Recent Blog Posts
Do You Really Have to Pay Temporary Alimony If Your Spouse Can Survive Financially Without Your Help?
Because temporary alimony, also called pendente lite alimony, automatically ends when the divorce becomes final, you might think that it is not the source of much conflict. The ostensible purpose of temporary alimony is to keep the household bills paid and the home mortgage from going into foreclosure while the divorce case is pending. … Read More »
Establish Legal Paternity Early If You Are Not Married to the Child’s Mother at the Time of the Child’s Birth
In Florida, there is more than one way to be a father. DNA testing is not the beginning and end of the story, and neither is marriage. Every man who has established legal paternity of his child by filing a voluntary declaration of paternity has a unique story, but they all have one thing… Read More »
Civil Contempt and Due Process in Florida Child Support Disputes
If a court has ever ordered you to pay child support, you know that the law takes a parent’s responsibility to support his or her children financially while they are minors very seriously. For example, past due child support payments were virtually the only reason that the federal government permitted garnishment of anyone’s coronavirus… Read More »
When Preteens Refuse to Visit One Parent: Reasonable Preference or Just Reacting to the Stress of Divorce?
One of the factors that Florida family courts consider when deciding on parenting time is the reasonable preference of the child. This factor is only relevant when the child is of middle school age or older. For a child’s reasonable preference to count toward the decision, he or she must meet with the judge… Read More »
Your Spouse Has the Right to Veto Your Financial Decisions Until Your Divorce Becomes Final
When a court finalizes your divorce, either by signing off on an agreement you and your spouse have arrived at during mediation or by the judge’s decision at the end of the trial, the final order of dissolution of marriage specifies what financial obligations, if any, one spouse still has to the other. The… Read More »
You Have the Right to Know the Truth about Your Spouse’s Finances During Your Divorce
Conflicts about money are one of the main causes of divorce, so many people feel a great sense of relief when their divorce is finalized and they no longer have to argue with their spouse about every purchase, every debt payment, and every loan or monetary gift to a friend or family member. After… Read More »
If You Continue to Pay for Your Young Adult Son or Daughter’s Healthcare, Is Your Ex-Spouse Obligated to Share the Cost?
Every parent knows that the odds are stacked against children being able to be completely financially independent of their parents as soon as they turn eighteen. While some young adults make it their priority to make a clean break from their parents’ rules and their parents’ financial support as soon as they turn eighteen,… Read More »
When the Court Lets You Keep the House, While Also Awarding Half of Its Value to Your Ex-Spouse
No two divorce judgments are alike; equitable distribution means dividing the couple’s property in a way that is fair, and that is different for every couple. Sometimes one spouse needs and wants the marital home much more than the other one does, in which case it is fair for him or her to keep… Read More »
When the Economy Tanks Right After You File for Divorce
In order for a divorce court to make a decision about equitable distribution of marital property, it must review the parties’ financial records that attest to their assets, debts, earning potential, and living expenses. If the divorce process takes a long time, or if one of the parties experiences a major change in financial… Read More »
Why Do Courts Agree or Refuse to Modify Parenting Plans?
After divorce, your relationship with your ex-spouse might not change as much as you expect. If you and your ex-spouse treated each other respectfully despite your disagreements and had a relatively peaceful divorce, then co-parenting after divorce probably will not be an unprecedented source of conflict. Likewise, if your spouse is manipulative, easily loses… Read More »
