Uncontested/Contested

A divorce in Florida is also called a "Dissolution of Marriage". A divorce is "uncontested" if both the Husband and Wife agree on all of the issues. A divorce is "contested" if the Husband and Wife do not agree on at least one issue involved.

wedding ring The Dissolution paperwork should be drafted by a qualified divorce attorney and must be served upon the opposing spouse by a private process server or the Sheriff's office. The responding spouse then has twenty (20) days to respond to the paperwork. The issues concerning the dissolution of marriage are presented in this paperwork, called "pleadings".

Property Distribution

house image Property is classified as either "nonmarital" or "marital". One of the most difficult and complex areas of divorce is the classification of property as nonmarital or marital and the division of the marital property. Marital property may include cars, houses, retirement benefits (pensions), business interests, cash, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, personal property and other things of value.

The division is based upon all facts of the case and the contribution of both spouses to the marriage. Liabilities (debts) as well as assets must be considered. Other factors include the nature of the property and whether it is marital property or non-marital property; the duration of the marriage; and the economic circumstances of each spouse. If you and your spouse can agree, and if your agreement is reasonable, it will be approved by the court. If you cannot agree, the court will divide the property after a trial. It is now possible to seek a temporary property distribution prior to the conclusion of the case at trial.

Alimony/Spousal Support

In Florida, various types of alimony can be awarded to either a husband or a wife when there is a need and an ability to pay or as otherwise required to do "equity and justice" between the parties, including:

Permanent Alimony
Rehabilitative Alimony
Bridge-The-Gap Alimony
Lump Sum Alimony
Temporary Alimony

money

The court has fairly broad discretion to award alimony and to craft orders for spousal support tailored to the specific needs of the parties. Working with a family law attorney can help you to ensure that you are aware of your options and that the court is made aware of all factors relevant to an award of alimony. Factors relevant to an alimony award may include:

The length of your marriage.
Your standard of living during the marriage.
Your age and physical or mental health.
Your spouse's age and physical or mental health.
Financial resources available to you and your spouse.
Whether a party's career or education was disrupted because of the marriage.

Temporary Agreements/Orders

Broken Marriage Contract It is not necessary to await the end of a dissolution case to gain relief on matters dealing with equitable distribution (a division of your assets and debts), time-sharing (where your child or children live and when and under what circumstances they will visit with the other spouse), child support, alimony and temporary attorney's fees. It is absolutely critical that you consult with a specialist in family law before entering into any temporary agreement in any of the areas referenced above, as the temporary agreement may have ramifications with respect to what happens at the conclusion of your case. For example, you may agree that your child temporarily lives with your spouse during the school week. This factor may be considered by the trial court in establishing a time-sharing schedule as one of the factors that the Court must take into consideration is "The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability in maintaining continuity." As such, it is absolutely essential to know what effect all of your temporary decisions may have on the trial court in fashioning a final judgment.

Temporary agreements may be reached between the parties through their respective attorneys, placed in writing and submitted to the trial court with a proposed order adopting the agreement. Temporary agreements will have little effect and may not be able to be enforced by the Court without a written order of the Court adopting the agreement. If the parties can not reach an agreement, a motion for temporary relief (on any of the areas referenced above) may be filed and must be set for hearing before the General Magistrate or Trial Judge. The General Magistrate is an officer of the Court who hears testimony and argument and makes a recommendation to the Trial Judge. It is sometimes advantageous to utilize the General Magistrate as hearing time is more readily available in many cases than that which a Trial Judge may provide you. Nevertheless, there are occasions in which it is not wise to utilize a General Magistrate as his or her findings and recommendations may be subject to attack by the opposing party by way of objections entitled "Exceptions to the finding(s) of the General Magistrate." You have a very limited period of time to object to the Referral to the General Magistrate by the Trial Judge and to file "Exceptions" to the Report of the General Magistrate. These are all important issues that you must discuss with your attorney.

Mediation

Mediation File Mediation is a tool that all divorce attorneys may choose to use when a marriage is going through the process of dissolution. We hold the belief that we should strive to handle your divorce with efficiency and a problem solving mindset. Mediation involves a mediator who is INDEPENDENT of both parties and will be an unbiased negotiator to help the two parties reach a solution that is satisfactory to both parties. Using a mediator in your divorce case is designed to help maintain an amicable atmosphere without the formality of a courtroom. Everything that is discussed and negotiated during the mediation with you, your spouse, your respective attorneys and the qualified mediator is always confidential. If you and your spouse want to reach a consentual agreement without going through a long and expensive courtroom situation, you always have the option of utilizing a mediator.

Our attorneys have invaluable experience in working with these types of professional mediators. When you and your spouse don’t want to go through the economic strain and emotional trauma of a litigated divorce, a mediator, along with your attorney, can result in faster and more cost-effective marriage dissolution. More than half of all the divorce cases that we deal with in our offices are successfully mediated. If you and your spouse are interested in mediating your divorce, we are here to assist you.

When you go through the divorce procedure with a mediator, your attorney will present your case to the family law-trained mediator. Our attorneys have exceptional experience and knowledge in family law and divorce law in the State of Florida. On occasion, there may be certain issues that end up being difficult to resolve even with the aid of a mediator. If you and your spouse decide to take certain aspects of your divorce to trial, you still can choose the benefit of having reached an agreement on a percentage of your contested issues.

No matter what your divorce issues are, we can offer you exceptional legal representation and advice throughout every aspect of your marriage dissolution.

Children

Child holding hand Parental Responsibility, Parenting and Time-Sharing are some of the most difficult matters to resolve in a family court matter. The trial court will enter an order that parental responsibility for a minor child will be shared by both parents unless the court finds that shared parental responsibility will be detrimental to the child. "Shared Parental Responsibility" is a court ordered relationship in which both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child and in which both parents confer with each other so that major decisions effecting the welfare of the child will be determined. "Sole Parental Responsibility" means a court ordered relationship in which one parent makes the decisions regarding the minor child. The trial court may grant the party the ultimate responsibility over specific aspects of the child's welfare or may divide those responsibilities between the parties based on the best interests of the child. Areas of responsibility may include education, health care and any other responsibilies that the trial court finds unique to a particular family. For purposes of establishing or modifying parental responsibility in creating, developing, approving or modifying a parenting plan, including a time-sharing schedule, the court will evaluate all of the following factors: 61.13a-t.

The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship, to honor the time-sharing schedule and to be reasonable when changes are required
The anticipated division of parental responsibilities will be delegated to third parties.
The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to determine, consider and act upon the needs of the child as opposed to the needs and desires of the parent.
The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
The georgraphic viability of the parenting plan, with special attention paid to the needs of school-age children and the amount of time to be spent traveling to effectuate the parenting plan. This factor does not create a presumption for or against relocation of either parent with a child.
The moral fitness of the parents.
The mental and physical health of the parents.
The home, school and community record of the child.
The reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding and experience to express a preference.
The demonstrated knowledge, capacity and disposition of each parent to be informed of the circumstances of the minor child including, but not limited to, the child's friends, teachers, medical care providers, daily activities and favorite things.
The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child, such as discipline and daily schedules for homework, meals and bedtime.
The demonstracted capacity of each parent to communicate with and keep the other parent informed of issues and activities regarding the minor child, and the willingness of each parent to adopt a unified front on all major issues when dealing with the child.
Evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, child abandonment or child neglect, regardless of whether a prior or pending action relating to those issues has been brought. If the court accepts evidence of prior or pending actions regarding domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment or child neglect, the court must specifically acknowledge in writing that such evidence was considered when evaluating the best interests of the child.
Evidence that either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding any prior or pending action regarding domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment or child neglect.
The particular parenting tasks customarily performed by each parent and the division of parental responsibilities before the institution of litigation and during the pending litigation, including the extent to which parenting responsibilities were undertaken by third parties.
The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to participate and be involved in the child's school and extracurricular activities.
The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to maintain an environment for the child which is free from substance abuse.
The capacity and disposition of each parent to protect the child from the ongoing litigation as demonstrated by not discussing the litigation with the child, not sharing documents or electronic media related to the litigation with the child and refraining from disparaging comments about the other parent to the child.
The developmental stages and needs of the child and the demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to meet the child's developmental needs.
Any other factor that is relevant to the determination of a specific parenting plan, including the time-sharing schedule.

It is absolutely critical that you prepare your case concerning your minor children with your attorney by gathering and reviewing potential evidence (including witnesses, writings, photographs and videos) that will support your position concerning the factors set forth above. Trial courts will, in effect, place a checkmark next to the parent who is favored with respect to each of the factors referenced above when fashioning a temporary or final parental responsibility/time-sharing order. It is absolutely crucial that you work with your attorney with respect to preparation of all the evidence concerning these factors.

Interstate

State Map It is very important to examine the issues of "Jurisdiction" (the power of the Court to hear the case) and "Venue" (the appropriate location to hold the hearing or trial). If you are located in the state of Florida, it is possible to "domesticate" your out-of-state order so that this order is enforced as an order from the state of Florida. It may also be wise, under the circumstances, to simply seek to enforce the out-of-state order without "domesticating" or transforming the orders into Florida state orders. It may also be necessary to seek enforcement of your judgment outside of the country if one of the spouses has fled or relocated. All of the options available to you should be carefully explored by a family law specialist.

Evaluation and Tax Considerations

Dollar split It is absolutely necessary that you properly value marital assets so that a proper and appropriate distribution of the same can be made so that neither spouse is short-changed. It is also important to determine what value will be applied to an asset if it is to be sold in the future, such as the marital home. Often times it may be necessary to employ a valuation expert to determine the value of a business. These are matters that must be carefully discussed with your attorney. It is significant to know that a Trial Judge should ordinarily consider income tax consequences if counsel for the parties neglect to present evidence on the subject. It is extremely significant that you utilize an attorney with specialized knowledge to set forth your valuation presentation.