01 April

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In What Order Does the Court Handle Issues?

in Alimony, Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

PEACE (parenting plan, equitable distribution, alimony, child support, everything else like attorney fees) As with most official situations involving a series of issues, when it comes to dissolution of marriage (divorce) the court will have an order to determine the outcome of resolutions in question. In Florida, there is an acronym, PEACE, which represents the order the court will use to handled is solution of marriage once the case is heard in a courtroom before a judge. Here is what each letter of PEACE stands for: P—parenting plan: In Florida, all couples who are parents of a minor child, either by...

22 March

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Attorney Fees-In Florida, Which Party Has to Pay Them?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Alimony, Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

Attorney Fees-In Florida, Which Party Has to Pay Them?

Sometimes, when a couple agrees on all issues and has no children or jointly owned real property, they can handle getting a divorce without the help of an attorney. There will still be court costs but no attorney fees. For couples who must use an attorney to obtain a divorce successfully, the cost is significant and can become a hardship and bone of contention. This is especially true if one or the other party does not want the divorce, if such reasons as adultery or abandonment are the cause, or if one party is better able to afford attorney fees. While...

11 March

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How Do I Choose a Lawyer?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

“How do I choose a lawyer?” Is a question many people ask at some time in their life. It seems today that “going to court” for one reason or another is an everyday happening for a myriad of issues. In the United States crime rates are high, divorce rates hover near 50% and suing someone,or some organization has become the way to right a wrong, even a small one. So what things should a person consider if they need to hire a lawyer? The following suggestions will help: 1. First and foremost, check out several potential prospects in the area of your...

01 March

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My Ex Is Not Following Our Parenting Plan

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

In many states, including Florida, whenever the court is needed to determine the outcome of a minor child where both parents will be involved in shared parenting a parenting plan is required. This is true for parents who have never married or even lived together as well as for parents who have married and are divorcing.A parenting plan will include the number of overnights for each parent and where the overnights will take place. All medical, educational, religious, and discipline decisions are to be made jointly so the parenting plan will lay out the way this should happen. For example,...

19 February

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How to keep your kids out of court (protecting children from litigating a divorce)

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

Divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is now called in most states, is sometimes even harder on children that it is on the adults. Especially minor children are affected as they have no say in what will happen to their future life and in fact, will be made to go along with the final judgment signed by a judge. Not only will they, in many cases, need to move to a new home but will now have two homes to split their overnights. How stressful it must be to have to bounce from one house to the other on...

08 February

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Marriage Counseling … Does it Work?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

Does marriage counseling work? To be blunt, sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no.” What are some of the considerations that are more likely to lead to success rather than failure? The following are food for thought: Probably first and foremost, for success of any kind, both parties must recognize the need for marriage counseling and be willing to give it at least a try. Have an open mind. That is trying not to go to counseling thinking you are all right and the other person in all wrong. It is essential to be willing to at least listen to, not just...

28 January

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So You Decided it’s Time For a Divorce…Now What?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

Divorce, now termed dissolution of marriage in most states, including Florida, is not something to be taken lightly. However, there are times, for a variety of reasons one or both parties of a marriage determine their marriage is no longer working, it is, as a judge would say, irrevocably broken. Now what? First, if both parties have come to the decision, together, that their life as a married couple is over, they can begin to explore how a divorce works in which state they are residents. If, however, only one party is desirous of a divorce and has not yet told...

17 January

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How a Forensic CPA Can Help

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

There are sometimes, during the hearing of a case before a judge, when it necessary to use an expert witness. According to The Legal Dictionary.com. an “expert witness is a person who is a specialist in a subject, often technical, who may present his/her expert opinion without having been witness to any occurrence relating to the lawsuit or criminal case.” One type of expert witness is a Forensic CPA (Certified Public Account). A person using this title is someone educated, trained, and licensed to investigate and give qualified reports in the area of audits, accounting, and matters concerning the financial...

04 January

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Daubert is Dead (Supreme Court Ruling for Qualification of Expert Witnesses)

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

To begin with, what or who is Daubert? And what is an expert witness and why should he or she need to be qualified? As Daubert deals directly with the qualification of an expert witness asked to give testimony, this blog will start with a legal definition of “expert witness.” According to Legal Dictionary|Law.com, an “expert witness is a person who is a specialist in a subject, often technical, who may present his\her expert opinion without having been a witness to any occurrence relating to the lawsuit or criminal case.” In Family Law, an expert witness could include someone such as...

24 December

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What Delays Cases?

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Legal Advice, Parenting, Paternity

Everyone wants their court case to be finished with the judge’s ruling finalized as soon as possible. Quickly is unheard of in the legal world but in many instances there are causes for delays which of course add time to arriving at the final judgment. Here are some of the most frequent reasons for a delay: In most jurisdictions courts are backed up with cases, sometimes for many months. Depending on the type of case and the length of time required to hear the case, to be placed on the docket or schedule can take weeks to months. And, once...