Family Law
If you are considering a Prenuptial Agreement or Domestic Partnership Agreement, are facing the difficult decision of divorce, or need to modify an already existing timesharing, custody, child support or spousal support agreement, please contact Winston Law, P.A. at (561) 670-9375 or email at susan@winstonlawpa.com.
Prenuptial Agreements
Also called a premarital agreement, a prenuptial agreement is a marriage contract entered into prior to the marriage. Within a prenuptial agreement the parties can predict distribution of assets in case of divorce. Prenuptial agreements help to create certainty and prevent expensive divorce proceedings.
Domestic Partnership Agreements
Domestic partnership agreements are similar to prenuptial agreements. The purpose of a Domestic Partnership Agreement is to protect couples who chose to live together in long term relationships instead of getting married. Domestic partnership agreements can help determine how financial issues will be dealt with during the relationship and after it may end.
Divorce Overview
Getting divorced is a legally and emotionally intricate process. The objective in any divorce is to decide the issues in the marriage; which may include equitable distribution of the assets and liabilities, alimony or spousal support, child custody and timesharing, child support and any other issues that may be specific to your marriage. These issues can be decided through negotiation, mediation or trial.
Simplified Dissolution of Marriage
In less legally complex cases, the State of Florida currently employs a process known as simplified dissolution of marriage. A simplified dissolution of marriage is a simplified process for divorce designed to dissolve certain types of marriages as quick as possible.
If you qualify for a simplified dissolution of marriage it is essential that both parties are aware they are giving up certain legal rights entitled to them in a regular dissolution of marriage.
Uncontested and Contested Divorce
Florida recognizes two types of divorce, uncontested and contested. An uncontested divorce is one in which both parties agree to all the issues that may come up in their divorce. Depending on the situation those issues may include, equitable distribution of the assets and liabilities, spousal support (alimony), parental responsibility, timesharing and visitation.
A contested divorce is one in which each party does not agree on the issues that may emerge in the divorce. Contested divorces are often times more costly and stressful on both parties. If the parties can’t agree after negotiations the court will likely require a mediation. If after mediation, the parties still are not able to reach an agreement on all or some of the issues the case will go to trial and a judge will decide any issues the parties cannot agree upon.
Equitable Distribution of Assets and Debts
Marital property is divided based on the concept of equitable distribution in the State of Florida. This is significantly less clear cut than in some states that divide property 50/50. The first step in the distribution of property is to determine which assets and debts are marital and which are non-marital
Marital assets are any assets obtained during the marriage and marital debts are any debts obtained during the marriage. These may include stocks, bonds, houses, cars, pensions, retirement plans, annuities and businesses.
Non-Marital refers to any assets and debts obtained or incurred before the marriage. This may include property owned before the marriage, any gifts given to one spouse during the marriage, or any inheritances held by one spouse. Non-marital assets become marital if they are comingled with marital assets.
Alimony/Spousal Support
Spousal support is defined as payments from one spouse to another on a temporary or permanent basis. Its purpose is for each spouse to live in the life style they enjoyed during the marriage.
Permanent spousal support is paid on a monthly basis and is most common in longer marriages. Temporary support may be paid from one spouse to the other during the divorce proceeding, until one spouse can further their skills or education to obtain a better job, or to bridge the gap between marriage and being single.
Parental Responsibility and Child Custody
If you and your spouse are thinking about divorce and have minor children, you will have to make some difficult choices regarding your children. These choices may include where they live and how decisions about their future will be made. To do this, the court will need you to create a parenting plan with your spouse. A parenting plan is a document governing the roles, responsibilities and decision making authority of each party when making major decisions in the lives of their children. The parenting plan also includes a timeshare schedule for each minor child.
Child Support
In Florida, it is required that both parents pay child support to their children. The amount of support each parent must pay is decided by Florida Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines can be found in Florida Statute 61.30. Child support amounts are calculated based on income and adjusted to take into account health insurance, daycare and parental timesharing.
Mediation
Mediation is used as an essential tool to keeping divorce more cost effective. Mediation involves the use of an independent and neutral mediator to help negotiate a settlement between the divorcing parties. The purpose of mediation is to reach an agreement that both sides can be happy with, resolving the issues within the divorce in an amicable and confidential manner.
Attorney’s Fees
In addition to divorce being a legally and emotionally complicated process, financially it can be expensive. It is especially difficult when one party has more resources than the other party. Although each party is responsible for paying their own attorney’s fees, Florida Law does permit the court to order that one party pay the other’s attorney’s fees. Each party having access to equal representation is the idea behind this law.
Modification
After finalizing your timesharing, child support and spousal support agreements, it is possible that your needs and circumstances may change over time. You will have to petition the court to alter your current agreement. In order to change any current settlement agreement the party seeking modification must show a substantial change in circumstance.
Enforcement of Court Orders
There are a number of different court orders that may come from a divorce case. Those orders may deal with child custody and timesharing, property distribution, alimony (spousal support), and/or child support. Having a court order resolving an issue and your ex-spouse not following it can be very frustrating. Not complying with a court order may result in serious consequences including attorney fees, bank account levies, loss of driver’s license, tax return seizures or jail time.
Paternity and Father’s Rights
If you are a father to a child but not married to the mother of that child, it is very important for you to be aware of your rights in the State of Florida. According to Florida Law, if you are not married to your child’s mother at the time of the birth of the child your rights may be limited. Even if your name is on the birth certificate, if you are not married to the child’s mother, you may have trouble seeing your child or making decisions about your child’s upbringing. That is why it is essential to establish paternity right away.
Grandparent and Relative Custody
While Florida Law does not specifically provide for grandparents and other relatives to have visitation or timesharing rights with their grandchildren, there are some circumstances where grandparents and other relatives can look to gain custody of the children to protect them from an environment that is unsafe.
Domestic Violence Injunctions
Domestic Violence Injunctions are court orders requiring a person not to threaten, batter or harass another. An injunction may require a party not to have any contact with the person filing the injunction or limited phone contact. Further, at an injunction hearing, the Court can require a party to vacate a shared home or award temporary child custody. Because an injunction hearing requires evidence and witnesses, it is essential for both victims of domestic violence and those accused of domestic violence to have representation at the hearing.
If you or a loved one need a knowledgeable and experienced attorney please contact Winston Law, P.A. by calling (561) 670-9375 or by emailing susan@winstonlawpa.com
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