Experts In Divorce, Alimony, Child Support in Florida

25 May

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Calculating the Marital Portion of Nonmarital Property When Marital Money Was Used to Pay Down the Principal Note and Mortgage

in Alimony, Divorce Law News, Family Law, Laws and Women, Lawyer’s Advice, Legal Advice, Necessary Forms, property

One of the confusing issues that sometimes accompanies a divorce proceeding is calculating the marital portion of nonmarital property when marital money was used to pay down the principal note and mortgage. In other words, when one party has been buying a home with their own funds prior to the marriage, the home is considered nonmarital as it was purchased before the marriage. However, following the marriage, both parties pay toward the mortgage and principal. Monies gained following the marriage are considered marital funds, and in a divorce, the settlement will be calculated as such. In Florida, Family Law Statute...

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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...

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...

17 January

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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

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How to Prepare for When the Divorce is Over

Posted by Grant Gisondo

in Divorce Law News, Family Law, Uncategorized

How to Prepare for When the Divorce is Over

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...