Recent Blog Posts
Is Permanent Alimony Really Permanent?
As is the case with so many clickable terms, the less you know about permanent alimony, the stronger your feelings about it tend to be. Permanent alimony is the exception, rather than the rule; in fact, the default option is to settle the couple’s financial entanglements through equitable distribution of marital assets without awarding… Read More »
Can You Get Alimony If the Court Decides That Your Marriage Was Not Legally Valid?
It is a shock, to say the least, if you go to court to get a divorce, and the judge tells you that you were never legally married to your spouse in the first place. The reasons that the court might decide this are various. In some cases, the court might rule that, unbeknownst… Read More »
Keeping Your Finances Separate After Marriage? There’s a Prenup for That!
Florida law provides that any income you earn or any asset you acquire while married to your spouse is marital property. Money and property that you owned before your marriage is separate property unless you treat it as a marital asset. Examples of treating a separate asset as marital property include adding your spouse’s… Read More »
Will a Mental Illness Diagnosis Affect Your Parenting Plan?
The news headlines show you that the stigma surrounding mental health issues is much less than it was a generation ago. It is now possible to talk openly with your friends and family about medication side effects and the ups and downs of relationships with therapists. Having to disclose your mental health diagnosis to… Read More »
Will the Court Increase Your Child Support Award If Your Ex Does Not Exercise His Parenting Time?
Parenting plans specify in detail which parent will be with the children on which days, which parent has the final say on which parenting decisions, and which parent has what responsibilities regarding transporting the children to or from the other parent’s care. It might sound like micromanaging, but the court has no way of… Read More »
Co-Parenting Without Child Support Payments: Is It Really Possible?
Have you ever driven past the luxurious hotels of South Beach or glimpsed the Star Island mansions as you took an exit off of I-95 and wondered how different life must be for the one percent? It is true that the details of high net worth divorce often turn out differently than they do… Read More »
Parallel Parenting: When Co-Parenting Is Not an Option
Some people find that their relationship with their ex-spouse actually improves after they divorce. The little things that added up to ruin your relationship when you were married can no longer hurt you when you do not have to share a household or define your identity in terms of each other. If your coworker… Read More »
Addiction and Co-Parenting: Wishful Thinking Has No Place in Parenting Plans
Anyone who has ever struggled with substance use disorder or had a family member who has knows that recovery is a lifelong process. Addiction does not take away your right to have a relationship with your children, but the court-ordered parenting plan has to reflect the reality of how healthy you currently are and… Read More »
Default Judgments in Florida Divorce Cases
Can you still divorce your spouse if your spouse does not want a divorce? What about if your spouse simply abandoned you and cannot be contacted even to receive the divorce papers? In both of those cases you can. Whether your spouse is simply in denial about the fact that your marriage is over… Read More »
Having an Extramarital Affair Is Not Always Marital Misconduct, but Spending Your Spouse’s Money on Your Affair Partner Is
Baby boomers used to call it an open marriage, and millennials call it ethical nonmonogamy. Not all extramarital relationships are cheating, and even when they are, the fact that your spouse cheated on you does not entitle you to any particular legal remedies. We live in the era of no-fault divorce, so the court… Read More »
