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Florida Family Law is Concerned With the Moral Fitness of a Minor Child’s Parents One could ask what business does the law have in determining what goes on in the private lives of a minor child’s parents. Florida Family Law says there are many areas of a parent’s private life that will directly affect the care and nurturing of childr...
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 ...
The very word “profession’ denotes there is supposed to be professionalism around somewhere, but where is the somewhere? Unfortunately, due to much unprofessional behavior among lawyers over the years, it is a joke in some circles that there probably isn’t a lawyer left practicing professionalism. This of course isn’t true and hopeful...
Working with an attorney is much like meeting that special person in your life and developing a personal relationship. It takes time. During this time interrogative questions are asked and answered and evidence such as meeting parents or seeing the actual workplace come into play. This blog will take an in-depth look at both Request for Produ...
Very few people who have weathered a divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is now termed, would say it was easy to move on after the final judgment is handed down. Adjusting to life after a divorce can be emotionally and practically challenging. Of course, a lot depends on how many years the couple has been married, whether there are chil...
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 ma...
No Duty To Pay For College, Car Etc. What does “duty” mean when it comes to paying for your children’s needs? First, let’s look at the legal definition for “duty”, the one found online at Black’s Law Dictionary: “In its use in Jurisprudence this word is the correlative of right. Thus, whenever there exists a right in any pe...
Everyone likes to get something for free, but in this case a free, in person consultation means a lot to both the giver, the attorney and the receiver, the potential client. For both parties, making a decision to represent or be represented by someone in a matter, which can often be life changing, is vitally important. Getting to meet someone...
To begin with, let’s take a look at just what “legal advice” is. Going online it is interesting to note there are numerous definitions from a wide variety of sources. Each definition has similarities but there are some subtle differences. The following are several of the most complete: Wikipedia: “the giving of a professional or fo...
Before answering the question as to why choose a family law attorney vs. a general practice attorney it is important to understand the areas of law practiced by each. A Family Law Attorney practices in the areas of law dealing directly with issues involving families in civil court matters. These issues include child support and its arrears...
In the last 10 years, the use of social media worldwide has exploded. “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 the only media platform they know,” write authors Marisa A. Tradatti and Anna C. Horevay. Facebook now has ove...
For much of history, and indeed until the last forty or so years, the fate of a minor child, 18 being the age of emancipation, was totally in the hands of the parents or legal guardian. Minor children were “seen but not heard” and even in a courtroom setting decisions were made for them as to what was most convenient and in the best inter...
One of the most important and most difficult aspects of determining the final outcome of a dissolution of marriage (divorce) in the State of Florida is deciding on the income allotted to each spouse. This amount, will of course, determine how much spousal support (alimony) will be paid/received and, if minor children are involved, how much ch...
In plain English, voluntary underemployment is when an individual chooses to not work for pay or to work at a job that does not reflect that person’s skills, abilities, or education. But why would this make a difference in a Family Law case involving child support or alimony? As long as a person is managing on the income available to them, ...
A Marital Settlement Agreement, as defined by Nolos Plain English Law Dictionary is “The document that sets out the terms of a divorce settlement between two spouses. The marital settlement agreement (MSA) is usually incorporated into the final judgment so that it has the force of a court order.” Areas covered in a MSA include division of...
In almost all instances, when a couple is going through a disillusion of marriage (divorce) probably the most contested and important item is the financial outcomes which will largely determine the future of each spouse. While it is true parental timesharing (custody), when there are minor children involved, probably ranks the highest concern...
The opinion presented in this blog is representative of Family Law Attorney Grant Gisondo who practices in West Palm Beach, Florida. Questions were asked to Dr. Julia Meldau, Ed. D, majoring in Child and Youth Studies, who has worked professionally with young children for many years both as teacher and school administrator. There were numerou...
Most frequently a forensic accountant’s role in a divorce (now termed dissolution of marriage) is in the courtroom as an expert witness. As an expert witness the forensic account is allowed to testify in his/her area of expertise even though never having, been witness to any occurrence relating to the lawsuit. The areas of expertise of a fo...
While, in most instances, someone who is to be a witness at a trial must have, by the use of one or more of their five senses, experienced some aspect of the case they will be testifying for. There are however exceptions and these people are called “expert witnesses”. An expert witness is defined as” a person who is a specialist in a su...
Settling, in the legal sense, refers to deciding that the outcomes desired to culminate a case, such as a divorce, have reached the place where no more can or should be done to litigate the issues under consideration. At this point, be it at mediation or in an attorney’s office, a settlement agreement will be executed then presented to...
Prenuptial agreements made in the state of Florida are, for the most part, accepted by the court in the event of a legal separation or divorce. There are certain instances, however, when a judge will set aside a prenuptial agreement, which he/she is allowed to do under the Florida Family Law statutes. If you are looking to create a prenuptial...
Mediation is an alternate form of trying to resolve a dispute with the help of a third party who is referred to as a “mediator”. In the case of Family Law matters, mediation is offered in hopes a settlement between two parties can be reached without having to go to court where a judge will resolve matters and set forth the final decree. I...
Debt, is money or services owed to a company, bank, individual, or other organization, usually secured by a signed agreement or contract outlining the terms of repayment both in time and money. Most people have, at one time or another incurred debt and sometimes, as is common in a marriage, incurred debt together, or jointly as it is referred...
Whether your marriage has finally wound down to where both parties realize a divorce is what they both deem necessary or whether your spouse suddenly tells you there is to be a divorce, it is vitally important you begin to think about and plan for the inevitable financial changes the future may bring. Emotions will no doubt be running high, e...
In today’s world of seemingly complicated legal maneuvers, it hardly seems possible that a case could be considered simple.Or commonly called, uncontested, when both parties agree completely on all issues to be resolved and adjudicated by the court, but hardly simple. The very definition of “simple” states “simple refers to something ...
As each state has their own set of Family Law guidelines (statutes), for the purposes of this blog, guidelines for the state of Florida Child Support Laws, which include retroactive situations, will be used. In Florida Family law, the term “in the best interest of the child” is used frequently and in a sense becomes the goal or mission of...
The most misunderstood objection there is Hearsay, a word that most people hear in movies, and on television, such as judge shows, as well as in many crime or mystery novels where courtroom drama is part of the plot. But what exactly is “hearsay” and just how is it explained and used, or in many cases, not used. The definition of ...
To be able to look at how a Family Law Attorney can be an advocate, counselor, and advisor, it is necessary to determine what areas of law said Family Law Attorney will practice. For the purpose of this blog, a Family Law Attorney with over 10 years experience, Grant Gisondo, will be used as an example. Attorney Gisondo has his practice in W...
What it means, what it’s for, and how it can protect your family. What it means: The letters UCCJEA stand for Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. In 1997, due to frequent misuse of parents trying to avoid custody determinations by moving from state to state or even leaving the country, the National Conference of Commi...
Successful negotiation strategies First, it is important to understand what Divorce mediation is and what it is not. Legal mediation is a form of alternate dispute resolution where, through the participation of a third party termed a “mediator”, issues needing resolution are presented with the hope of coming to a settlement, making a c...
