Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog

August 16, 2011

Florida Child Custody: Shared Parental Responsibility

Shared Parental Responsibility is the legal presumption in Florida regarding Parental Responsibility. The Court feels that both parents should be actively involved in their children’s lives, education, religious upbringing, health and welfare. The Court will grant Shared Parental Responsibility unless one parent is truly unfit and then the Court will grant Sole Parental Responsibility to the fit parent. Otherwise, both parents will work together jointly raising their children.

To learn more about related child custody issues contact a Jacksonville Child Custody Attorney today.

August 11, 2011

How a Prenuptial Agreement Can Help You

by David M. Goldman

Prenuptial Agreements — “prenups” — are often looked at in a negative light. While they may protect someone’s assets, they are generally though of as being useful only after a divorce. Indeed, prenups basically operate under the assumption that the parties will eventually split.

Nevertheless, prenuptial agreements can be enormously beneficial. The reality is that a substantial number of marriages end in divorce and a properly written prenup can help you avoid a contentious divorce, high lawyer fees, and long court proceedings.

Further, there are more uses for prenuptial agreements than planning for divorce. In fact, prenups may also be used to protect the assets of one spouse in case of death. For example, let’s say you have a child from a previous marriage and are now engaged. What will happen to your assets if you die? Will your child — who is not the biological child of your new spouse — receive anything? Spouses are often given a large portion of assets in these situations, which is why a prenup may be appropriate to ensure your child will not be financially burdened in the event of your death.

August 9, 2011

Child Custody Evaluations In Florida: How Can They Hurt Or Help?

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Child Custody Attorney, I often use a tool called a child custody evaluation in Florida. This tool is also called a “social investigation”. In highly contested custody cases in Florida, I use these social investigations for my client to show the benefits of my client to the children. In a child custody evaluation, an evaluator who has been appointed by the court will interview both parties, the children and any witnesses that the parties wish the evaluator to speak with. Then, using the factors set forth in Florida Statute 61.13, the evaluator will write a recommendation to the court and make a suggestion to the court as to which parent should be the childrens primary majority time-sharing parent. The courts tend to follow the evaluators’ reports most of the time so it is extremely important to have a Florida Child Custody Lawyer who is an expert in the field of reviewing and challenging social investigations or custody evaluations. Please call a Jacksonville Child Custody Attorney today for assistance in any custody issue that you may have.

August 7, 2011

Divorce In Florida And Intentional Dissipation Of Assets

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, prior to the point at which a couple actually “files” for divorce, there is usually a breakdown period of time that the couple has gone through that has led to the actual divorce. This breakdown period can be a matter of only a month or may have been years. In the cases where this has been a longer period, as a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer, I have seen where one party used marital assets for his or her own benefit, outside of the marriage. This is called “intentional dissipation.”

To combat the benefited party receiving a disproportionate amount of marital assets in a divorce proceeding through equitable distribution, the Florida legislature allows the other party to prove the amount the benefited party used during the marriage. This amount is then put towards the amount the benefited party would receive and will count the amount taken by the other party as money the benefited party already received.

If you are considering divorce and have gone through a long breakdown period, contact a highly recommended Jacksonville Divorce Attorney who can track down the amount of marital assets your former spouse used outside your marriage.

August 6, 2011

Child Custody Modification In Florida

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, I am often asked whether a child custody order can be modified after a divorce in Florida. In short, yes, parents can change their Florida custody agreement. However, the standard under Florida Law if often difficult to satisfy. In general, Florida courts require a substantial change in circumstances to justify the modification of a child custody agreement in Florida. A parent asking for the change can show a substantial change in circumstances in several ways. Some examples include a geographic move or a change in lifestyle. If a custodial parent makes a significant move, or a move will seriously disrupt the stability of a child’s life, the move may qualify as a substantial change in circumstance and warrant a modification of the custody agreement. Additionally, if substantial changes in a parent’s lifestyle threatens or harms a child, a modification to the custody agreement may be granted. Florida courts use the “best interests of the child” standard as a guiding principle when making custody decisions. This principle often trumps all other factors when making any kind of custody decision. A parent wishing to change the residence arrangement under a divorce decree has a heavy burden to satisfy. In these cases, it is essential to retain a good Florida family law lawyer. If you have any questions about specific circumstances, contact a Florida family law attorney today, and I will be happy to help you.

August 5, 2011

Florida Annulment: Can Be Granted Due To Lies Before Marriage

by David M. Goldman

Living and practicing as a Florida divorce attorney and Jacksonville family lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida, I have noticed an up surge in people lying to their future spouse during courtship. Many times, the couple gets married based on these lies. It is not until after the wedding that the lies surface leaving a spouse hurt and confused. The court has come to call these lies “fraud”. If the hurt party can show that he or she relied on these lies that he or she was told to enter into the marriage, a Florida Family Law court may rule that but/for the “fraud”, the hurt spouse would not have entered into the marriage. If you think you were told lies by your spouse before your marriage and you relied on those lies in making your decision to marry your spouse, you could be eligible for an annulment in Florida. Please contact a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer to arrange your free consultation.

August 4, 2011

Florida Child Dependency

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville, Florida Dependency lawyer, I have been made aware that one parent may have been accused of abusing one child, but not any of the others. In these instances, the Department of Children and Families (DCF), can step in to remove the children from the family. There is certain evidence that DCF must prove, but it is possible that the Department can take away all of the parent’s children as a result of one allegation of abuse on one child. However, it may be harder for DCF to prove that evidence if you have a Jacksonville Dependency Attorney who can stand up to protect the dependency of your children. If you have been accused of a matter such as this, please contact a Jacksonville Dependency Attorney to set up your free consultation.

August 3, 2011

Estate Planning In Florida Can Keep Your Family Together

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, it is expected that, on a daily basis, I see family members disputing. Usually these disputes are over matters such as divorce, child custody, and domestic violence, which all have the effect of tearing apart the family unit. Along with that, a matter that most people do not consider that is detrimental to a family, is money and personal property. This is why it is essential that everyone have a will or some other form of estate planning.

Being a Florida Family Law Attorney, I have heard horrific stories about family members fighting over the deceased person’s money or personal property so badly that those family members never speak again. By having a will or estate plan, you can be the one who decides which family member gets what, so that it is not left to them to fight over. You should contact a Jacksonville Family Law Lawyer or Estate Planning Attorney to discuss the options you can take to prevent your family from tearing itself apart.

August 2, 2011

Florida Guardianship Law: What is a Pre-Need Florida Guardian?

by David M. Goldman

A Guardian is someone who is able to step into a persons “shoes” and make decisions for that person should he or she become incapacitated. A Guardian is able to make personal and financial decisions for the person who needs protection, called the Ward. A Florida Guardianship can be either limited or plenary. A limited guardianship gives limited power to the guardian over a person’s affairs. On the other hand, a plenary guardianship is when the guardian has authority over all of an individual’s delegable legal rights and powers.

What happens if one does not write out a plan for who should take care of what tasks upon a person’s incapacitation? It is often left up to the courts to decide what the now incapacitated individual needs and who is best to provide that type of care. Although courts will try to be limited when bestowing guardianship rights, the best practice is to formalize in writing who and what rights are to be given before incapacitation. This is called a Preneed Guardianship .

Pre-empting the need for guardianship is easier to do in some cases, of course. It may be simple to anticipate if someone is developing Alzheimer’s’, in which case during a lucid time period that person would just create a Preneed Guardianship . But life is full of unusual twists, and accidents happen. It is for those unforeseen circumstances that Preneed Guardianships are most effective.

August 2, 2011

Remarriage And Alimony In Florida

by David M. Goldman

There are multitudes of divorce cases in Florida on a daily basis that involves one spouse paying alimony to the other. Alimony in Florida is generally awarded to maintain the quality of living of the receiving spouse because that spouse would not be able to do so on his or her own. There is a limitation that has been set so as to prohibit the receiving spouse from double dipping. One of the most common limitations is that of the ex-spouses’ remarriage. If the receiving spouse gets remarried and therefore has two incomes in his or her new family, he or she likely should no longer be eligible for spousal support in Florida. In addition, if the receiving spouse does not remarry but is shown to be in a “supportive relationship” then alimony in Florida will cease. If you are in the position where you ex-spouse is getting married or has remarried or is in a supportive relationship, you should contact a Florida Divorce Lawyer capable of guiding you on matters of alimony. If you are the receiving spouse and are considering getting remarried, you should contact a Jacksonville Alimony Attorney.