Category Archives: Family Law
Grandparent Visitation After a Divorce
When Florida couples with children file for divorce, custody and visitation issues typically will focus on the parents and time-sharing agreements. In many cases, however, grandparents feel that their visitation rights aren’t taken into account, particularly in situations where those grandparents have played a significant role in childrearing. According to a recent article in… Read More »
Common Mistakes for Divorcees in Retirement
When you combine the aging population of our state with the typical rate of filing for divorce, you’ll see why it’s important to think about divorce issues that retirees are likely to face. To be sure, data from the census suggests that Florida has the fifth-highest divorce rate in the country, with more than… Read More »
Dementia and Competency to Seek Divorce
If an older adult in Florida suffers from dementia, will a court consider him competent to file for divorce? That’s the question that a Palm Beach County circuit judge recently faced when 87-year-old Martin Zelman filed for divorce. Ultimately, Circuit Judge Charles Burton decided that Zelman “isn’t competent enough to seek a divorce” from… Read More »
Alimony Reform and Co-Parenting Issues
Did you know that Florida lawmakers have introduced a new issue into the bill aimed at alimony reform? And, according to a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, many legislators aren’t happy about it. In short, Senator Tom Lee asked Senator Kelli Stargel, who sponsored the alimony reform measure, to include a provision about… Read More »
Same-Sex Divorce Upheld in Florida Appellate Court
Earlier this year, same-sex marriage became legal in Florida. While this change in the law suggested that same-sex divorce also could become a possibility in our state, no clear decisions had made same-sex divorce clearly permissible throughout Florida. However, a recent decision by Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a decision “cementing the… Read More »
Funding for Healthy Co-Parenting Research in Florida
Many couples who file for divorce will need to consider the effects of their decision on their children. Indeed, questions of child custody and visitation can become extremely contentious—even in divorces that at first appeared to be uncontested. According to a recent article in the Tallahassee Democrat, researchers at Florida State University just received… Read More »
Visitation Rights for Sperm Donors
A recent child visitation case in New Jersey has same-sex couples with kids across the country—including those in Florida—concerned about how future courts will decide similar cases. In short, according to an article in Slate, a NJ court ordered visitation rights for a sperm donor. The legal parents are two lesbian mothers who had… Read More »
Will Alimony Reform Lower Florida Divorce Rates?
Florida frequently is ranked as one of the states with the highest divorce rates, based on figures reported by the U.S. Census. But will alimony reform in the state lead more couples to rethink whether divorce is actually the right decision for them? According to a recent article in the Saint Petersburg Blog, some… Read More »
Same-Sex Marriage Legal in Florida
Since 2013, advocates for same-sex marriage have been working to legalize same-sex marriage (and same-sex divorce) in Florida. As of January 5, same-sex couples can now marry in Florida. The recent shift in the law makes Florida the 36th state in the country to permit same-sex marriage, according to a recent article in Florida… Read More »
Hidden Assets and Divorce
If you’re in the process of getting divorced in Florida, it’s important to think about all the property—everything—that you and your spouse acquired during the marriage. In particular, with contentious divorces, or those likely to get heated when it comes to property division, spouses might be “justified in searching through the family tax returns… Read More »
