Common law marriage, often referred to as sui juris marriage, is only recognized in twelve states; Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Texas, and Utah. The District of Columbia also recognizes common law marriages. However, you will notice, Florida is not among those…
When deciding whether to grant alimony in a divorce case, courts in Jacksonville, Florida consider many factors, including the length of the marriage, the spouses’ employment prospects, the age of each party, their standard of living, their marital contributions, their available income and assets, and the fairness of the situation.…
The Department of Children and Families are considering terminating the parental rights of a Brevard County couple whom were arrested in March of this year on three counts of aggravated child abuse. The couple, Michael Marshall and Sharon Glass, reportedly admitted to locking up a 13 year old boy in…
Unfortunately, we see all to often in news headlines our favorite sports stars getting caught cheating on their spouse. Just recently Arkansas’s head coach, Bobby Petirno, was released from his position for being caught with his mistress and fellow school employee, Jessica Dorrell. Thus, it’s not surprising that bleacherreport.com posted…
Recently, Melissa Etheridge’s custody battle with her former partner Tammy Lynn Michaels made the news after Ms. Michaels requested significantly more money in child support payments. One of the details of the battle that emerged was Ms. Michaels’ smoking habit, and the allegation that one of the children was evidently…
Imagine you are offered a credit card with fantastic terms: zero percent interest for the first 12 months and no foreseeable strings attached. You need a line of credit, so you sign up and promptly fall behind on your payments. After the first year, you have a fair amount yet…
Here’s an interesting case. Four years ago, a Texas man split from his girlfriend, who was moving to California. They evidently split on agreeable terms; so agreeable, in fact, that he saw no reason to decline her request for his sperm to use in her in vitro fertilization. She gave…
Florida Statute 61.13001 governs this issue of parental relocation with a minor child. The Statute defines Relocation as, “a change in the location of the principal residence of a parent or other person from his or her principal place of residence at the time of the last order establishing or…
As an Orange Park Divorce Attorney I’ve noticed one of the first questions new clients ask me is, “how long is it going to take for my divorce to become finalized.” Unfortunately, there is no one answer to that question. A divorce can last as long as the parties want…
As a Jacksonville Child Custody Attorney, it is rare that I see a custody battle that has a lighthearted feel. However, the first ever funny child custody dispute may be in the works. How could that possibly be? Well, comedian Will Farrell recently announced the sequel to the classic Anchorman…