Category Archives: Divorce
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 »
Divorce, Remarriage, and Equitable Distribution of Retirement Accounts
When young people get divorced, a major factor that the court considers in determining equitable distribution of the marital property is each party’s earning potential. When both spouses are still of working age at the time of the divorce, even if one of them was out of the workforce for most of the time… Read More »
Do You Have to Pay More Alimony Pendente Lite If Your Ex-Spouse Appeals the Court’s Decision in Your Divorce?
According to Florida law, there are a whopping six different types of alimony, but the good news is that you probably will not have to pay any of them. The court does not order divorced people to pay alimony to their former spouses unless the disadvantaged spouse has no other source of financial support;… Read More »
What Happens If You File for Divorce, Then Reconcile, Then File for Divorce Again?
Marriage counselors often say that their job is to help couples break up as much as to help them stay together. Sometimes people have to think all the way through how their relationship as ex-spouses would work before they decide that staying married is the best option. When couples file for the divorce but… Read More »
Do You Really Have to Pay Temporary Alimony If Your Spouse Can Survive Financially Without Your Help?
Because temporary alimony, also called pendente lite alimony, automatically ends when the divorce becomes final, you might think that it is not the source of much conflict. The ostensible purpose of temporary alimony is to keep the household bills paid and the home mortgage from going into foreclosure while the divorce case is pending. … Read More »
Establish Legal Paternity Early If You Are Not Married to the Child’s Mother at the Time of the Child’s Birth
In Florida, there is more than one way to be a father. DNA testing is not the beginning and end of the story, and neither is marriage. Every man who has established legal paternity of his child by filing a voluntary declaration of paternity has a unique story, but they all have one thing… Read More »
Your Spouse Has the Right to Veto Your Financial Decisions Until Your Divorce Becomes Final
When a court finalizes your divorce, either by signing off on an agreement you and your spouse have arrived at during mediation or by the judge’s decision at the end of the trial, the final order of dissolution of marriage specifies what financial obligations, if any, one spouse still has to the other. The… Read More »
You Have the Right to Know the Truth about Your Spouse’s Finances During Your Divorce
Conflicts about money are one of the main causes of divorce, so many people feel a great sense of relief when their divorce is finalized and they no longer have to argue with their spouse about every purchase, every debt payment, and every loan or monetary gift to a friend or family member. After… Read More »
When the Economy Tanks Right After You File for Divorce
In order for a divorce court to make a decision about equitable distribution of marital property, it must review the parties’ financial records that attest to their assets, debts, earning potential, and living expenses. If the divorce process takes a long time, or if one of the parties experiences a major change in financial… Read More »
