Here is an article that describes how to have a happy relationship in hope of avoiding divorce down the road. http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/relationships/24240/dating-advice-top-10-relationship-tips Because I work in the area of family law in Jacksonville, Florida, each and everyday, I enjoy helping people manage crisis in hopes of creating solutions that will be workable for all involved especially if the couple has children. I do not encourage divorce but unfortunately, it happens, and people need an impartial, non-emotionally involved practioner to protect their legal rights during the process as most people are way too emotional to think straight enough to make reasonable decisions. I provide the article above to help you avoid ending up in the courtroom. As an old proverb says, “you never truly know a woman until you meet her court”! Have a happy marriage but if you have questions regarding the dissolution process then please call our firm at 904-355-8888.
Out-of-State Father and Child Support: Florida Family Law
In Florida, the statutes regarding paternity, child support, visitation and custody have different laws when dealing with an out-of-state parent. I am a Jacksonville area divorce and family law attorney and recently I had a case involving a mother and child that reside here and a father that lives out-of-state. The issue that was difficult to overcome is, “which court is proper to bring actions regarding the child?”
Florida Statute 48.193 requires that the out-of-state resident to have some form of contact with the State of Florida. While the presumed father has the option to prevail on this issue if he has not been in Florida, nor was the child conceived in Florida, that does not resolve the issue for the presumed father.
Once a child resides in Florida, the Florida courts have jurisdiction over that child through the UCCJEA and Florida Statute 61.514. Therefore, all actions dealing with visitation and custody must be brought in Florida, so an out-of-state court may be required by the presumed father, to determine paternity and possibly child support, but if the father wants visitation with the child, he will be required to file in Florida.
International Adoptions Pt. II: Jacksonville Family Law
International adoptions are popular not only among Madonna and Angelina Jolie, but Jacksonville, Florida residents as well. As a family law attorney I have clients call once they adopted out of the country and they want to make certain their adoption is legal in the U.S. and in Florida.
Once a child is adopted by a foreign court that document finalizing the adoption can be accepted by the Florida courts as well. The procedure for doing so is important to protect yourself and any issues that may arise regarding that child.
The Florida courts do recognize foreign decrees, foreign orders, but you must petition the court to recognize the decree or order. It is best to speak with an attorney regarding this matter to make certain that all requirements are met from the beginning to speed up the finalization of your adoption which has clearly been a long time coming at this point.
International Adoptions: Jacksonville Family Law
International adoptions, like Madonna’s, have made the news for years in Jacksonville, Florida and throughout the country. As a family law attorney in Jacksonville, I have clients call to find out the process for such adoptions.
The reality is, as evident in Madonna’s current court case in Africa, each country has different adoption laws. In Malawi, where the child resides in Madonna’s case, there is a residency requirement for adoptions. That issue, not the paternity issue, is actually what’s holding things up for the adoption of Chifundo James. Madonna, feeling that celebrity and money can beat laws, is now caught up in the court system to show the best interest of the child is to be adopted regardless of the residency requirement.
This case is a good example of why the normal adopting family should first look into the laws associated with the country they would like to adopt from. You don’t want to get in a situation where you required to relocate for a significant period of time if you don’t have to. It’s best to contact an attorney where you live to help you in your process from the beginning.
Temporary Support in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida
When people are in the process of divorce, a lot of times there is a question as to which bills get paid and by whom. If, during the pendency of the divorce, the Husband has possession of the marital home and is paying the mortgage on the home, the courts have said that the Husband should get credits for servicing the mortgage during the parties’ separation before the divorce was final. In Parks v. Parks, heard in January 2009, the Second District Court of Appeal upheld this notion and ruled that reimbursements or credits for a party’s payment of marital property-related expenses during the separation can be considered for credits by the court. So, if a party uses a marital asset out of necessity, such as taking out a loan on a joint home equity line of credit, during the separation, should that party be punished? It appears that absent a finding of misconduct and if the asset is used for reasonable living expenses, that it will not be held against the party using the asset at the final divorce proceeding. Is this fair and equitable? Let me hear from you. If you have a question about temporary support credits, please call our firm at 904-355-8888.
Alimony Modifications in Jacksonville, Florida: When You Didn’t Get Enough At Divorce
Presently, when dealing with alimony and support in a divorce in these tough economic times, the husband and wife can both be in a difficult place financially when going through the divorce process. Since alimony in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida and all counties in Florida are based on need and ability to pay, it has become more common to have the usual bread-winning spouse (the Husband) earning significantly less or being unemployed altogether. This makes the second prong of alimony, the ability to pay, unrealized. Thus, the Wife gets no alimony. However, there is now a caveat to that assumption. The Florida Second District Court of Appeal in its decision in Eisemann v. Eisemann in March 2009, says that if the Wife wants to take a shot at more alimony after the divorce proceedings are final, and the Husband has gotten back on his feet and is earning more income, she can if she puts in the final judgment of the divorce that the Wife had greater needs which the husband could not meet at the time of the final judgment AND that the Wife was thus awarded a lower alimony amount. If this sentence is in the final divorce decree then the Wie can possibly get more alimony later even without meeting the usual requirement of having significantly greater needs. If you have an alimony question, please call our firm at 904-355-8888. We look forward to helping you.
Out of State Gay Adoptions Recognized in Florida!
Most people know that Florida is only 1 of 2 states in the country that does not allow homosexuals to adopt. Many people who are in committed same-sex relationships come to my practice in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, from surrounding counties such as Clay, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns to find out how they can protect their rights as a parent in the current legal market banning gay adoptions. Most of the time, I can try to protect a non-biological parent’s rights through estate planning, i.e. drafting a will or parenting agreement and treating it as a contract instead of an adoption. However, the Florida Supreme Court has now decided as recently as May 13, 2009, in the case of Embry v. Ryan, that same-sex parents who have adopted a child in another state will have that parentage and adoption recognized here in Florida through the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This is a giant step for Florida in joining 48 other states who allow same-sex adoptions. Mississippi is the only other state to ban same-sex adoptions. Do you think this decision will now mean that Florida will have to recognize gay marriages? Let me hear from you. If you have an adoption issue or any other family law matter such as divorce, child custody, child support, alimony or distribution of assets and liabilities, please call our firm at 904-355-8888. I look forward to hearing from you.
Parenting Coach: Florida Divorce and Family Law
In Jacksonville, Florida family law , I have clients that are facing huge changes in their life whether it is from divorce or determination of paternity. The majority have never been a parent or have never been a single parent. In addition, some have jobs that have taken them from their children. The solution may be in a service being offered by Ronnie Cage, who has a Master Trainer Certification in the “Fatherhood Development” Curriculum from the National Partnership for Community Leadership. I had the pleasure of speaking with him and finding out that he coaches fathers on how to become dads to their kids whether for the first time or the first time in a long time.
Mr. Cage has found his calling in helping individuals learn, mainly fathers, to be better communicators, listeners and parents. It’s a service we could all benefit from in our lives, but we can’t often find the recipe to make the proper parent pie. Mr. Cage, and others in his field, may be the missing cookbook to better parenting.
Jacksonville, Florida Divorce, A New Approach: Collaborative Law
Written By: Lenorae C. Atter
Collaborative action for divorce, child support, visitation, alimony and other family law matters is not common in Jacksonville, Florida.
Collaborative Law is being practiced in most parts of the country, including South Florida, but has not found its popularity in Jacksonville yet. As a Jacksonville divorce lawyer who wants my clients walking away with a smile rather than the need for the spa, I am a huge advocate of this process. I don’t think children should be the victim of their parents’ inability to communicate, but should be healthier through divorce because the parents have a since of stability throughout the process. That is what is offered in a collaborative law setting. It’s the attorneys and the clients, from the very beginning, agreeing that a divorce process aimed at resolving the divorce, custody, child support, marital home, assets, and finances can actually be done amicably from beginning to end.
Florida Adoptions are the Silver Lining to Recession: Florida Family Law
As a Jacksonville, Florida family law attorney, I have many inquiries regarding adoptions. Recently, the interest in adoptions seems to be growing, possibly due to celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Madonna. Their adoptions have made national news more than once. However, in a struggling economy, I was curious about how adoptions are being impacted and recently heard a news story on NPR related to the issue and now discovered a news article in US Today on the same topic.
According these stories, it appears that at adoption and the option for it has grown exponentially due to the economy. Many more women, especially those with children already, are choosing to place their newborns up for adoption. This decision is being exercised at a time when families are struggling to feed the ones in their home, but also want to provide life and a family to others. Those unable to have children are grateful for the influx in available babies right here in the U.S. and in Florida. At a time when people are struggling to put gas in their cars, the country’s women have decided the ultimate sacrifice is their calling and these women and their families are providing others with a chance at what was once perceived as virtually impossible.
There really is a silver lining for a recession.