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There was a time, and in a few states, it is still true, if a couple wanted to get a divorce there must be a proven reason such as infidelity, abuse, abandonment, or mental cruelty. In Florida, for example, this is no longer the way divorce works. Now, if only one person in the couple wants a divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is now t...
Timesharing is the right of the minor child for frequent and continuing contact with the parents, not the parents’ Timesharing Rights to see the child. It is, for this reason, the concept of doing away with primary and secondary custody and replacing this with parental timesharing, the main part of shared parenting, was instituted. Most sta...
With the divorce rate in the United States hovering around 50%, the news media filled with daily reports of violent relationships, and doctors reporting illness caused be stressful relationships reaching an all-time high; it is time to think about how to avoid bad relationships. While it is true some good relationships go bad over time, most ...
Probably the reason most people wait until the last minute to hire an attorney is the cost. Many attorneys charge by the quarter-hour, and this can add up fast when having a conversation regarding a case not yet underway. While this is true, there are reasons it is a good idea to hire an attorney before your case is filed. Here are some of th...
Before looking at why a prenuptial agreement is needed, it is a good idea to look at what a prenuptial agreement is. A prenuptial agreement is a written document drawn up by both parties who are intending to be married. The document is written and properly signed, witnessed and notarized before the marriage takes place, It remains in effect t...
For many years the custody of minor children following a divorce or separation of unmarried parents was ordered by appointing one parent as the primary custodial parent and the other as a secondary custodial parent or a parent with visiting rights but not necessarily the right to have their child spend an entire night. As time has gone on and...
Managing stress and anxiety during a family law case can become a serious issue. Depending on the type of case will, to a certain extent, determine the level of stress and anxiety and the manner in which they are handled. If minor children are involved the level of concern is higher and the need for careful planning for managing stress and an...
Divorce, for many, is a financially devastating experience. All financial information from past to present—including bank statements, credit card charges, business dealings, property ownership, assets, debt accumulation, trip and vacation expenses, incomes, and expenses—must be fully disclosed for both sides to see. Ideally, a couple will...
Filing, answer, discovery, mediation, depositions, trial, and more. It is strange to think of divorce as having milestones as these are usually associated with the life of a marriage or the growth of a child. A comprehensive definition of a milestone as it refers to divorce is provided by the Cambridge English Dictionary which defines “m...
The use of social media, which includes texting, e-mails, YouTube, Facebook, Craigslist, Twitter, Tumbler, comments, Snapchat, Instant Messenger, flicks, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn, has become almost the main way people communicate not only information but often explicit pictures and videos of how they live their lives. While this can...
Who gets the dog, or any other treasured pet, when there is to be a divorce? One would think that, since most pets are treated as a part of the family, the courts would also consider them as such. This would mean that visitation rights or timesharing rights, as time spent with minor children is now referred to, would be granted by the courts ...
With more and more states allowing evidence found on electronic devices such as computers and iPhones it is essential that persons needing such evidence to support their claims learn how to preserve evidence stored on their electronic devices. Of course, there is the other side of the coin where when someone does not want evidence found on th...
Divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is termed in most states, has, with little exception, been on the rise since the early 1900s when the divorce rate was around 5%. Back then, women had few rights and were usually not in a position to support themselves should they seek a divorce. Men were even allowed to abuse their wives as in the ey...
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...
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 ...
“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...
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 i...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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 Cases 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 ...
There is no definitive answer to“How long does a divorce take.”A number of factors enter into the amount of time it takes to process a divorce. These factors include: Will the divorce be contested or non-contested? If both parties agree on all issues including alimony and marital asset and debt division (Florida is an equitable distr...
With the ever-increasing use of texting as a way to communicate ideas, information, requests, and just about any other form of verbal sharing between two or more persons, Text Messages Be Used as Evidence are becoming more and more common in court proceedings. Text messages can be saved with the date and time of production, making them useful...
Social media is quickly becoming the primary way to communicate information, ideas, and often pictures to support the written word. Authors Marisa A. Tradatti and Anna C. Hore note, “There’s a whole generation of people for whom tweeting is as natural as breathing, for whom the word ‘friend’ has become a verb, and for whom Web 2.0 is ...
No, being separated is not a requirement for a divorce in Florida. In fact, in Florida, as in five other states—Texas, Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Georgia—legal separation is not formally recognized. A couple may choose to live apart, in other words, “separate,” but Florida courts do not have a legal status ...
You have done your research, met with some attorneys specializing in handling situations involving your concerns, chosen the attorney you felt the most comfortable with and had confidence in, and your particular case is well on its way to being decided. Without intending there to be problems with your attorney, several issues have surfaced an...
n states like Florida, unless there are special circumstances, there is no longer a primary custody parent for minor children between newborn and 18 years old, but rather a sharing of parental responsibility. This is termed “parental time-sharing.” Basically, this means parents will share equally in the care and nurturing of any minor chi...
To advocate, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, is “one who assists, defends, or pleads for another; one who renders legal advice and aid and pleads the cause of another before a court. A person learned in the law, and duly admitted to practice, which assists his clients with advice, and pleads for him in open court….” Taking this d...
