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

30 April

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How to Efficiently Communicate with Your Attorney

in Family Law, Laws and Women, Lawyer’s Advice, Legal Advice, Necessary Forms

Communication, likely one of the most important social skills related to the human (and animal) species, is not something a person should take casually or for granted. How to use speech, emotions, and body language to effectively share information between two or more persons becomes a powerful tool, whether for a positive or a negative outcome. Such concerns as taking into account the communication style of those listening, finding empathy with the listener, and hearing what the listener has to say in return are all necessary components of efficient communication. And, efficient communication with your attorney is vitally necessary if...

How to Efficiently Communicate with Your Attorney

20 April

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Why Reading Your Retainer/Fee Agreement is Important

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Laws and Women, Lawyer’s Advice, Uncategorized

Like any document requiring your signature, you should always read all the papers needing your attention. You should even read the small print as there can be some tricky points hidden there. And, reading an attorney’s retainer/fee agreement is no exception. This blog will take a look at why it is important to read the retainer/fee agreement but first understanding what a retainer/fee agreement is will help to explain the importance of reading it in its entirety. According to the online definition of a legal retainer, ”A retainer is an advance payment that a client makes to his or her lawyer...

09 April

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What Happens When You Don’t Follow Your Lawyer’s Advice?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Family Law, Laws and Women, Lawyer’s Advice, Legal Advice, Uncategorized

As with any professional whom you seek out and retain for advice, and in the case of an attorney, representation on a legal matter, it is wise to follow the advice given. Before retaining the professional, you should feel confident he or she knows about and has experience in the field of expertise you need. In the case of a lawyer, you can check on his or her website and contact the state Bar for information. On the website, you can determine the educational background, years of experience, services offered, areas of representation, marital status, community involvement, professional awards, and...

30 March

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How to Dress for the Courtroom

Posted by Grant Gisondo

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

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

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Family Law

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...

Prenuptial agreements lawyer martin county

09 March

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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

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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

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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

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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...