There may be some negative stereotypes that are associated with Prenuptial Agreements. Typically, neither party wants to detract from the blissful atmosphere typical prior to a wedding. However, a Prenuptial Agreement can also help preserve a marriage. This is because there is certainty as to how things will terminate should…
It is important to know your rights following a divorce. The final judgment of dissolution and the parenting plan determine the legal playing field for the future. However, most issues are dynamic. Children get older and their schools change and sometimes their relationship with parents change. Incomes change, which can directly impact child support…
An uncontested divorce is a proceeding to return two married persons to the status of being single in which all of the details of the divorce are reached with an out of court agreement. As a practicing family law attorney for more than 15 years, it is my opinion that…
There are cases where a non-custodial parent is unemployed and has little or no income. Even a person with little or no income can still have an obligation to pay child support. This is because a parent’s child support obligation can be calculated based upon his or her imputed income,…
Child support is essentially a payment from the higher income parent to the lower income parent. Child support and timesharing have an interesting relationship. The law values the child and parent relationship. A parent’s right to timesharing is not dependent upon being current in child support. It is a frequent…
That dreaded word in a divorce: Alimony. Alimony is determined by the court after looking at one party’s actual need versus one party’s ability to pay. After equitable distribution is determined, the court reviews what money is left over, if anything, and considers the parties’ circumstances to come up with a fair…
In some marriages, a spouse’s parents may supplement the family income with monetary gifts, which may be an issue later on if the husband and wife divorce. Can one spouse argue that the other spouse will have higher income due to the monetary gifts from family members thereby raising alimony…
The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) allows Florida courts to distribute military retired pay to a spouse or former spouse and provides a method of enforcing these orders through the Department of Defense. The marriage does not need to have lasted 10 years for the spouse to acquire…
Trusts have long been a tool used in asset protection and estate planning to protect property and income. But what if a person seeks to use a trust as a shield to protect a trust beneficiary from making support payments in family law cases? The answer is not necessarily straight…
Family law can be expensive, both emotionally and financially. When clients come to see a family law attorney, rarely are they happy or in a good frame of mind. With this in mind, here are a few things that are often said to family law attorneys, that in hindsight, were…