Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog

April 13, 2011

Same-Sex Couples Adopt; Same-Sex Couples Marry Elsewhere

Legal progress, although slow, continues for gay and lesbian individuals and same-sex couples in Florida and all over the country. The entertainment industry has had and continues to express sentiments about gay and lesbian issues through their characters in prime time television shows, in movies which focus on gay relationships, and in music.

The movie “The Kids are all Right” depicted a same-sex couple who had 2 children through a sperm donor, and the ensuing complications that arose when the sperm donor was identified. Most recently, a renowned bestselling author has released a new novel.

“Sing You Home” written by Jodi Picoult is a book about the challenges that same-sex couples face when marrying and adopting. It is encouraging to know that the difficult issues faced by same-sex couples are being explored and shared through a “mainstream” author. This St. Augustine Family Law Attorney looks forward to reading this book.

April 13, 2011

What is a Default Judgment in a Divorce?

by David M. Goldman

I recently received a question from an individual who just had a default judgment entered against him. He simply asked, what was a default judgment and what can he do about it.

A default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of either party based on failure to take action. Most often a default judgment is entered against a party based on failure to respond to a summons or failure to appear before court. The default judgment usually encompasses the relief requested in the serving party’s original petition.

When a party files for divorce a summons is served along with a copy of the divorce petition on the other party. The receiving party then has twenty days to file an answer. If no answer is filed a default judgment can be ordered against them.

April 12, 2011

What To Do When Communication Stops

by David M. Goldman

One of the most important parts of being a divorce lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida is communicating with clients. Often I get clients who have had other divorce lawyers in Florida in the past, and the primary complaint is that they cannot get in touch with them after paying them money a.k.a. “a retainer fee”. What can you do if you cannot reach your Jacksonville divorce attorney? The first step would be to send the attorney a certified letter indicating your attempts to reach him or her and requesting a return communication. If that fails, you can contact the Florida Bar at www.flabar.org to inquire as to whether the attorney is still in practice. The Florida Bar can help you in locating your Florida divorce lawyer. However, if you call your divorce attorney on one day and do not hear from him or her in the same day or within a couple of days after your message, this is not good reason to call the Florida bar. Repeated and numerous attempts at communication without response is required. Although your case is important to your divorce lawyer, your case is not the only case that he or she may have. Thus, patience is important. Most likely, your “emergency” is not a legal emergency. Give your divorce attorney a chance to get back with you before filing any complaints.

April 11, 2011

What Florida Courts Can Consider In Calculating Florida Child Support

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida child support lawyer, many people ask me if their new spouse’s income can be used in calculating a child support obligation or in increasing a child support obligation in Florida. The answer is no. The only factors the courts normally use in calculating child support obligations in Florida is the gross income of the mother and the father as well as any employment related daycare expenses, insurance payments for the child, insurance payments for each parent and how much time each party spends with the child. Sometimes a court will consider new children from a subsequent marriage, but the new spouse’s income is not used to calculate or to increase a child support obligation.

April 8, 2011

Florida Child Support Revisions: New Child Support Law In Florida As Of 2011

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida child support lawyer and a Florida child custody attorney, I deal with the percentages of overnights that a parent may spend with their child and how that effects Florida child support laws. The old law used to be that if a non majority time-sharing parent had 40% or more overnights with the child then the child support obligation for that parent would be reduced. Thus, this would lead to one parent fighting for more time with the child and the other parent fighting not to allow it. The true fight was over the money. Now, as of January 2011, the new Florida child support law states that if the non-majority time-sharing parent has 20% or more of the overnights with the child then that will qualify for an alternate child support calculation. The alternate child support calculation is called “Substantial Time Sharing”. Please contact a Florida child support attorney to correctly calculate the amount of support that the alternate support calculation may trigger.

April 7, 2011

Florida brings April Showers and Awareness of Autism!

by David M. Goldman

April is National Autism Awareness Month. For many Floridians living in the Jacksonville and Orange Park area, this has a profound and personal meaning. Autism is a developmental disability that affects the way a person (child or adult) interacts and communicates with the world around them. Autism affects people in varying degrees from a simple disassociation with the environment to those who have little or no spoken language and severe developmental delays.

It has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the incidence of autism has risen 200% in the last 20 years. Florida has its share of individuals who suffer from this disability. When it comes to a Florida adult with autism, it is often necessary for a Florida circuit court to appoint a Florida legal guardian or guardian advocate to represent and act in the best interest of the autistic person.

A Guardian Advocate may be appointed without an adjudication of incapacity and will be giving the authority required to protect the interests of and care for the person, property or both of the autistic person as delegated by the court.

April 7, 2011

Adoption In Florida: Know What Or Who You’re Getting!

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida Adoption Lawyer, I can tell you that adoption is one of the most rewarding areas of law in which Jacksonville family law attorneys practice. It is the one area where everyone is happy and people feel as though something very good is being done. However, there are some horror stories regarding adoption in Florida. In my role as a Jacksonville adoption lawyer, I have seen some cases where the adoption agency has not fully revealed the child’s abuse background and as such, the parents are adopting children with far more issues than relayed to them. Many times, these parents are not equipped to give these children the proper psychological counseling or medical care that the children need. As such, the children can and have ended up back in the foster care system with a failed adoption in Florida. It is imperative to utilize a Florida adoption attorney when choosing the adopt a child or children in Florida.

April 6, 2011

Child Custody Issues

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Child Custody Attorney I often see cases where one party will do everything in their power to sabotage the other party. This is the worst thing a parent can do who is involved in a child custody battle. Not only can certain actions put that parent in a bad light in front of the Judge but it can also be detrimental to the child.

Therefore, when I begin a case, whether it be a divorce case or a paternity case, among other things I tell the parent the following:

• Do not make disparaging remarks regarding the other parent in the presence of the minor child.

April 5, 2011

Divorce and Taxes

by David M. Goldman

Tax day is right around the corner and as an Orange Park Family Law Attorney I tell my divorced clients that its important to be aware of the following things:

• Child support is not deductable.

• Child support is not income.

April 4, 2011

Dissipation of Marital Assets

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer the majority of my clients tend to be concerned about what will happen to their marital finances during their divorce proceedings. These clients are rightfully concerned because many individuals going through a divorce take the opportunity to start dissipating marital assets, by either selling items that would likely be equally distributed during the divorce or charging large amounts on credit cards.

However, as I tell all my divorcing clients, with every divorce proceeding in Duval County a Standing Family Law Court Order in entered. Among other things, this Order includes the following provisions:

“Neither party shall sell, transfer, encumber, conceal, assign, remove or in any way dispose of, without the consent of the other party in writing, or without an order of the court, any property, individually or jointly held by parties, except in the usual course of business or for customary and usual household expenses or for reasonable attorney’s fees in connection with this action.”