Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog

Many Jacksonville Florida children will experience the stress of their parent’s divorce each year. How they will react depends on their age, personality and the circumstances surrounding the divorce process. Many times the initial reaction is one of shock, sadness, frustration, and anger. As such, it is not surprising for some children to act out and get themselves into trouble at school or in the community.

Luckily for these children, the Duval County Courthouse offers first time misdemeanor offenders the opportunity to participate in a diversion program as an alternative to criminal prosecution. The program is called “Teen Court,” and gives juveniles between the ages of 10-17 a second chance to hold themselves accountable for their actions. Other specially trained teenagers fulfill the roles of prosecuting and defense attorney, bailiff and jurors. A practicing attorney or judge supervises the process as the magistrate and determines the final sentence. The juvenile defendant and their parent sign a contract agreeing to fulfill the imposed sentence. If the dependent successfully completes their sentence, adjudication will be withheld, and there will be no conviction on the juvenile’s record as a result.

The Teen Court program is based on the philosophy that youthful law violator is less likely to continue bad behavior when their peer jury decides the punishment. The program attempts to stop developing patterns of bad behavior by promoting feelings of self esteem and healthy attitudes toward authority. The program’s goal is to educate teens about citizenship and accepting responsibility for their actions.

Any person who is a victim of domestic violence or has reasonable belief to believe they will become a victim of domestic violence may apply to the Jacksonville Court for a Domestic Violence Injunction pursuant to Florida Statute 741.30. “Domestic violence” is defined by Florida Statute 741.28 as any “assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.” If the injunction is granted then the spouse (or other family member) cannot come with 500 feet of you; he/she must move out of the house and; they will be subject to criminal arrest for either violation. The initial injunction will be temporary (2 weeks), and then the court will schedule a hearing to decide whether the injunction will become permanent or dismissed.

A DV Injunction hearing is similar to a mini trial. The court establishes procedures, hears witness testimony and a court reporter is present. Constitutional rights are at stake at a DV Injunction hearing, so judges tend to be strict on the rules and procedures. The judge also has the power to make determinations on related issues such as child custody, support and visitation, and property. See Section 741.30, Florida Statutes.

Following a divorce, when one Jacksonville Florida parent wants to move out of the State of Florida it can affect all parties involved, including: parents, children, grandparents and other extended family. As such, disputes often arise and may be difficult to resolve. According to Florida’s Relocation Statute, § 61.13001, strict procedures must be followed in relocation cases. Before a parent moves a child more than 50 miles away from their principal address, the primary residential parent must either: obtain a written agreement from all parties entitled to visitation with the child, or file and serve a Notice of Intent to Relocate.

A Jacksonville Florida parent may legally relocate the child’s principal residence more than 50 miles away if the relocating parent and the non relocating parent, along with any other person entitled to visitation with the child agree to the relocation by written agreement. A verbal agreement is not enough. The written agreement must include the following: consent of the relocation from all parties involved; visitation rights for the non relocating parent and anyone else entitled to visitation with the child defined; and any transportation arrangements related to the visitation, if necessary.

If the parents cannot agree to relocation by a written agreement as discussed above, then the primary residential parent must file a Notice of Intent to Relocate. The Notice of Intent to Relocate must be signed under penalty of perjury and include specific and detailed reasons for the proposed move such as: financial reasons, a better job, better schools, increased family support, etc. In addition, a new proposed visitation schedule for the non relocating parent must be included. The non relocating parent has 30 days to object to the relocation after they have received the Notice of Intent to Relocate. If the non relocating parent does not timely object, then the relocation will be allowed, unless the court finds that it would not be in the child’s best interest.

For more information on this topic, see Florida’s Relocation Statute.

Florida courts make a plethora of decisions regarding children. These decisions range from timesharing and decision making, safety and permanency planning, and proceedings for termination of parental rights. Whenever courts make such decisions, it must consider whether its decision would be in the “best interests” of the child. Most States have a statute requiring that the child’s best interests be considered whenever certain types of decisions regarding a child’s custody, placement or other critical issues are made. Although there is no specific Florida statutory definition of “best interests of a child,” the concept typically refers to the deliberation that courts undertake when deciding what type of services, actions and orders will best serve a child as well as who is best suited to take care of a child.

During a Jacksonville Florida child custody proceeding, the court will consider a number of factors to determine the “best interest” of a child. These factors may include the love, affection, and other emotional ties between the parents and the child; the mental health, physical health and morality of the parents; and most importantly, which parent is more likely to encourage contact between the child and the other parent. For a complete list of the best interests factors, see Florida Statute 61.13.

There are many reasons why a grandparent may need to care for a grandchild for an extended period of time in Florida. Obtaining a Florida court order placing the child in the grandparent’s custody would allow the grandparents to obtain medical attention for the child, the right to enroll the child in school and the right to apply for State and Federal benefits on behalf of the child. A grandparent who cares for their grandchild or who has the consent of the child’s parents may petition a Jacksonville (Duval County) Florida court for temporary relative custody.

Temporary Relative Custody in Florida may be considered when a parent is unable to care for the child due to drug or alcohol abuse, incarceration, financial instability, mental health issues, responsibilities related to work or the military. A Judge will award custody to the grandparent if it is in the child’s best interest and the parents do not object. If the parents do object, then the court must make a finding of abuse, neglect or abandonment by the parents before granting custody. The judge may also grant visitation rights to the parents, and order the parents to pay child support to the grandparent. The order may be terminated if either parent petitions the court to do so, if the judge finds that the parent is a fit parent or the grandparents consent to the termination of the order.

Temporary relative custody of a minor child may also be granted to other Jacksonville adult family members such as an aunt, uncle, sibling or first cousin. For more information on this topic, see Florida State 751- Temporary Custody of Minor Children by Extended Family.

Do you live in Jacksonville and feel like your marriage is doomed? Hopefully the answer is no, but if by chance your answer is yes, then Jeannie Goldstein has some advice for you. Listed below are five tips that Goldstein,a columnist, would offer to a friend in order to salvage a marriage.

First, stop putting all of the blame on your spouse. Try to take responsibility for your role in the dispute and attempt to end the behavior right away and get back to a pleasant relationship.

Second, let go of grudges. When you fight, try not to bring up incidents far back in the past and stick to the current issues. This may be difficult because it is hard to get over something that really hurt you in the past but ask yourself: Is it really worth it? Isn’t your marriage worth more than holding on to petty grudges?

Third, resolve outstanding grudges. Sometimes it is hard to forgive and forget. This is usually because one spouse does not think that the other spouse understood their pain or concerns. Closure requires that you listen to your spouse’s concerns and address these issues directly. The best way to avoid pent up aggression is to resolve issues rationally and respectfully as they arise.

Fourth, protect your marriage from the rest of the world. No one is invested in the success of your marriage except the two of you. It is your obligation as husband and wife to be a united front against the world. If either spouse does not take this obligation seriously, then third parties can bring problems into the marriage.

Lastly, do not be afraid to laugh; “laughter is the best medicine.” Laughter is a stress reliever. Sometimes, you have to be able to laugh at the good, bad and the ugly. And then afterwards, somehow it lightens your heart, and you can move onward to the next day. For more information, see How to fix your marraige: 5 tips to stop divorce in its tracks.

Marriages have unfortunately become one of the many casualties of war and deployment. For members of the military based in Florida, it is not unusual for spouses and families to be separated for extended amounts of time. The transition back home can cause strains on both marriages and family relationships. Although there are the same grounds for a military divorce as there is for any divorce proceedings in Florida (either your marriage is irretrievably broken or your spouse is mentally incapacitated), other issues in a military divorce may differ from a civilian divorce.

Just like members of the general public, military service members still have an obligation to provide support to their children. However, enforcing these obligations can become more complicated when a parent is a member of the military. Military spouses often encounter two major issues related to child support agreements: (1) Military members receive various forms of special pay, and former spouses may be unsure how much is entitled to for child support, and (2) It may be difficult to enforce a child support agreement if a military member is not making payments. If a former spouse is not paying their child support then it is possible to seek a garnishment of wages or involuntary allotment order to protect your child’s rights to support.

Federal laws govern the rights and obligations of both military members and their spouses in the event of a divorce. The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act governs the issue of determining spousal support, among other complex issues in a military divorce. An experienced Jacksonville military divorce attorney can help explain your right and responsibilities regarding spousal support and the USFSPA.

For many Florida couples the marital home represents the largest financial asset, so what happens to the home could substantially affect your financial security for years to come. But for some couples the marital home represents more than just a financial asset, it represents a life time of memories. Thus, the decision of who will remain in the house in the event of a divorce can be a tough decision to make- both financially and emotionally.

When you are deciding on whether to stay in your house there are many factors for you to consider: Mortgage payments, taxes, home owners insurance, utilities, and maintenance are only a few. Be smart, and make your decision on what you can afford, not what you want. Typically there are three options when it comes to the marital home during a divorce:

1. Sell the house immediately and split the proceeds with your former spouse.
2. Continue to own the house jointly with your spouse and make plans to sell the house at a future date. The proceeds would be split at that time. Often time if children are involved, this is the preferred option until the children reach the age of majority.
3. One spouse buys out the other’s interest in the home.

Today’s real estate market in Jacksonville has made decisions as to the ownership, possession, and / or sale of the marital home to be very complicated. Many couples cannot afford to sell the house until market conditions change. Others have decided to continue to live together during the divorce/separation process just to avoid the financial hassle. Regardless, it is likely to cause financial strain and stress to both parties.

A divorce involving military families from or in Jacksonville, Florida can be complex because a military divorce has distinct issues that can involve Florida and federal law. Generally, dissolution of marriage is governed by the laws of the State of Florida, but the federal government has enacted legislation that applies to divorces and family law matters involving servicemen and servicewomen. Federal law governs when a military proceeding may take place, under what circumstances it may be postponed and how active military personnel may be served. Florida law also provides residency requirements for military families.

Child support in Florida is based on the child’s best interests and alimony is based on several factors. The factors a court will consider while determining property alimony award if any, are: (a) standard of living during the marriage, (b) duration of the marriage, age, physical and emotional condition of each party,(c) financial resources of each party, (d) liabilities and how they are distributed, and (e) contribution of each party to the marriage. Similar to a court dissolving a non military marriage, a court must make special findings as to a military member’s pay and allowances.

Similar to all dissolutions of marriage in Jacksonville, Florida, property division in a military divorce is based on the equitable distribution of marital assets. When spouses have inherited property, obtained significant assets or debts and have complex retirement/ pension plans, the marriage will be harder to dissolve. A military divorce that includes military retirement benefits will be governed by the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act.

It is no surprise that a divorce can have a serious impact on Jacksonville children. Research has shown that children struggle with divorce, but a new study is one of the first to pinpoint when those struggles emerge.

Researcher Hyun Sik Kim from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied 142 grade school children with divorced parents. Kim was surprised to find that there was no significant reduction in performance in the months that preceded the divorce. It was only during the divorce itself that the children began to struggle, and almost two years later they remained behind their peers with married parents.

The study showed that in the fall of kindergarten, children whose parents were fighting and would eventually divorce scored three to four points lower on standardized math tests. By fifth grade, after the children’s parents had divorced, their scores were seven to 10 points lower than those children with married parents.

Attorneys and counselors were not surprised by Kim’s findings. One lawyer said, there is a difference “between parents just fighting, and fighting and divorcing.” When the parents are still married, the children think they have some stability, even though it’s bad, said the lawyer. The children are forced to face reality once the divorced is finalized.

How a divorce will impact children is a top concern for many Jacksonville families. A divorce can cause a child to fall behind their classmates in math and social skills and can cause anxiety, stress and low self-esteem. Although a couple might not make it as husband and wife, they need to work together and make it as parents for the sake of their children. For more information, see divorce hard on grade- schoolers' test scores.

Parental kidnapping affects families across the nation. According to The United States Department of Justice, 200,000 children are victims of family abductions per year. Sadly, most people do not realize that domestic violence is the underlying cause in many cases.

When Jacksonville parents/ parents nationwide take their children in domestic violence cases, the kidnapping usually occurs in either of the following scenarios. In one scenario, the batterers take the children in order to harm their victims. In the other, the victims flee with their children in an effort to protect themselves and their children from the batterer’s violence.

Batterers will often use their children as a way to hurt or frighten their former spouse. For example, they may pursue custody or visitation litigation as a means of trying to control their former spouse. In addition, they may use the custody proceedings to obtain more information about their former spouse, to continue to monitor them or to perpetrate additional violence.

Florida Statute 787.03, Interference with Custody, makes it a felony of the third degree to remove a minor child from the custody of any lawful custodian. Any parent (with or without a court order) commits a felony if the parent “takes, detains, conceals, or entices away that minor…within or without the state with malicious intent to deprive another person of his or her right to custody of the minor. However, Florida law does recognize a defense if the fleeing spouse “was the victim of an act of domestic violence or had reasonable cause to believe that he or she was about to become the victim of an act of domestic violence.” For more information on custodial interference, see Florida Statute 787.03

Jacksonville Florida parents can write a parenting plan to decide how they will divide their children’s time after a divorce. The plan provides a roadmap for the child’s future, and is the most important document in a Florida divorce with children.

A parenting plan approved by the court must at a minimum: describe how parents will share and be responsible for the daily tasks associated with the upbringing of the child, the time-sharing schedule arrangements that specify the time that the child will spend with each parent, a designation of who will be responsible for health care, school-related matters, other actives, and the methods and technologies that the parents will use to communicate with the child.

A parenting plan has two separate components: (1) decision making- parental responsibilities and privileges to make decisions relating to the health, education, and welfare of the child, and (2) time sharing- where the child lives at any given time and contact with the other parent. These two aspects are distinct and must be examined according to the best interest of the child.

In Florida, a statutory presumption exists that shared parental responsibility is in the best interest of a child. The burden is on the party opposing shared parental responsibility to demonstrate that it will be detrimental to the children. With shared parental responsibility, both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with regard to their children and confer to make mutual decisions about the children.

A “time-sharing schedule” is a timetable that is included in the parenting plan, which specifies the time that each child will spend with the parent. Florida Statute 61.13(4)(c) provide the court with specific means to enforce the time-sharing schedule in the parenting plan. When a Jacksonville parent refuses to comply with the schedule without proper cause, the statute lists a number of sanctions that the court may impose. For more information on parenting plans, see the Florida Statutes.

Are you a woman who got married before the age of 18? Do you have a child with ADHD? Did you smile in your yearbook photos? Anneli Rufus uses scientific statistics to help predict the rates of success or failure in a marriage.

If you’re a woman who married before the age of 18, you face a 48 percent chance of divorce within 10 years. Age does matter; studies show that the younger the married couple, the riskier the bond. The risk for divorce decreases 40 percent for women who married at the age of 18 or 19, 29 percent for women who married at age 20 to 24 and 24 percent for women who married at age 25 or older.

The likelihood of divorce increases based on the gender of your child. If you have two sons, you face a 36.9 percent chance of divorce, but if you have two daughters, the likelihood increases to 43.1 percent. These findings by Columbia University economist Kristin Mammen reflect other studies that link the births of girls with elevated divorce rates.

If you have a child that has been diagnosed with ADHD, you are 22.7% more likely to divorce before that child’s eighth birthday than parents of child without ADHD. The reason is because ADHD is a challenging diagnosis, and raising a child with this disorder can put a huge stress on a marriage.

Did you smile in year book photographs early in life? If you did not, then your marriage is five times more likely to end in divorce than if you did smile. Two tests that studied college yearbook photos and other miscellaneous photos taken during a person’s younger years yielded this result. Apparently, people who smile are more optimistic and therefore find it easier to get along with people, including the people they are married to.

To view the rest of Rufus’s predictions, see 15 signs you'll get divorced.

Historically in Florida and other States, adultery and divorce were much more closely correlated than they are today in the eyes of the law. In order to get a divorce in the past, the innocent party had to prove that their spouse committed some significant wrongdoing in order to seek legal approval for the termination of marriage. However, today Florida along with most other states has no fault divorce laws. In no fault divorce cases, there are certain legal requirements but these do not include proof of adultery or other fault. However, under some conditions the Florida family law court will consider adultery when adjudicating other issues such as alimony or child support.

The Florida Alimony rule provides that “the court may consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances thereof in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.” However, in order for the Florida family law court to give alimony based on the adultery, the adultery must have produced a financial loss to the innocent spouse.

When awarding child custody in Florida, the court will consider all factors affecting the welfare and interests of the child. One factor the court will take into consideration is “the moral fitness of the parents.” An act of adultery is likely to be a reflection on the moral fitness of a parent, but this factor alone is not enough to influence a court’s determination on custody. As the Florida Statutes suggest, there are a number of factors that a court will consider when determining the best interests of a child.

Continue reading " My Spouse Cheated On Me - How Does This Affect Alimony? Child Custody? " »

Facebook, the world’s largest social network has over eight million users around the world. The New York Times reported that Facebook has become one of the “new titans of the Internet,” challenging even Google with a vision of a Web tied together through personal relationships.

Facebook is no doubt one of the most popular sites in the world, but your right to privacy is at risk the minute you log onto Facebook. It is possible that your personal information might be involuntarily shared with third parties due to security gaffes, marketing efforts, scam artists, or in the litigation context—opposing counsel.

Recently, a judge in Pennsylvania ruled that an attorney could access a worker’s Facebook account to discredit his claim that he suffered embarrassment and lost wages because of a workplace accident. The worker claimed he was unable to “enjoy life and life’s pleasures” or wear shorts because of an embarrassing scar, but he posted pictures on the public portion of his Facebook page which show him wearing shorts that reveal his leg scar and riding a motorcycle.

The defense filed a motion to gain access to his private Facebook posting. The judge rejected the worker’s privacy argument because the worker had voluntarily posted all the pictures and information on his Facebook page. The judge said that, “with the initiation of litigation …. any relevant, nonprivileged information about one’s life that is shared with others and can be gleaned by defendants from the Internet is fair game in today’s society.”

While one of the fun things about Facebook is sharing photos and messages with friends, keep in mind that the Internet is also a public resource. Only post information you are comfortable with anyone seeing because it can come back to haunt you in Jacksonville divorce proceeding or other legal proceeding or lawsuit For more information on this topic, see Facebook may poke holes in Northumberland County lawsuit.

Marriages in Jacksonville can either be terminated by dissolution (divorce) or by annulment. Annulment is the process of nullifying a marriage where the court declares that the marriage never took place. In order to annul a marriage, the person seeking the legal action must have sufficient grounds for annulment. Florida has no specific statute or rule that governs annulment; the general venue statute is followed and the action is commenced in circuit court. What follows is a list of requirements or grounds that must be presented to the court to terminate a marriage by annulment.

A common ground for annulment typically involves a situation where one party lacked the capacity to legally enter into the marriage. Common examples include: either party has a prior existing marriage, extreme intoxication, lack of the requisite mental ability, or one party was under the age of consent.

Grounds for annulment can also include situations involving fraud, duress, or coercion. A fraudulent marriage can be if one of the parties never intended to be married, the marriage was sought to deceive the other party or the marriage was for the purpose of gaining citizenship rights. A marriage based on duress or coercion includes one party being forced or threatened into the marriage.

A person whose spouse is physically and incurably impotent during the marriage has grounds for annulment, so long as they were not aware of the impotency prior to the marriage. Also, impotency should not be confused with sterility. If a marriage was never consummated, then this also constitutes grounds for annulment.

Although one party who is contesting the marriage may prove some of the above grounds, annulment may not be allowed where that party has ratified the marriage. That means if the person seeking annulment is aware of the defects but confirms the marriage; it cannot be subject to annulment. Essentially, the moving party has waived their right to contest the marriage.

Continue reading " What Constitutes Grounds for Annulment in Florida? " »

The “best interest of the child” standard in a Florida Family Law Case generally refers to the deliberation that courts undertake when deciding what type of services, actions, and orders will best serve a child and for determining who is best suited to take care of a child. “Best interests” determinations are generally made by consideration a number of factors related to the circumstances surrounding the issue of the child. In addition, the child’s ultimate safety and well-being are is the most important concern.

When awarding child custody, Florida Statute 61.13 outlines several factors for the court to consider that affect the welfare and interests of a child, including but not limited to:

a. The parent who is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the non-custodial parent.

b. The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parents and the child.

c. The capacity and disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs.

d. The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity.

e. The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home.

f. The moral fitness of the parents.

g. The mental and physical health of the parents.

h. The home, school, and community record of the child.

i. The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference.

j. The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuous parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent.

k. Evidence that any party has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding a domestic violence proceeding.

l. Evidence of domestic violence or child abuse.
m. Any other fact not specifically expressed in these laws that the court considers to be relevant.

During any Florida custody conflict it is crucial that you not lose sight of how important it is to make decisions in the best interest of your child. The choices that you make now will affect your children’s development, as well as your relationship with them for years to come.

Slowly, Florida court ruling as to permanent alimony have changed over time. Today, alimony can still be awarded to men and women permanently, but it also serves to "get people back on their feet" after a divorce. Florida courts will consider a variety of factors when awarding alimony that include: the length of the marriage, the standard of living the spouses enjoyed during the marriage, each spouse's age, each spouse's physical and mental health and each spouse's income or ability to earn an income. However, alimony is basically dependent upon the paying spouse's ability to pay and the receiving spouse's need for support.

Florida permits courts to award "rehabilitative alimony." Rehabilitative alimony was first established in a 1983 Florida divorce action. The court's opinion stated that rehabilitative alimony could be awarded temporarily in order to allow the financially weaker spouse to "obtain new skills, education and/or other rehabilitation."

Florida Statute 61.08 allows a court to award rehabilitative alimony to assist a party in establishing the capacity for self support through either: (1) the redevelopment of previous skills or credentials, or (2) the acquisition of education, training, or work experience necessary to develop appropriate employment skills or credentials. In order to receive rehabilitative alimony, there must be a specific and defined rehabilitative plan which should be included in any court order. An award of rehabilitative alimony may be modified or terminated based upon noncompliance with the rehabilitative plan or upon completion of the rehabilitative plan. In addition, it may also be terminated based upon a substantial change in circumstances.

When you are facing a divorce in Jacksonville, Florida, there are many issues that must be resolved in order to obtain a final decree of divorce. The issues may include enforcement of a premarital agreement, division of property and debts, and alimony. For families that involve children, the most controversial issues that must be resolved are child support, custody, and visitation issues. The issues surrounding the decision making of children are not easily resolved, and often results in conflict between the parents.

During a high conflict divorce, Jacksonville parents can use the help of a parenting coordinator to help make amicable decisions regarding the care of their children. A parenting coordinator is an impartial third person who is usually a trained mental health or legal professional with experience in mediation. The role of a parenting coordinator is to create appropriate parenting plans; resolve ongoing conflicts between co-parents; monitor parental behavior; and with the approval of the parties and the court, make temporary decisions within the scope of the court order or appointment contract. The Parenting Coordinator is usually appointed by the Court and with the consent of the parents. Parents may also volunteer to utilize the services of a parenting coordinator voluntarily. Parenting Coordinator is not appropriate, and will not be assigned to families with a history of domestic violence.

More than one million children each year experience the harsh realities of divorce and family separation. It is the actions that parents take during and after a divorce that determine how a child will be affected. For more information on parenting coordination, see Parenting Coordination Central. The guidelines for parenting coordination are set forth in Florida Statute 61.125.

Under Florida law in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the court may grant alimony to either party. Alimony (also called maintenance or spousal support) is a legal obligation to provide financial support to one's spouse from the other spouse after marital separation or from the ex-spouse upon divorce. In determining whether to award alimony, the court will first make a factual determination as to whether either party has an actual need for alimony and whether either party has the ability to pay alimony. If the court finds that alimony is appropriate, the court may grant the following types of alimony: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent in nature, or any combination of these forms.

Bridge-the-gap alimony is meant to cover a short-term need as the recipient transitions to single life. The length of the award is limited to two years and it cannot be modified for any reason.

Rehabilitative alimony is intended to help support a spouse to allow him/her to renew old skills or gain new skills leading to self-support. It is intended to be short-term which enables a spouse to get back on their feet. This type of alimony is usually awarded to enable the spouse to go back to school or to acquire needed skills that would allow the spouse to be competitive in the job market.

Durational alimony is a short- erm alimony award that would be appropriate if none of the other categories are suitable. It is typically awarded to marriages between seven and 17 years. A durational award may be later modified in amount but not in length.

Permanent alimony is usually awarded after a long-term marriage and may be awarded to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage. This type of alimony continues indefinitely until remarriage or death of the spouse.

The court may either award alimony in the form of periodic payments or payments in lump sum or both. The court may also take into consideration of the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances of the divorce in determining the amount of alimony to be awarded, if any. For more information on alimony, see Florida Statute 61.08.

Proponents of Florida divorce mediation label mediation as a cooperative approach to end a dispute. Yet bargaining over scarce marital resources is fundamentally competitive and requires the mediator to use clever negotiation tactics in order to yield a successful resolution. The mediator’s role is to reduce obstacles to communication, assist in the identification of issues and exploration of alternatives, and to otherwise facilitate voluntary agreements to resolve the dispute. A clever mediator will use the fear factor as a secret weapon to reach an agreement between two parties.

The fear factor exists when parties in a Florida divorce feel the force of the looming great unknown called their future. Everything has been turned upside-down for some of these families. They are concerned about the following issues:

Where are the children going to live and for what days / times of the week?

Who will be awarded the house in a Florida divorce?

How are the children going to handle the issues and aftermath of a Florida divorce?

How are the parties going to handle the financial responsibilities of two households?

Layer on top of all of these fears the big one: What is their spouse going to do? Are they going to fight for custody, exhaust the savings account, run up the charge cards, or take his/her superior income and leave the other financially unstable?

The mediator can use the fear factor as a motivating force when negotiating between the two parties. Even though intense anger and hurt may lurk in the room, when skillfully managed, a mediator can find out what each party needs, is worry about, and is looking for. Thus, the mediator can use the fear factor to determine what is most important to each party and use that knowledge to succeed in negotiation. For more information on mediation, see the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.

In order to file for a divorce in Florida you must file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The petition is designed to lay out all requests of the party filing for divorce. The divorce action will require a division of marital debts and assets, so you want to make certain that you address anything regarding non-marital debts and assets be established so that there is automatically a clear definition that these items may exits. In addition, if you need alimony and/or child support, then it is also important that these matters be alleged in the petition.
As a divorce lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida, I often have clients ask if they can keep the petition simple so that the other party is not too upset by the action. This is difficult to do, especially when there are children involved, because you have to allege your requests up front so that the court will hear them when the time comes. It is important to remember that if you do not ask for it you cannot get it, so often the initial petition will ask for the sun, moon and stars because otherwise you have barred your ability to request those items unless you file an amended petition.
Also, remember that if you are the party receiving the petition, you have the right to file a counter-petition and ask for the kitchen sink as well. Divorce can be messy, but understanding the process can help alleviate some of the emotions and help you better understand that it is business deal and not an emotional one. Keeping your business mind in the forefront of the divorce can make a difficult process a little easier to stomach as it goes on.
If you are interested in filing for divorce you should speak with a divorce lawyer to help you better understand your rights and options along with the process of the divorce.

A Florida name change of a minor child can be challenging if both parents are not present in the child's life. Name changes are often requested so that the child bares the name of a parent, especially when one of the parents is absent. If both parents share parental rights, then a name change requires both parents to consent to the change. However, in order to change a name a petition for change of name must be filed with the court and it can then be served on the other parent.

In the event the other parent cannot be found, or the other parent is no longer a resident, then the petition may be served by publication. If there is no response to the service, either actual or constructive (published), then the other parent would be in default and the name change may occur without actual consent, but implied consent by the inaction.

If you are interested in changing your child's name then you should speak with a family law attorney about your rights and options.