Recent Blog Posts
Imputed Income Isn’t Just For Stay-At-Home Parents And Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Even in the simplest divorce cases, both parties must disclose to the court how much income they earn, in addition to providing disclosures about their assets, debts, and expenses. Usually, the court bases its decisions about alimony and child support awards on how much each party earns from work and other income streams such… Read More »
Can The Family Court Take Your Kids Away From You And Give Them To Your Ex-Spouse Just Because You Missed A Webex Meeting?
Just existing during the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge. It is pointless to argue about who has it the worst, because everyone does. Being a teenager with divorced parents who live in two different states isn’t easy even in normal times, when you can take your shiny new driver’s license and go to a… Read More »
Is Your Ex-Spouse Entitled To A Share Of The Royalties Of Your Book?
Second wave feminists used to say that behind every great man is a great woman, and some of the twentieth century’s most iconic achievements in the arts and sciences would support that assertion. Credit for some of the most memorable images from the original Star Wars trilogy belongs to Marcia Griffin, who was married… Read More »
Will The Court Take Your Last Name Away From Your Child?
Naming children can be a contentious issue, even in intact marriages. Divorce lawyers have heard plenty of stories where one spouse was still resentful about the other spouse overriding their decision about what to name their child, who was born decades earlier. Disagreements over children’s surnames are arguably even more contentious than differences of… Read More »
Co-Parenting Children With Complex Medical Needs
In determining a child’s best interest, the family courts place a great deal of importance on continuity and stability; they will not order a change in primary residential parent or authorize a relocation to another state unless these changes would benefit the child’s health or physical and emotional safety. You do not have to… Read More »
Can The Court Order You To Exercise Your Parenting Time In Restaurants Only?
The closer the children of divorced parents are to adulthood, the more weight the family courts give to the children’s opinions about how to divide the parenting time between the divorced parents. When asking teens their opinions about parenting plans, the family court judge will typically meet privately with the teen in the judge’s… Read More »
Your Ex-Spouse Calling You Crazy Will Only Reflect Badly On Your Ex
The testimony of psychiatrists and mental health counselors can be useful in family court cases. If you or your child has sought mental health treatment, the professional opinions of your doctors and counselors hold weight as factors in the court’s decision about parenting time. For example, your child’s school counselor may know better than… Read More »
Most Alimony Obligations Are Of A Short Duration, But Child Support Lasts Until The Children Reach Adulthood
In some marriages, one spouse has a much higher earning capacity than the other. If the parties were married for a brief period and did not have children together, then the principle of equitable (fair) distribution requires the court to divide the parties’ assets so that each spouse’s financial situation is similar to what… Read More »
Equitable Distribution Of Passive Income
Lots of people wish for a source of passive income, but even the ones who don’t get divorced should be careful what they wish for. Owning a real estate property that you rent out to tenants can be a lucrative source of income, but being a landlord is so much work that one wonders… Read More »
How Non-Marital Assets Affect Your Divorce
Divorce Monday, the first business Monday of the year, is less than two months away, so lots of unhappily married people have been researching the divorce process in Florida. If you are one of them, you have probably found out that, in accordance with Florida’s equitable distribution laws, the court divides marital property in… Read More »
