Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

In Florida, spouses have several options to choose from when it comes to obtaining a divorce. Those options include mediation, trial and a fairly new practice known as collaborative divorce.

In a Florida collaborative divorce, each spouse has his or her own attorney who helps to negotiate an acceptable settlement agreement. Each spouse first meets with their own collaborative divorce attorney, who will provide advice and assistance in reaching a negotiated settlement. Then, the couple comes together with their respective attorneys in a series of meetings to arrive at a mutually agreeable decision on every aspect of the divorce settlement, including property division, debt settlement, child support, child custody, spousal support, and so on.

There may also be other professionals involved in a collaborative divorce, including accountants, estate planners or child therapists. The goal of collaborative divorce is to settle a case without litigation.

Collaborative divorce is also a useful tool for saving time and money. Even if you and your spouse do not agree on every issue, you can still use a Florida collaborative divorce as a tool to negotiate a compromise without having to go to court to have a judge decide the issue for you.

The State of Florida has made it possible for certain couples to divorce via a simplified dissolution of marriage. However, Florida couples that wish to divorce without the services of a Florida divorce attorney must meet certain criteria:

• Both must agree to a simplified dissolution of marriage;
• The couple must not have any children under the age of 18 or dependent children;
• They must not have any adopted children under 18;
• The wife cannot be pregnant;
• Either the husband or the wife must have been a Florida resident for at least the past six months;
• Both must agree on the division of property and settlement of debts;
• Neither the husband nor the wife is seeking alimony;
• Both must agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken and want to end the marriage.

If all these conditions are not met, then Florida couples that wish to divorce must follow the state’s regular dissolution of marriage process.

If these conditions are met, then a couple can contact the clerk of the circuit court in their area to obtain the necessary forms to file with the court. Couples are responsible for ensuring that the proper forms are filed correctly, and will be required to appear before a judge for a final dissolution to be granted.

A Jewish Israeli man recently broke the country’s record for the highest number of divorces – again. Previously, the record for the most number of divorces for one person was seven. This unnamed man has now been divorced eleven times. He reportedly told the Rabbinical court that he usually divorces his wives after two years and remarries as soon as possible. He appears to be addicted to the “experience” of meeting and courting a new wife.

The man reports that he has never experienced any difficulty in finding a new wife, and he has never paid any alimony or child support, even though he has been ordered to do so. His most recent ex-wife claims that he never worked while they were married, living off of her earnings and running up a large debt. The Rabbis did praise the man for going through all the appropriate religious procedures for getting a divorce, including issuing his wife a Get. He plans to remarry. Find out more about his marriage plans at Record 11th divorce granted to Jewish Israeli man.

Marriage is a serious commitment and divorce is a painful and difficult experience. It is strange and sad that this man takes it so lightly. If you are considering divorce, please contact our firm to discuss your case with a Florida Family Law Attorney.

New research from Wake University shows that men suffer more stress in a rocky relationship than women and have a harder time accepting a break-up.

The new study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, examined the relationships of 1,000 college-age Florida men and women. Researchers discovered that when a relationship is troubled, men are likely to suffer more than women because they do not have the same support system that women do.

The research also showed that when a relationship bottoms out, men are more likely to turn to substance abuse to cope. Women are more likely to become suffer from depression when the break-up of a long-term relationship occurs.

The men involved in the study were more likely to have divorced parents, making them more sensitive to the frailties of relationships, according to lead Wake Forest researcher Robin Simon. They do not usually have the same support network of friends and family that women do, and rely more on the emotional support of a romantic partner, making it tougher on them to cope when the relationship sours.

If you are involved in a rocky relationship and are contemplating a divorce, contact a Jacksonville divorce attorney to learn about all your legal options.

For a Florida stepparent adoption to take place, one of the biological parents must relinquish their parental rights to the adopting stepparent. The adopting stepparent is then assigned all the legal rights and responsibilities of a biological parent.

If the child is over the age of 12, he or she must consent to the adoption by the stepparent and will be interviewed by the court prior to signing a consent form.

If the birth parent does not consent – or cannot be found to provide consent – the stepparent adoption may be allowed to proceed if you can prove:

Abandonment – if the biological parent is absent and has not asserted any parental rights or has failed to provide support for the child, the court may terminate parental rights. Generally, a parent is considered to be absent if they have not been in contact with or provided any financial support for a child for a year or more.

Paternity – if you can establish that a male absent parent is not the legal father. Under Florida law, a man is presumed to be the biological father of a child if:

• He was married to the mother at the time the child was conceived or born;
• The mother was not married when the child was born but the man acknowledged paternity at the hospital at the time of birth;
• The mother was not married when the child was born but the man acknowledged paternity following the birth by filing a Consenting Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity with the Florida Office of Vital Statistics;
• Paternity was established by a court prior to the date that a petition for termination of parental rights is filed.

Florida stepparent adoptions can be complicated, so it is advisable to confer with a Florida family law attorney before you proceed.

If you are considering a Florida prenuptial agreement, you need to understand exactly what the law allows – in other words, what a prenup can, and cannot, do for you.

A prenuptial agreement can:

Keep assets separate – A prenuptial agreement can ensure that an individual retains designated assets even if they are accumulated during a marriage that ends in divorce.

Protect family property – Whether it is a family heirloom, a vacation home or shares in a family business, a prenuptial agreement can protect property in case of a divorce or death to ensure the property stays within the designated owner’s family.

Provide debt protection – a prenuptial agreement can also limit one spouse’s liability for the other spouse’s debts, preventing creditors from going after marital property to satisfy outstanding liabilities.

Protect inheritances – If either spouse has children from a prior marriage or relationship, a prenup should be considered to ensure those children inherit their rightful share of that spouse’s property.

Define spousal support – In Florida, a prenup can define, restrict or even waive alimony rights as well as property division rights in the event of a divorce.

A prenuptial agreement cannot:

Restructure child or spousal support orders – this can only be accomplished through a court-approved modification of support.

Impose nonfinancial rules – a prenup is not a good vehicle for imposing rules about behavior, such as how children will be raised or how household duties are divided.

Florida divorce courts are no different than many other states when it comes to encouraging couples to settle their divorces via mediation or collaborative law: they’re for it. And while I usually urge divorcing couples to consider mediation or collaborative divorce, there are some instances when going to court is the right move:

When A Spouse is Abusive – If someone is seeking a divorce from an abusive spouse, chances are that they are easily intimidated by that spouse and will have trouble sticking up for their rights in a mediated or collaborative divorce process. In this case, it is usually best to have a divorce attorney as your advocate.

When A Spouse is Uncooperative – Unfortunately, in some cases, a spouse will be particularly vindictive and spiteful and want to “punish” the other spouse in the divorce. Some spouses may refuse to communicate with each other at all. In these cases, there is no good faith basis on which to proceed with a mediation or collaborative divorce.

When A Spouse is Missing – If one spouse simply disappears, it is obviously not possible to engage them in conversation about a divorce. In this case, the spouse left behind would need to go to court to obtain a judgment to terminate the marriage.

As a Florida divorce lawyer, I tell couples with children who are getting a divorce that it is better for them to agree on a co-parenting plan rather than have the court do it for them.

Creating a parenting agreement usually helps to reduce future conflicts because the expectations are clear from the beginning on how each parent will interact with the other when it comes to parenting their children.

Just the act of creating a parenting agreement allows couples to make decisions about all the issues that they will face in the future with their children. Once a parenting agreement has been created, the court should then approve it so it becomes enforceable in case one party does not live up to the agreement.

Issues that should be covered in a parenting agreement include:

• Child custody and living arrangements
• Child support and expenses
• Visitation schedules, including holidays and vacations
• Education
• Medical care
• Religious instruction, if any

If your divorce is amicable, you may be able to create your parenting agreement yourselves. In some cases, a trained therapist or mediator may be necessary to assist you. In either case, your divorce attorney should review the agreement prior to its submission to the court as part of your divorce file.

Father’s Day can be a tough holiday for many divorced dads, especially in the first year following a divorce. But as the family starts to adjust to a new way of life, there are things that divorced dads can do to make it easier on everyone, especially themselves:

Plan Ahead – Be sure to plan any outings in advance and be sure your ex-wife is aware of those plans. You can avoid a lot of confusion and hurt feelings by doing a little advanced planning. Be sure to include your kids in the planning as well.

Be Generous With Your Time – Many divorced fathers feel they must compensate their children with gifts and money for the pain a divorce may have caused them. Don’t make this mistake. Your children want your time more than anything.

Put Your Kids’ Needs First – Putting the needs of your children first may mean you need to be more flexible than in the past. If your child feels more comfortable spending a holiday “at home” with your ex, you should try to accommodate their wishes, even if it conflicts with “your time”.

Be Creative -- What used to be one birthday celebration now may be two – and usually kids don’t mind that at all! Planning two birthday parties or outings can be a lot of fun for your children, and lets them know their special day is special to each parent as well.

Create New Traditions – While you may be tempted to duplicate what you’ve “always done” for holidays or special occasions, you should consider creating new traditions that reflect your new family structure.

The Florida Disestablish of Paternity or Termination of Child Support Obligation statute allows a male to disestablish paternity or terminate a child support obligation when that male is not the biological father of the child.

Steps to disestablish paternity or terminate a child support obligation:

1. The male must file a petition in the circuit court that has jurisdiction over the child support obligation.

2. The petition must be served on the mother or other legal guardian or custodian of the child.

3. If no circuit court has jurisdiction over the child support obligation (i.e., the obligation has been determined administratively and not ratified by a court) then the petition must be filed where the mother or legal guardian or custodian resides.

a. This petition must be served on the Department of Revenue (DOR) and on the mother or other legal guardian or custodian.

4. The petition may be filed where the male resides if the mother or other legal guardian or custodian no longer resides in the state.

A critical element of the petition is that is must be supported by an affidavit, usually attached to the petition, that states the father has come across evidence relating to the paternity of the child in question since the initial establishment of paternity or establishment of a child support obligation. Thus, the question of paternity cannot be baseless, it must be well-founded.

Males, who no longer believe they are the father of a child and are financially obligated to that child, should contact a family law attorney to discuss disestablishing paternity and reverse any child support order that is presently in effect.

In a no-fault state like Florida it is difficult to understand, as a family law attorney, why parties are willing to spend more money than they have to prove that a spouse was, in fact, having an extramarital affair. It is not to say that affairs are not personal or do not take personal tolls on the individual hurt by it, they do. However, to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars for a court to hear the atrocity, when the reality is the affair will not have a bearing on the outcome of the case is scary.
Speaking as a professional interested in representing the client's best interest, I think preserving the client's money for what can really make a difference, counseling on the emotional aspects, is much better. I struggle with this issue as a family law attorney because I do not want to take advantage of the emotions associated with the divorce. The only way to avoid an attorney taking advantage of this situation, other than hiring an attorney like myself, is to take the emotion out of the divorce.
What do I mean by this? I simply mean that the divorce is a business transaction, you are seeking to dissolve a contract, that being the contract of marriage. I know that sounds cold, but the reality is, at the end of the day, it's business. You are searching to protect your assets, finances, retirement, which again, is a business concept. The more you can remove the emotion from the action the less money the divorce will cost you in the end.
At the end of the day, true justice is walking away knowing you have all things you are legally entitled to and you can hold your head up knowing that you have survived an awful situation. Take the money or sell some assets and treat yourself to a relaxing vacation to ease your mind of the chaos that previously ensued.

Florida visitation laws changed to timesharing laws in 2008. The primary goals of these laws are to (1) ease the need for a custodial parent to be determined and (2) to protect the child and keep his or her interests as a central concern throughout custody or divorce proceedings.
How is timesharing affected during the summer?

Generally, the roles of the primary parent and non-primary parent are swapped. For example, the primary parent – the parent who has custody of the child for a majority of time – becomes the non-primary parent during the summer. Generally, the timesharing laws allow for the non-primary parent to have custody of the child for a consecutive 6 weeks with every other weekend going to the primary parent. This switch is the normal practice unless the parents deviate from the standard visitation schedule in the parenting plan, which is also a requirement in visitation cases. If that happens to be the case, it is usually established in the parenting plan established by the parents if they have deviated from the standard schedule.

A family law attorney should be contacted to discuss any wrongful deviations from or necessary modifications to a timesharing plan in order to ensure that the primary goals of the timesharing plan are being met.

House Bill 907 was approved and signed by Governor Crist on June 3, 2010. This bill made a number of changes to child support and alimony laws.

Changes:

1. Requires child support awards to end upon the child reaching the age of majority and, where appropriate, to account for revised child support guidelines based on remaining child support owed.
2. Where the parents of a child have a high income, a different standard is applied in order to determine the amount of child support owed.
3. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that a person can earn minimum wage as well as provides additional criteria for the establishment of an imputed income amount. Imputed income is used when one parent voluntarily quits their job or voluntarily is underemployed. It is used as a tool to better provide for the child.
4. Amends the child support formula; income tax consequences of children and their financial support are not accounted for.
5. A court can now consider a situation where a child support award requires a parent to pay an amount of support that will make that parent fall below the poverty line.
6. Reduces the 40% timesharing threshold for a child support award adjustment based on timesharing to 20%. This way the money follows the child.
7. Provides for the application of a partial payment of alimony similar to how partial payment of child support is applied.

Effects of the proposed changes:

• Termination of Child Support at Majority
o Generally an award for child support ends upon the child reaching the age of 18-years-old. However, an award may be extended in two different circumstances:
i. If the child is dependent upon his or her parents because of a mental or physical disability that existed before the child turned 18.
ii. If the child is still in high school but is expected to graduate at age 19.

• Application of Alimony Payments
o The current laws allow for partial payments of a child support obligation. However, the bill amends the current law to allow for a parallel rule regarding partial payments of alimony
o The bill also provides that interest due on past due support obligations may be enforced like any other support award, like contempt, and provides that interest is not due on the previously established interest.

• Child Support Guidelines Formula – Imputed Income
o Imputed income is what a party should be earning; it is used to determine child support rather than actual income.
o The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that each party can earn a minimum wage on a full time basis. However, this presumption can be proved invalid on a case-by-case basis.
o The minimum imputed income of a parent is the Florida minimum wage (currently $7.25). For any parent that does not reside in the state of Florida, the state’s minimum wage where that parent resides will be used. If a state minimum wage cannot be applied the federal minimum wage will apply (currently $7.25).

• Child Support Guidelines Formula Income Calculation
o The income calculation formula is a formula that calculates the net income of the parents, determines a minimum child support need, and splits that need by the shared parenting plan. This formula determines the amount of child support that is owed by on parent to the other.

An attorney should be contacted if you feel your obligations have been or should be changed as a result of this bill. To read more on this topic see House Bill 907.

As a Florida divorce attorney, I find that many of my clients are unaware of the different types of child custody that can be considered as part of a Florida divorce settlement.

In a Florida divorce action that involves minor children, there are four different kinds of child custody to be considered:

Legal Custody – Legal custody means you have both the right and the obligation to make important decisions about your child. This includes education, religion and medical care. In many cases, both parents are awarded legal custody of minor children and share the decision-making responsibility. If joint legal custody is awarded and one parent continually excludes the other from decisions about the child, that parent can be taken back to court for enforcement of the joint legal custody order.

Physical Custody – Physical custody means that one parent is given the right for the child to live with him or her. In some cases, joint physical custody is awarded – usually when both parents live near each other and the child’s life will not be unduly interrupted. In sole physical custody cases, the child lives with one parent and the other parent is granted visitation rights.

Sole Custody – A parent can have either sole legal custody or sole physical custody, or both if one parent has a history of unstable behavior such as physical or substance abuse, or criminal behavior. The courts usually prefer that parents share legal custody so both continue to play a significant role in the lives of their children.

Joint Custody – Parents can have joint legal custody, joint physical custody or both joint legal and physical custody. Parents who share joint custody usually work out a schedule based on the child’s needs, which is approved by the court. The advantage of joint custody is that it keeps both parents involved in the child’s life. Disadvantages can occur when one parent is uncooperative or harbors significant ill will toward the other, which can result in serious negative effects on the children.

Florida divorce mediation is becoming increasingly popular because of its many benefits, including the fact that it takes less of a toll on a divorcing couple’s finances and emotions. But how do you know if divorce mediation will work in your particular case?

Years of experience as a Florida divorce lawyer has taught me that a couple may be a good candidate for divorce mediation if:

Both spouses want a divorce – if the decision to divorce had been made mutually, it is usually easier for a couple to successfully work together in mediation.

Both spouses want to remain on good terms with each other – this can be a motivating factor for a successful mediation.

Both spouses know their financial situation – if one spouse knows more than the other about their finances, the less knowledgeable spouse can feel at a disadvantage and is more likely to question any financial settlement. If both spouses have a good grasp on their financial reality, negotiations go much smoother.

Both spouses have been honest in the marriage – if one or both spouses has a history of lying to the other so trust is a big issue in the divorce, they are not usually a good candidate for mediation, which relies heavily on trust.

Neither spouse blames the other for the divorce – mediation will not work well if one or both spouses are bent on placing blame on the other for the divorce, and seeking punitive damages in terms of a better property settlement.

Neither spouse has a history of abuse – any kind of abuse history in a relationship – physical, verbal, alcohol or drug abuse – will likely undermine the trust and good faith needed to successfully mediate a divorce action.

Seeking the advice of a divorce or family law attorney may be helpful in calming you in the mediation process. Sometimes lawyers are used merely to get a spouse through mediation to help weed out the legal matters behind the emotions.

Due to high unemployment and other adverse economic factors, modifying an existing child support order is no longer as uncommon as it used to be. If you have lost your job or have had your income adversely impacted by recent economic conditions, there are two ways in which you can seek a change – either an increase or a decrease -- in child support payments.

First, you should work with your ex-spouse to determine if they might be agreeable to a modification in child support terms. If you agree, then you only need to ask a judge to approve the modification.

If you and your spouse cannot agree on modified child support, you will need to go to court. The court can grant either a temporary or permanent modification, depending on your individual circumstances.

If you are seeking an increase in child support, you may be able to get a temporary modification if your child has had a new medical condition or emergency, there is an increase in school, daycare or other cost of living expenses. If you have suffered a job loss or disability you may also qualify for an increase in child support until you are able to find new employment.

Conversely, if you are seeking a decrease in child support, the court may grant it if you have suffered a job loss, pay cut, disability or if your income has changed for any other reason. If your spouse has an increase in income from a new job, pay raise or remarriage, you may also qualify for support modification.

If you are the paying spouse, it is important that you contact a divorce attorney to file a modification of support request as soon as possible. If you violate the terms of your current court order by not paying, the consequences could be severe.

When couples decide to divorce – especially when the split is acrimonious – it is not uncommon for one or both to accuse the other of hiding assets. Certainly it is not unheard of for one spouse, anticipating an eventual divorce, to actively hide assets from the other in an effort to come out of the divorce with more financial benefits.

There are a number of common ways that a spouse may hide assets including:

• Hiding cash
• Setting up accounts at unfamiliar banks using the children’s names
• Setting up retirement or investment accounts as the sole owner
• Parking income with family or friends
• Having an employer withhold a raise, bonus or stock options until a divorce is finalized
• Purchasing antiques or other collectibles that are typically undervalued or overlooked

If one spouse owns a business, they may also try to hide assets by:

• Paying a salary to a nonexistent employee or vendor
• Paying a family member or friend who then saves the cash for them
• Skimming cash from the business

Many divorce lawyers utilize the services of forensic accountants or private investigators to discover hidden assets. However, the best defense against hidden assets is when both spouses have joint control over their finances and understand exactly how much income they have and where it goes.

If you are considering getting a divorce in Florida and using mediation, you may be wondering if you need an attorney. Legally, the answer is no. But if you’re smart, your answer is yes, you do need an attorney – as an advisor more than an advocate.

Before you begin your Florida divorce mediation, you should consult with a lawyer to be sure you are well educated on your legal rights and the mediation process. A Florida divorce lawyer with mediation experience can:

Explain your options – a mediation lawyer can help you with the mediation process, explain your options, help you find a mediator and help you persuade your spouse to use mediation if necessary.

Be a coach – a mediation attorney can act as a legal “coach” during your mediation, helping your prepare and answering your questions.

Evaluate agreements – before you sign any legal agreement, you need to have a trusted legal advisor go over it to make sure it has everything you want in it and is likely to pass muster with the court.

Prepare documentation – if your mediator does not provide this service, a mediation lawyer can help you prepare your divorce documents and interface with the court on your behalf.

The news that Al and Tipper Gore are divorcing after 40 years of marriage highlights some important considerations for those who divorce later in life. While the reasons for divorce may be the same as younger couples, the implications can be far different when it comes to dividing assets.

It is generally true that the older the couple, the more assets there are to divide. Florida is an equitable division state, which means that each spouse owns the property and income earned during the marriage. However, ownership is not the sole deciding factor when dividing property in a Florida divorce. A judge will usually assume that the property is to be divided fairly – and that doesn’t always mean equally.

Who gets the house takes on added meaning when a divorcing couple is older. The benefits for older people owning a home include tax exemptions and benefits, reverse mortgage eligibility and access to equity.

Dividing retirement assets can be more complicated for divorcing couples that are nearer retirement age. If any loans have been taken against a qualified retirement plan, those should be repaid before any settlement. You should consult with your divorce attorney to find out if and when any distributions can be taken without tax penalties, and if survivor benefits apply after the divorce.

In general, there is a greater need for careful financial planning when older couples divorce, so retaining a Florida law firm that has both family law and estate planning practices available to you may be worth considering.

Florida divorces do not mean alimony payments. Myths can be cruel to the outside world that is interested in pursuing a divorce. In Florida, there is no such thing as alimony being a certain. Myths such as the following list are created as scare tactics and used to create fear, fear would be having to pay alimony no matter what, fear would also be that you are not entitled to alimony, which is also dependent on Florida divorce law.

1. Is counseling needed before you can get divorced.
2. It matters if I or my spouse had an affair.
3. Alimony is involved in every case.

Today's topic of alimony is one that can be multiple sets of blogs, and in fact are on this site in a multitude of areas. It is a large topic because in Florida alimony is controlled by many factors: length of the marriage, contribution to the marriage, status quo of the marriage, education of the parties, and many other small details. Also, there is are different forms of alimony: permanent, lump sum, rehabilitative and bridge the gap.

If you and your spouse have two incomes, equal education and the ability to earn relatively the same income, chances are you will not be receiving nor paying alimony.

If you have been married for 17 years and one spouse has been a homemaker, given up his/her education for the benefit of the other, provided the household support instead of the income, then permanent alimony will most likely be rewarded. Permanent alimony is designed to help keep the spouses in the same lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed, but factors in the sacrifices of both parties. It is difficult to expect a spouse to enter the workforce after 17 plus years of supporting the family or other spouse by being the homemaker. The one sacrificing to stay home should not be punished for the marriage breaking.

If you have been married for less than two years, most likely your divorce will not have an alimony component. Length of the marriage holds a great weight in determining alimony. A short-term marriage, which is technically defined as anything under 10 years, does not often hold alimony. The only form that may come into play in a two year marriage is "bridge-the-gap", which is designed to help a spouse move from married to single life. This is for a set time period, often 6 months to a year.

If you have been married for 10 years, one spouse gave up entry into medical school to support the other's education and now the educated spouse is working and the sacrificing one has been earning lower income or taking care of the home, most likely rehabilitative alimony will be an issue. Rehabilitative alimony is designed to assist in educating or training a spouse so that he/she can reenter the workforce and have a chance to be self supporting.

There are obviously different scenarios for all couples and this is not a blueprint for everything related to alimony. However, it is a basic outline for what to expect in different categories of marriage. If you are thinking about a divorce know the facts not just the myths. It is always a good idea to speak with an attorney trained in family law matters so that you go into the situation armed with knowledge not fear.

Affairs during the marriage matter in a Florida divorce, another common myth tackled by a Jacksonville divorce lawyer. Yesterday, the counseling myth in divorces was discussed. Today, the myth that the affair will bring justice to the innocent spouse will be tackled. This week we will be focusing on the following myths and discuss the truth behind the myths:

1. Is counseling needed before you can get divorced.
2. It matters if I or my spouse had an affair.
3. Alimony is involved in every case.

Florida is a no-fault divorce state, which means that the reason for your divorce is not going to make or break any factor in your divorce. If you or your spouse has cheated during the marriage it is typically only an issue of emotions involved, not an actual legal factor in the divorce proceeding. This is due to the legislation enacting a "no fault" divorce law. The only time the issue of Why" will be brought to the court's attention is when you are asked, "Explain to the court why you are asking this court for a divorce?" and all you must answer is "irreconsilable differences."

On a Florida divorce there is a division of assets and debts which are supposed to be equitably divided (50/50). However, if it can be proven that a party used marital funds in furtherance of an extramarital relationship, then the division can be in favor of the innocent party (40/60) or more. In order to get this, it must be shown what types of funds were used and they were actually used to further the affair. In some cases, if a number can be determined, then the innocent party can ask for equitable distribution of the total of the amount used in that relationship. An example would be if it can be proven that $100 was used on the affair, then the innocent spouse would be entitled to $50 of those moneys used, even if they have already been taken from the marital account.

The reason there is an unequitable distribution of assets is so that the innocent spouse is made financially whole since the marital funds were depleted without consent. The idea is to put the innocent spouse in the same position, financially, as would have existed had the other spouse not cheated.