Child Custody

July 18, 2011

Morality Clause in a Divorce

Morality clauses used to be popular in the South. These clauses were included in a Judge’s divorce order and usually required one or both of the divorcing parents to take some action (or refrain from taking some action). For example, a common morality clause was to require that a woman not have any male overnight guests unless that person was a direct relative or married to the woman.

Nowadays, these clauses are less common and extremely difficult to enforce. While you and your former spouse may agree to include such a clause, the court will not likely enforce it. If your divorce had a morality clause and you are trying to gain custody of your child because your former spouse violated the terms of the clause, the court will not likely enforce the clause based simply on the fact that the other party violated its terms. Instead the court will focus on whether or not the child was actually harmed by the overnight guest (or any other violation of the clause).

Courts have stated that they consider the child’s (or children’s) welfare more than anything else in a custody proceeding. So, if you cannot show that your former spouse is endangering your child’s welfare, the court will not likely uphold a morality clause.

July 13, 2011

Child Custody in Florida Divorce Cases

by David M. Goldman

You’ve probably heard the concept of “joint custody” in divorce cases. You might think this means that parents share custody of their children equally, with each parent having custody time similar to equal to the other parent. There’s a problem with this idea, however: “joint custody” does not exist in Florida law.

Instead, Florida law has the concept of “shared parenting” — and even this is not exactly what it sounds like. In every divorce case involving children, a judge must issue two separate but similar-sounding orders: one is a “parental responsibility” order and the other is a “time-sharing schedule”. The time-sharing schedule is exactly that: a schedule of the times each parent will have custody over the child or children. A parental responsibility order, however, outlines the parents’ rights and responsibilities.

The differences can be confusing because, under Florida statutes, the parental responsibility order is included in a “parenting plan”. Under this plan, the judge can grant one of three different options: (1) sole parental responsibility, (2) shared parental responsibility, and (3) shared parental responsibility with ultimate responsibility to one parent.

July 7, 2011

Adultery’s Impact on Florida Divorce

by David M. Goldman

Florida is a “no fault” divorce state, meaning that either spouse may seek a divorce without showing cause for the desired separation. The spouse seeking a divorce has the option to simply claim the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Generally, Florida courts are not concerned with which party played the greater role in causing the divorce.

As a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney, I am often asked how a cheating spouse factors into a divorce in Florida. While adulterous conduct does not factor into the court’s decision to grant a divorce, it can impact other important issues raised in a divorce.

In child custody battles, a court considers the “moral fitness” of a parent seeking custody. Evidence of adulterous conduct can lower a party’s level of “moral fitness,” and decrease his or her chances of receiving custody. However, it is not an absolute bar to child custody. Often times, a larger impact will be whether the adultery had an adverse impact on the child.

July 4, 2011

New Laws Change Parenting Plans for Military Service Members

by David M. Goldman

Under current law, if parents of a child are living apart, the parents have to create a parenting plan that must also be approved by the court. The plan generally must outline the parents’ responsibilities and time-sharing rules. If a parent wishes to change the plan, the parent must generally show a “substantial, material, and unanticipated change” in the circumstances that require a modification. Further, the modification must be in the best interests of the child.

There has historically been an exception if a parent is deployed in the military. If a parent is unable to adhere to a parenting plan because of military service, courts have generally been unable to modify the plan except to enter a temporary modification. Under the new law, deployment cannot be the sole factor in the court’s decision to grant a modification of a permanent plan.

This gives more protection for parents who are in the service and are worries their parenting plans might be altered while deployed or otherwise unable to meet the plan. While it’s not impossible for a court to alter a plan, it cannot alter the plan based solely on that parent’s deployment.

June 27, 2011

Child Custody and Parent’s Religious Views

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida child custody attorney, parents often ask me if one spouse can limit their right to raise their child in any one religion. Florida custody lawyers recognize that there are many different religions that create very diverse belief systems, especially when it comes to the custody of children in Florida and their medical care. In the recent case of Winters v. Brown, in the Fourth District Court of Florida, the court came to the conclusion that the court can limit exposing the child to the religious views of a parent where the parent’s religion will be harmful to the child.

In this case, the mother believed in a religion that would not allow the child to receive any type of vaccination. The father wanted the child to be protected by the medical benefits of being vaccinated against deadly diseases. The Court ruled that not giving the child vaccinations could cause physical and serious harm to the child.

If you find yourself in a similar circumstances, where you do not agree with the other parent regarding religious practices used on your child, you should contact a Jacksonville Child Custody Lawyer who can advise you regarding your rights, and the rights of your child.

June 22, 2011

Child Custody and Support

by David M. Goldman

A story from Indiana recently went viral on the Internet. It was about a woman who created a fake Facebook profile to befriend her ex-husband, David Voelkert, and get “dirt” on him to use in the couple’s custody battle. The woman thought she struck gold when her ex-husband told his new “friend” that he had been tracking his ex-wife by planting a GPS on her car.

Of course, hiding a GPS on someone’s car and tracking them is illegal (if you’re a private citizen). Federal agents arrested Mr. Voelkert and held him for four days; however, Mr. Voelkert was released after convincing the agents the truth behind his messages: to simply freak his ex-wife out. Apparently, Mr. Voelkert knew from the get-go that his new “friend” was actually a fake account having something to do with his ex-wife.

In retrospect, Mr. Voelkert probably wishes he would’ve simply ignored his ex’s attempt to trick him. However, this situation brings up interesting questions: how can Facebook, twitter, email, and other social web-services be implicated in divorce or custody proceedings?

June 16, 2011

Jacksonville Mother of Accused Child Murderer may lose Parental Rights

by David M. Goldman

If you live in Jacksonville, you’ve likely heard of Cristian Fernandez, the 12-year-old charged with first-degree murder of his 2-year-old brother. You may also have heard that Cristian’s mother, Biannela Susana, is being charged with negligent homicide. It is alleged that Ms. Susana was not at home at the time of the attack and, upon arriving home, waited two hours before taking her child to the hospital so she could look up care symptoms online. This delay in care is what spurned the negligence charges against her.

Now, however, the Florida Department of Children and Families is asking the court to take away Ms. Susana’s parental rights. She has two other children: a 5-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. The court will likely side with the Department of Children, which means Ms. Susana’s two other children will be placed in foster care.

Ms. Susana would also lose custody of Cristian, who would be assigned a guardian ad litem for his criminal court hearings. A guardian ad litem is a non-attorney volunteer who is appointed by the court to act on behalf of a child who has been removed from parental custody. The guardian attempts to act in the child’s best interests in all matters before the court.

June 9, 2011

Family Law and Divorce

by David M. Goldman

“Can I move out of state as primary parent of my child?” As a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, I continually receive this question and just received it again in my email. I have also previously written a blog on it.

To briefly answer this question, a parent who has majority timesharing with their child(ren) may move out of state. However, there are a few hoops that need to be jumped first.

Specifically, Florida law requires parents who want to relocate with their children, thus moving more than fifty (50) miles away from the minority timesharing parent, to file with the court a Motion to Relocate. This Motion must be heard and granted by the Court prior to relocating.

June 7, 2011

Missing Florida Children Found

by David M. Goldman

A recent custody case in Western Florida shows just how important relationships with family members can be. For the last five years, two Panama City children have been in their grandparents’ custody while their mother was in and out of jail. However, when a judge granted custody back to the children’s mother, their grandparents refused to hand them over.

Instead, the grandparents took the children over one thousand miles north, to Sasketchewan, where they camped out in a Walmart parking lot for two weeks before Canadian authorities figured out what they were doing.

The children are now back in their mother’s custody. Their situation shows just how important it is to maintain a good relationship with family when children’s custody is at issue. If someone is going through family issues that involve custody matters, contact a Florida Family Law Lawyer who can help ensure the best solution for your and your family.

May 27, 2011

Adoption In Florida

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville, Florida adoption attorney, people often ask me how they can adopt or take legal custody in Florida of a relative such as a grandchild, niece or nephew or sibling. There are several ways you can adopt or gain legal custody in Florida of your loved one. Some, such as a guardianship, require annual accountings to the court. There are less invasive ways to take custody of your loved one. Please contact a Florida adoption lawyer or Jacksonville child custody attorney for expert information on how to adopt your loved one.