As an experienced Florida guardianship attorney in St. Augustine, I have seen many court appointed guardians who do an excellent job taking care of another person and that person’s finances. However, there are times in life when a guardian becomes ill, incapacitated or even dies, leaving the ward (the person…
As a Jacksonville, family law lawyer, I find that most people do not know that when parties are not married and have a baby that the father is not legally considered to be the father until a Judge signs off on an order saying he’s the father. EVEN IF HE’S…
In the past few days reports have surfaced that Padhma Lakshmi, the host of Bravo’s highly popular show Top Chef, is being sued for child custody by venture capitalist Adam Dell, the brother of Dell founder and billionaire Michael Dell. It is being alleged that Mr. Dell, the father of…
When considering moving with a child to a location outside of Florida, or even more than 50 miles away from your current residence within the state, it is important that you go through the courts to ensure that the relocation is legal. Florida has extremely strict laws that govern child…
Child support is always a sensitive topic. I often deal with parents who want to know exactly where their child support money will be going. They want to control how the parent receiving the child support spends the money. Thus, it is important to know exactly what child support is…
A Florida Guardianship is an arrangement sanctioned by the Probate Court in which a person appointed by the Court (the guardian) takes responsibility, and has a duty of care towards another individual (the ward). Advances in medical care, and life-prolonging techniques have led to increased longevity, resulting in many Floridians…
A New York Times article reported that about 32 percent of gay couples in Jacksonville Florida are raising children, making Jacksonville second only to San Antonio, Texas. The article also reported that child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the…
A New York financial adviser illegally invested money from medical malpractice settlements for mentally and physically disabled children, by investing the money in risky bonds, despite the court order that the accounts be invested in low-risk bonds. These accounts, controlled by the children’s guardians, appeared to have been targeted because…
If you are caring for a minor child and are not the natural or legal parent or a relative, then it is in the child’s best interest for you to become his or her legal guardian. There are many obstacles you will face if you care for a child without…
As of Saturday, January 1, 2011, Florida’s Child Abduction Prevention Act became effective. The Act is designed to help those who fear a spouse, ex-spouse or family member will remove their child to a foreign state or country. The Act provides the Florida courts the responsibility to assess risk factors…