Blog | Family Lawyer Grant J. Gisondo in Palm Beach Gardens

30 March

Sticky

How to Dress for the Courtroom

in Child Custody, Family Law, Laws and Women, Legal Advice, Parenting, Uncategorized

Dress for success. This can be said emphatically for those who are having their day in court, be it attorney, client, or witness. So often, people form judgments based almost entirely on their first impression of another person and can be a plus or a minus depending on the opinion formed. For example, should a client be dressed in poorly fitting, unpressed clothes with unshined shoes to match or an attorney dressed in a suit that doesn’t quite button over the midsection, a judge or jury could form the opinion of the person not being serious about the issues at...

20 March

Sticky

How Mediation Can Bring Your Case to a Close Faster and Cheaper

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Family Law

Prenuptial agreements lawyer martin county

Mediation, defined by Florida’s. Nineteenth Circuit Court—Family Mediation Program “is a process in which two people work together with a neutral third person (the mediator) to discuss the issues in their case and try to work them out. Mediation often occurs with both people in the same room.” In Florida, mediation in the Family Law courts is, for most jurisdictions, a requirement for a couple seeking dissolution of marriage (divorce) or modification of child support, timesharing, parenting plan, and alimony (the types which can be modified). Many of those seeking a divorce think the step of mediation is an unnecessary...

09 March

Sticky

Does Infidelity Affect Alimony?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Family Law

The answer to the question, “Does infidelity affect alimony?” is “yes.” But why is this so when at least in Florida which is a no-fault divorce state there does not have to be a reason for granting a divorce (now termed dissolution of marriage) other than the desire of one of the parties to end the marriage? Taking a look at the words infidelity and alimony with the additional observation of how infidelity can affect the award of alimony will help answer the question under consideration. Infidelity: As defined by Wikipedia (synonyms include: cheating, straying, adultery {when married}, being unfaithful or...

19 February

Sticky

What is a No-Fault Divorce?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Uncategorized

According to Wikipedia, the definition of no-fault divorce is “a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party of the marriage without requiring the petitioner to provide evidence that the defendant has committed a breach of the marital contract.’ For many years there needed to be a reason such as proven adultery, abuse, abandonment, or mental cruelty for a couple to obtain a divorce. Now, in every state, including Washington...

08 February

Sticky

Fla. Stat. 61.13 child custody factors

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Legal Advice, Time Sharing, Uncategorized

In Florida the term “child custody” is not used except in special cases such as when a parent is in jail, a parent cannot care for a minor child due to severe mental or physical illness, a parent has been adjudicated guilty of child abuse, sexual abuse, or domestic violence, or a parent has an active history of drug or alcohol abuse. If one or both parents are found to have the above strikes against them, then Family Court will give full care “custody” to the non-offending parent. If both parents are proven unable to care for the minor child,...

28 January

Sticky

Modifying a Parenting Plan in Florida

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Parenting, Paternity, Time Sharing, Uncategorized

Time marches on, and so do people. No matter how much a person would like to look into the future and find out what will happen, this just isn’t possible. When a parenting plan is drawn up both parties do so with the limited knowledge of what will happen in the future and how each thinks the requirements of shared parenting, including timesharing, will work the best in their particular case. All seems to go well for a while and then there are changes that may occur which can make the parenting plan as written become unrealistic and sometimes even...

17 January

Sticky

Holiday Timesharing

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Parenting, Paternity, Time Sharing, Uncategorized

Holidays are, for most families, some of the best times of the year. This is especially true for young children unless their family is extremely poor, so they feel left out when compared to other children. Children and grownups alike look forward to spending time together, and as in the case of birthdays and December holidays look forward to the tradition of gift-giving. But what happens when there is a divorce? How do children and parents share those special days? In many states, Florida included, when there are minor children (children from birth to age l8) involved, the state requires a...

06 January

Sticky

How to Prepare for When the Divorce is Over

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Uncategorized

Divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is termed in modern times, is never an easy or pleasant experience. In most cases, life, as it has been, will be disrupted and changed. Both parties, whether either wants the divorce or not, will be faced with a different way of doing things during the proceedings and even more so once the divorce is over. Fortunately, even in the best of circumstances, a divorce takes time to become final and thus allows a person time to prepare for what lies ahead. While no one wants to plan a future with so much...

How to Prepare for When the Divorce is Over

26 December

Sticky

Equal Time Sharing is Quickly Becoming the New Standard

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Time Sharing, Uncategorized

Equal-time-sharing-is-quickly-becoming-the-new-standard

For many years the idea that one parent, usually the mother, should be the primary caregiver for minor children following a divorce or separation was the norm. The primary caregiver was typically referred to as having “custody” while the other parent was referred to as noncustodial, having secondary custody. Often the noncustodial parent had very specific visitation rights with little or no overnights with their child. All decisions, major or minor, were made by the custodial parent without the necessity of input from the other parent. Obviously, this makes for a very one-sided developmental plan for a child as well...