One of the key issues for divorcing spouses is the issue of property division. This includes money, vehicles, houses, family-owned companies, and other marital property. The courts are obligated to fairly and equitably divide marital property.  To ensure that all marital property is fairly and equitably divided in a Florida divorce, there is a near-exhaustive list of financial disclosures each spouse must Read More

To help ensure that both spouses going through a divorce get a fair settlement, Florida law requires parties to produce certain financial documents. Many spouses understandably view the numerous requirements as cumbersome. However, these documents must be produced in order to obtain a dissolution of marriage (plus a few other legal events) in Florida. Your attorney and judge aren’t simply trying to make your life Read More

Just about every family court in the country recognizes the benefits of having both parents involved in the lives of their children. Only in rare circumstances should one parent be denied physical access to his or her children. In even rarer circumstances should children be taken away from the physical care of a parent, but it does happen. Florida parents have a few options for filing for an emergency pick up of Read More

Well, the answer to the second part is in the title...they are "mandatory." Mandatory disclosures are documents, mainly financial in nature, that must be disclosed to the opposing party in a family case.  The disclosure of these documents is required by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.  It is an automatic disclosure, meaning the other party does not have to ask for you to disclose them.   These documents Read More

I can’t tell you how many people come in for their consultation and have no idea what to ask me. This time is your opportunity to find out if I am the best person to represent you for this specific situation in your life. A life-changing situation in your life! Take advantage! When you come in for your consultation, it is best to know what you need to ask the attorney. What are you there for? Is it a divorce Read More

A family law case is before the Florida Supreme Court right now that is quite interesting.  The court must decide a dispute between a child’s legal father and her biological father. You see, in Florida, when a child is born of a marriage, the legal father is the man married to the mother.  The legal father, therefore, may not be the biological father.  Thus, the biological father may not have any rights to the Read More

You may very well be the biological father but does not mean you are the legal father or that you have any legal rights to your child.  It is important that if you are an unmarried father, you immediately establish your legal rights to your child.  In Florida, if a child is born out of wedlock, there is no presumption of fatherhood.  Paternity should be established first and foremost. An establishment of paternity Read More

Divorces can be expensive. So can going back to court to enforce orders in a multitude of family issues from time-sharing to alimony payments.  Many people attempt to represent themselves because of the cost of attorney’s fees.  While in some circumstances (I would venture to say very few) a person may represent himself or herself quite well, in most circumstances, a person does not know all of his or her rights and Read More

One would think that you should be able to pick up and move with your child(ren) whenever and wherever you would like. However, if you have shared parental responsibility pursuant to a parenting plan in Florida, unfortunately, you cannot just move; or you might be in contempt of court.  It seems that I have had to counsel quite a few people on "relocation" lately, so I thought a blog post was necessary. Read More