South Florida family events

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**

Decided on a costume for Halloween yet? You still have time, and while you’re out shopping for that perfectly spooky look, here is your listing of fun events to keep you and the family entertained this weekend.

Allowable sanctions for contempt of a Florida child custody order

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

When a parent fails to follow a parenting plan, is found in contempt and still fails to follow the plan, what is a court to do? One appellate case talks about what a court is not allowed to do when sanctioning the non-compliant parent.

Procedure: Standard for awarding attorneys' fees for bad faith conduct

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

Sometimes even after a Florida parenting plan is entered, problems can arise when the parties disagree as to the interpretation of certain provisions of the plan. Such was the case in Greene v. Greene, 1D17-2120 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) where the disagreement escalated to the point that the police were called multiple times. In some cases, the court can award attorneys’ fees to the offending party, but a certain standard must be met before doing so.

Florida alimony: In-kind versus direct payments and their affect on child support

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

How does alimony affect a Florida child support calculation and vice versa? Alimony is considered income to the spouse receiving it and is considered a deduction from the income of the spouse paying it. There are direct alimony payments (that is, payments made directly to the recipient) and there are in-kind payments (payments made on behalf of the recipient such as a phone bill or a mortgage payment). Are both of these types of payments deductible from the payor’s income when calculating child support?

Florida child custody: Competing interests between biological parents and third parties

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

Third parties who serve as parental figures in Florida usually provide love, support and comfort for children who are in their care. This is why it is difficult when a biological parent objects to a third party’s custody of a child - what do you do when a child has grown up with a third party but a biological parent wants custody of the child? Such was the case in Morris v. Morris, 1D16-4695 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) decided in the spring of this year.

South Florida family weekend events

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**

Pumpkin patches are abound in this week’s edition of South Florida Family Events! As you enjoy less humid weather, check out this weekend’s lineup of fun.

When a party dies while a Florida divorce case is pending

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Dissolution of Marriage

What happens in Florida when a party dies during a divorce proceeding? One appellate case considered this year involves that issue where the deceased former wife’s estate appealed an order dismissing her dissolution of marriage case.

Florida divorce: Can you lose ownership of a house for failure to pay alimony?

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

Say a party was ordered to pay alimony as part of a marital settlement agreement which also awarded joint ownership of the marital residence to both spouses. After the final judgment is entered, the party who is supposed to pay alimony falls behind on his payments and the other party files a motion for contempt. Can the court award the marital residence to the other spouse as punishment for the paying spouse’s failure to pay a large sum of alimony? This question was answered in the recent appellate case Frank v. Frank, 4D17-2201 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018).

Required language in a Florida divorce decree for permanent alimony

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

When is permanent alimony ordered in Florida? Under current statutory law, the court must make a finding that no other form of alimony is fair and reasonable under the circumstances. Without this finding in the final judgment, the alimony award is subject to reversal on appeal. In one recent appellate case, although the former wife successful proved on the trial level that the former husband may have been hiding income, her award of permanent alimony was reversed in part because of the lack of the required finding in the final judgment.

Maximizing deductions in a Florida child support case

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

Child Support is calculated in Florida applying various deductions each parent is entitled to claim in determining a parent’s net income. For example, aside from taxes, medicare and social security deductions, a parent is entitled to credit for health insurance premiums and support payments made for other children. In one recent case, we see how the appellate court reviewed an appeal of a child support order that included these deductions.

South Florida family weekend events

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**

The first week of fall flew by and we’re already at the end of September! As we move into October, our lineup of South Florida family weekend fun has you covered when it comes to events everyone in the family will enjoy.

Florida paternity: Biological fathers and legal fathers

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity

Father’s rights received a boost in Florida this year when the Florida Supreme Court issued a decision which clarified that biological fathers of children born in an intact marriage have the right to assert paternity. Before this ruling, the presumption that a child born to an intact marriage was the child of the husband of that marriage (even if not biologically related) defeated many biological father’s claims for paternity. Another recent case applies the new ruling to allow a biological father to pursue his parental rights over his twin children.

The affect of unborn children on a Florida child support calculation

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

A parent who is ordered to pay child support for one child may have other children he or she is obligated to financially support. If the parent is court ordered to pay child support for the other children, the amount that parent actually pays by court order would be deducted from his income for purposes of calculating child support. What about when a child is anticipated, but not yet born, can a court take this into consideration in calculating child support for an existing child?

Florida child support: No contempt where order is not definite or clear

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

A party who fails to abide by a court order may be held in contempt. The consequences of this can include incarceration, money fines and other sanctions. In order for a court to hold a party in contempt, there must be showing that an order mandates the party to do (or not do) something, and that party intentionally failed to comply with the order. Motions for contempt are most commonly used in Florida family law cases to enforce child support payments.

Florida child support arrears related to a domestic violence injunction

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

When a party fails to pay court ordered child support, the amount of payment that is overdue is called arrears. Arrears are considered vested, meaning the person to whom the money is owed has full rights to the funds. An interesting issue arose in a recent appellate case concerning the contention that a party owed eight years of arrears based on a temporary injunction entered in 2007.

South Florida family weekend events

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**

The first weekend of fall is here already and we have a lineup of South Florida family weekend fun to help you ease into the new season. Choose from a fall festival, a nighttime nature walk and more.

Temporary fee award for civil theft claim in Florida divorce

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Dissolution of Marriage

Temporary attorneys’ fee awards in Florida are difficult to attack because Florida law provides judges with broad discretion in temporary relief proceedings. This is because any inequity can be remedied at the time the final judgment is entered when court can look at the financial standings of the parties as a whole. This is illustrated in the recent appellate case Stein v. Stein, 4D18-493 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018) wherein the husband appealed a $138,000 temporary attorneys’ fees and cost award to the wife.

Use of a vocational expert in a Florida divorce

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

A spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed may have income imputed to him or her for purposes of calculating alimony in Florida. The spouse who is asking the court to impute income to the other spouse has the burden of proving that the non-working spouse could be working or earning more money. The specific findings which must be made in these cases in explored in the recent appellate case Masino v. Masino, 1D18-450 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).

Florida divorce: Signing a mortgage on a non-marital property

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Dissolution of Marriage

It is generally understood that property a spouse owns prior to marriage is non-marital property belonging to that spouse. During a marriage, sometimes it becomes necessary for the non-owning spouse to sign mortgage documents related to the non-marital property. A recent appellate case examines how this act affects each spouse’s interest in the non-marital property.