experienced a divorce or who are experiencing a divorce may report more documented illnesses and more documented health concerns. If you are experiencing a divorce and the stress related thereto, contact our firm to help ease your panic, fear and stress levels as we take on your case with compassion and expertise.

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

There was an article in the New York Times that outlined the divorce rate in this country at the present time as compared to divorce rates in the 1950’s. It appears that divorces are on the rise especially in this down economy. It appears that couples who married in the late 70’s had a less than 50% chance of remaining married. Those couples who are celebrating 45th, 50th and 70th wedding anniversaries are practically becoming obsolete. One reason for the drop off in couples reaching these landmark anniversaries is that people are marrying later in life these days and one party may die before the couple is able to reach the 25th wedding anniversary mark. However, the recent trend has been that couples are separating after about 7 years of marriage and divorcing during the 8th year and not even seeing the 15 year anniversary mark. If you are experiencing marital unbliss and are contemplating a divorce, please contact our firm to guide you through the process with expertise.

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

Divorce affects everyone. From the parties to their extended family and even their friends. But divorce affects children differently from adults and children experience the pain of divorce differently at different ages. Here is a good article on what you can expect your child to experience emotionally during the divorce process. Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding cities such as Fernandina, Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, St. Augustine and Palatka all have classes that are required when going through a divorce with children. The class is quite helpful in teaching the parties how to behave in front of their children to help the children cope with the dissolution process. If you are experiencing the break-up of a marriage and have questions, please call our firm for expert advice and help.

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

Family law in Florida is probably the most personal of all areas of law in that we, as practitioners, delve into the deepest secrets of families in order to fight our case or to settle an issue. Many times the Husband or Wife will know the other’s passwords to bank accounts, email accounts or will intercept text messages of the other spouse. These things are all perfectly legal and can be used as evidence against a spouse in court in Florida. If a spouse has access to online email accounts or online banking information then it is perfectly legal for that spouse to access those accounts. If the account shows that the other spouse has been hiding money or spending money to further an affair, then that can be used in court as evidence. Text messages are the same. The moral of the story is this, if you don’t want your emails, text messages or banking information to be used against you in court in a divorce action in Florida, then don’t give your spouse the information necessary to access it. If you need advice on divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, adoption, modifications, equitable distribution of property or post divorce advice, please call our firm.