Tag: family-law
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Overview of Florida Alimony
Before a court can order alimony in a divorce, the couple’s property must be divided fairly. After that, the court has different options for alimony, including permanent periodic alimony, lump-sum alimony, bridge-the-gap alimony, and rehabilitative alimony. The purpose of alimony is to provide financial support to the spouse who needs it. The court considers factors…
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Family Law Economics, Child Support, and Alimony:Ruminations on Income, Part II
In the child support guidelines statute, there is a section about business income from “close corporations.” This likely refers to the income that shareholders of an S corporation receive. However, this can be unfair because it includes income that the shareholder may not actually receive. This is because S corporations are “pass-through” entities for tax…
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Family Law Economics, Child Support, and Alimony: Ruminations on Income, Part I
My economics of the family course covers the money and property aspects of family law, like who gets what and why. It’s really similar to tax law, because both deal with money and assets, and how to keep more of them. Just like tax lawyers and accountants try to minimize income and assets to save…
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Grandchild Support
In family law, the general rule is that only the married couple’s income and assets are considered for things like alimony and child support. But there’s a rare exception where the husband’s recurring gifts from his parents were counted as income for child support. This exception is not widely accepted and should be carefully reviewed…
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Florida’s Supervised Visitation Programs: The Next Phase
In 1997, there were 15 supervised visitation programs in Florida, but now there are over 40, serving over 40,000 visits in 2002. These programs provide a safe place for noncustodial parents to see their children in court cases involving custody issues or domestic violence. Every judicial circuit in Florida now has at least one program,…
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Raising Children on the Spectrum in Florida: Navigating Roads Less Traveled
When a child with autism joins a family, the family faces many challenges. Autism affects about 1 in every 150 American children and can cause communication, socialization, and behavior challenges. Some people say that the divorce rate for families with autism is very high, but others disagree. Regardless, parents considering divorce should make sure they…
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A Brave New Frontier: The Equitable Distribution 2008 Legislative Changes
On July 1, 2008, Florida changed its law about how property and assets are divided when a marriage ends. They got rid of the special equity rule and made it easier for one person to prove they deserve more of the property. They also made it so that gifts between spouses are assumed to be…
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The End of Custody in Florida: Finally Parents Are Just Parents
In 2004, the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar started looking into changing the custody laws in Florida. They wanted to get rid of the labels of primary and secondary residential parent because it was causing a lot of expensive fights in court. After two years of work, they approved what became the 2007…
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Florida’s Homestead Realty: Is it Exempt from Imposition of an Equitable Lien for Nonpayment of Alimony and Child Support?
Just tell me the important stuff in easy words, and leave out the fancy stuff and names of the legal stuff. When a parent or ex-spouse falls behind on alimony or child support, there are ways to collect the money they owe. This can include taking their income, revoking their driver’s license, and even putting…
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Florida’s Cohabitation Statute: The Revolution That Wasn’t
In 2005, a new law about alimony modification generated a lot of interest. People were worried about how it would affect their support payments. The law allows alimony to be changed if the person receiving it is in a supportive relationship similar to a marriage. This relationship has to have a financial impact, not just…
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Florida Statute §39.0139: Limiting the Risk of Serious Harm to Children
Florida’s Keeping Children Safe Act (KCSA) was created to protect children who have been sexually abused by their parents or caregivers. The law makes it harder for these children to have visitation or contact with the abuser because it could put them in danger or influence their testimony. Some people argue that this law should…
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Appellate Court Trends in Permanent Alimony for Gray Area Divorces: 1997-2007
In 1980 Florida Supreme Court defined permanent alimony as providing for the needs of a former spouse after a marriage. The factors considered in determining alimony have not changed, but the emphasis on these factors has. Appellate courts now consider additional factors such as children and career limitations due to the marriage. This article will…
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F.S. §39.0139: Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse by Those Entrusted with Their Care
The Florida Legislature passed a law called the Keeping Children Safe Act to protect kids from sexual abuse during visits with certain people. The law says that if a parent or caregiver has been accused of sexual abuse, found guilty of it, or classified as a sexual predator, they can’t visit or have contact with…
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Immigration, Domestic Violence, and What the Family Practitioner Should Know
Florida is a popular place for people from other countries to live because of the nice weather and beaches. Many noncitizens come to Florida looking for a better life and more freedom. Miami has the most noncitizens of any city in the world. Because of this, Florida lawyers often have to deal with immigration law…
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Ruberg, Parry, and the Classification of Unvested Stock Options
In the court case Parry v. Parry, the Second District Court of Appeal created a process for determining how to classify stock options as marital or nonmarital assets. Stock options are contracts that allow someone to buy shares of stock in the future at a set price. Employment stock options are usually given with a…
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Title Procedure Before General Magistrates and Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officers
In Florida, the state pays general magistrates and hearing officers to help with family law cases. They are not in the state constitution or statutes, but they make it faster and cheaper to resolve family disputes. They are different from regular judges because they don’t have job security or salary protections. They are picked differently…
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Age-appropriate Time Sharing for Divorced Parents
In 1991, Florida started changing the way family law cases are handled, with a focus on “therapeutic justice” in family courts. Psychological research has provided valuable information for creating time sharing plans for parents and children. Children experience their parents’ divorce differently based on their age and stage of development. Attorneys who understand these developmental…
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Choosing a Valuation Date of Marital Assets in Dissolution of Marriage Cases: Perlmutter and its Permutations
This article will explain how Florida law has changed over the years regarding how to value assets in a divorce. Before 1988, the date for valuation was decided case by case. In 1988, a new law said the valuation date should be the date of a separation agreement or the date of the petition, unless…
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Every Divorcing Client Needs Estate Planning
In short, if you’re getting a divorce, it’s important to see an estate planner. This will help make sure that your assets and plans for the future are in order. If you don’t have a plan in place and something happens to you during the divorce process, your family might face complications. Even if you…
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Bleeding Grandparent Visitation Rights
There are a lot of military bases in Florida, and a lot of military personnel live there. Recently, a new law was passed that allows grandparents who are in the military to spend time with their grandchildren, even if the child’s parents don’t want them to. This law is part of a long battle over…
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Chapter 742 and the UCCJEA: Is Childbirth an Unbridled Key to Forum Shopping?
Dr. John and Helen met in Palm Beach and had a baby together. When their relationship didn’t work out, Dr. John filed a case to prove he was the baby’s father. Helen’s lawyer in Texas filed a motion to stop the case, saying the Florida court didn’t have the right to decide. The legal battle…
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Underwater Treasure: Equitable Distribution of the Save Our Homes Limitation
Florida homeowners now have a new asset to consider in divorce proceedings: the homestead tax assessment limitation, which is now portable. This means that when a home is sold, a portion of the tax savings from the homestead exemption can be transferred to a new home. This could have a big impact on the division…
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Custody Determination: Who Gets the Dependency Exemption and Child Tax Credit?
A “custodial parent” for taxes is the parent the child lived with most of the time. If they spent an equal amount of time with each parent, the one with more money is the “custodial parent”. If a child of divorced parents spends more than half the year with one parent, that parent is considered…
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Through the Eyes of a Child: Impact and Measures to Protect Children in High-conflict Family Law Litigation
Having a long, bitter legal battle about children is really bad for everyone involved, especially the kids. It can make parents and even adult children really upset and stressed out. This article talks about how parents need to work together for the kids’ sake, and how fighting in court can hurt the kids. It also…