Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Can You Get a Default Divorce If You Have Minor Children?
It is only natural to want to avoid doing unpleasant tasks, and divorce is one of the most unpleasant experiences a person can go through. Ignoring the fact that your spouse is divorcing you will not make the divorce case go away. The court can still finalize your divorce, although if you refuse to… Read More »
Frequently Asked Questions About Collaborative Divorce in Florida
No one wants an ugly divorce, but filing a petition in court that contains demands that you want your spouse to satisfy and then speaking to each other in a calm tone of voice and calling it amicable is like putting lipstick on a pig. You are still threatening your spouse with a legal… Read More »
Alternatives to Contentious Divorce
People whose goal in divorce is to make their spouse suffer as uc as possible and leave their spouse destitute only exist in the movies, with very few exceptions. Sure, there are plenty of strong emotions in divorce cases, and people who were stubborn when they were married do not usually become cooperative just… Read More »
Don’t Let Debt Ruin Your Marriage
Money can’t buy love, but if divorce statistics are any indication, it is perfectly capable of ruining it. Couples take vows to stay together for richer or for poorer, but ongoing financial stress can bring out the worst in everyone. Sometimes couples blame each other for their financial problems; you think that everything would… Read More »
What Is the Difference Between Financial Infidelity and Marital Misconduct?
If you ask divorced people what caused the breakdown of their marriages, they will usually tell you that it was money, lies, or both. Another man or another woman entering the picture and stealing your spouse’s heart doesn’t help, but when a marriage breaks down because of an extramarital affair, the affair is only… Read More »
You Can’t Base an Imputed Income Amount on Wishful Thinking
No one likes to hear someone say, “You could make so much money if only you would do X, Y, and Z.” Coming from a party guest, especially one that you do not know very well, you can easily chalk it up to infelicitous small talk. Between spouses, though, this topic of conversation amounts… Read More »
The “Dinner for Chumps” Parenting Plan
The home stretch of co-parenting is supposed to be the easiest part. No one ever said that it is easy to be a parent to teenagers, but as your children get close to adulthood, you can see a light at the end of the tunnel, where your ex-spouse no longer has a say in… Read More »
Lump Sum Alimony
Welcome to Florida, where the things that people rant and rave about on the Internet become the law of the land. For example, last year, a law went into effect whereby couples may no longer include permanent alimony as a provision of marital settlement agreements, nor may judges order it in divorce trials. The… Read More »
When Can You Get Out of Going to Family Mediation?
In virtually every area of the law, most cases do not go to trial, but whether or not this comes as reassuring news depends on the context. If you are facing criminal charges, it probably does not cheer you up that you will probably eventually reach the conclusion that pleading guilty is your best… Read More »
Can Unmarried Couples Go to Court Over Property Division?
People say that marriage is just a piece of paper, but that piece of paper makes all the difference in a divorce case. Florida does not recognize common law marriage. Unless you and your spouse have a legally valid marriage certificate, nothing that either of you has bought during your marriage counts as marital… Read More »
