Looking for Child Custody Attorneys Palm Beach County

05 July

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All about Guardian Ad Litem

in Child Support, Family Law, Legal Advice

Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) comes from Latin and, is defined by the online Legal Dictionary as “a unique type of guardian in a relationship that has been created by court order only for the duration of legal action. Courts appoint these special representatives for infants, minors, and mentally incompetent persons, all of whom generally need help protecting their rights in court.” Each state has its own guidelines for using GAL. This blog will use Florida as its example and will focus on the Family Law court's use of GAL for issues such as parental timesharing, developing parenting plans, child support,...

28 June

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When is 50/50 Equal Timesharing Proper and When Is it not Proper?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice

When is 50/50 Equal Timesharing Proper and When Is it not Proper?

As each state has its own laws regarding the care and nurturing of minor children following a separation or divorce of their biological or adoptive parents, this blog will focus on the state of Florida. For many years Florida, as in most states, awarded the custody of minor children to one or the other parent. Children lived with the parent having primary custody and the parent given secondary custody would receive visitation rights which may or may not have included overnights with their child. Decision making usually rested with the parent holding primary custody which often left out the other...

31 May

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How Long Does It Take to Get Child Support?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Child Custody, Child Support, Family Law, Legal Advice

Unfortunately, there is no time frame allotted for getting child support. While the party desiring child support may feel it is an emergency, the legal system has its specified procedures which must be followed before adjudication for child support will be finalized by a judge. Taking a look at the procedures needed to obtain child support will help to show why there is no set time limit for obtaining a judgment. Too, each state has its own set of guidelines for obtaining child support and these can be found in the State Statutes. So, for this discussion, the state of...

Is it Possible to Know How Long it takes to Get Child Support?

05 April

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Domestication of a Foreign Order (Child Support, Alimony, etc) in Florida

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Child Custody, Child Support, Family Law, Legal Advice

Domestication of a Foreign Order (Child Support, Alimony, etc) in Florida

The title, “Domestication of a Foreign Order”, implies the order needing domestication is from outside the United States. While this is true in some instances, the majority of orders in this category result from moving to another state outside the state where the order was adjudicated. We live in a mobile society. Many people move from place to place every few years or even more often. Jobs move employees, people marry and move with their spouse, or sometimes people just want a change in their environment or a place with better educational opportunities for their children. And, since every state has...

08 March

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All About the “Talking Parents” Communication Website and How it Compares to Florida’s Family Wizard Site

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Support, Divorce Law News, Family Law

Even in the best of circumstances surrounding the break-up of a family with minor children, meaningful and polite communication is often difficult to achieve.This is made even more difficult when one of the main reasons the marriage broke down was poor and sometimes volatile communication. While a judge can order reasonable communication it seems there are many instances when reasonable communicating between two parents is just about impossible. There is just too much emotion and often anger involved. So, in many states, “technical” means for the two parties to communicate have been developed. In at least 35 states, for example, there...

Family Wizard Site and Talking Parents Communication Website

27 February

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Part Three: Ways To Help Children Cope With Life After a Divorce or Parent Separation

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Custody, Child Support, Family Law

10 Ways to Be A Successful Parent After a Family Dissolves

Having one’s parents separate whether from within a marriage or a living together arrangement can be, and often is, devastating for children of any age. It is particularly difficult for minor children or those with special needs who depend on parental support and care. In most states, there are guidelines and requirements for post judgment parenting. In Florida, for example, all couples must attend a state approved parenting class before a divorce or child support order can be adjudicated. Furthermore, in Florida, the motto “In the best interest of the child” is applied to decisions made regarding minor children as...

01 February

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Part Two, Parallel Parenting, What is it, and How Does it Compare to Co-Parenting?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Custody, Child Support, Family Law

As was pointed out in Part One of this three part discussion on parenting after a divorce or relational break-up, that many states, Florida in particular, are firm advocates of both parents taking equal responsibility in the continued raising and nurturing of their children, biological and/or adopted. The term “In the best interest of the child” is used to emphasize how important it is for both parents to put themselves in their children’s shoes and see how it feels and then provide the correct “fit”. Co-parenting, where both parents share equally in decision making regarding education, medical, religious, and disciplinary concerns...

23 January

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The Importance of Co-parenting – Part One

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Custody, Child Support, Family Law

The definition of co-parenting as defined in the online Your Dictionary “is a process where two parents work together to raise a child even though they are divorced or separated and no longer live together. An example of co-parenting is when a divorced mother and father share legal and physical custody of a child.” Couples who have never married or even lived together but still share the birth or adoption of a child are also candidates for co-parenting. In fact, in the state of Florida where Family Law statutes use the phrase “In the best interest of the child” as...

07 July

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When Does Child Support End?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Child Support

Child support is mandatory in the state of Florida. It doesn’t matter if the parents of a minor child ever married or even lived together. “In the best interest of the child” is the standard for the Florida Statutes regarding the care and nurturing of minor children, and child support is an important part of being able to maintain that standard. Each parent is expected to participate in the life and development of any minor child they brought into this world or legally adopted. It costs money to do the job correctly and the Florida courts work hard to see...

17 May

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What is Mandatory Disclosure (Fla. R. 12.285)

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Child Support

Mandatory disclosure refers to the in-depth financial disclosure required by Florida law for most legal actions where monetary information is pertinent to the case or where there will be a monetary award as part of the final settlement, such as child support, alimony, and/or debt satisfaction. Both parties in the legal action must submit a mandatory disclosure and the information contained therein must be accurate, up-to-date, and be able to be backed up with proof when required. Proof required is for information prior to the serving of the financial affidavit, and will include: Pay stubs back 3 months State and...