Category Archives: Family Law
Florida Supreme Court Strikes Down Decades-Old Rule that Disadvantaged Biological Fathers
On June 28th, 2018 the Supreme Court of Florida issued a major ruling in a key family law case. In Treneka Simmonds v. Connor Perkins, Florida’s highest court struck down a decades-old legal rule that severely disadvantaged biological fathers by putting a child’s ‘legitimacy’ ahead of a father’s parental rights. This is an important… Read More »
Can a Child Choose Custody in Clearwater, Florida?
In Florida, child custody and visitation issues are handled under the state’s best interests of the child statute. Family law courts will work to find a child custody or shared parenting arrangement that is best for the health, safety, social development, and overall well being of the child. This raises an important question: Can… Read More »
Five Tips for Negotiating the Best Divorce Settlement
If you are going through a divorce in Clearwater, Florida, you are not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that around half of U.S. couples separate prior to their tenth wedding anniversary. Though divorce is common in our country, that does not make it any easier. Going through a divorce… Read More »
How are Multi-State Child Custody Cases Resolved?
In the modern world, it is not uncommon for people to move between states. This can make certain family law cases significantly more challenging to resolve. Most notably, if you are involved in a child custody dispute, and your child’s other parent lives in another state, there will be an additional layer of complexity… Read More »
What You Need to Know About Divorce and Your Mortgage
According to the most recent American Housing Survey, approximately 100 million American adults currently live in an owner-occupied house on which they have a mortgage. With these types of numbers, it is of little surprise that the family home is one of the most important, contentious issues in many divorce cases. For a lot… Read More »
What You Need to Know About Student Loans and Florida Divorce
For the last few decades, the cost of higher education has risen far faster than the rate of inflation. Americans have more student loan debt than ever before. According to data provided by Student Loan Hero, 44 million people are currently paying off student loans. Our collective student loan debt exceeds $1.4 trillion. There… Read More »
My Ex Keeps Breaking the Child Custody/Visitation Agreement
You probably felt a tremendous amount of relief on the day your child custody/visitation case was settled. Having a clear agreement in place can relieve a lot of confusion and stress. Unfortunately, for many Florida parents, this is not always the end of the legal process. For an agreement to mean anything, your ex… Read More »
Five Reasons Why a Prenuptial Agreement Might Be Invalid in Florida
Some Florida couples sign prenuptial agreements immediately prior to the start of the marriage. Simply put, a prenup is a legally binding contract that addresses certain issues related to property, assets, and debts. In Florida, prenuptial agreements are considered to be enforceable. That being said, to be upheld, your prenuptial agreement must conform to… Read More »
Florida Property Distribution: What is Transmutation?
Florida is an ‘equitable distribution’ jurisdiction (Florida Statutes 61.075). Under state law, a divorcing couple’s marital assets will be split up in a fair manner. This does not mean that there will always be a fifty-fifty division of property. Instead, Florida courts will take a comprehensive view of a couple’s individual circumstances in order… Read More »
How the Tax Cuts Could Impact Your Family Law Case
On December 22nd, 2017, President Trump signed the GOP tax reform bill into law. Among other things, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 has ramifications for family law cases. Here, our Clearwater family law attorney highlights some the most important things that you need to know about the 2017 tax cuts…. Read More »
