Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Part of a parenting plan in a Florida child custody case concerns parental responsibility - that is the right of each parent to make major decisions regarding their children such as choice of doctor, school, etc. A Florida family court can award shared or sole parental responsibility or a hybrid of the two known as shared parental responsibility with ultimate decision-making authority. As one appellate case shows, ultimate decision-making must be awarded with careful parameters.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Support
What type of income is credited to a parent in calculating Florida child support? The answer is, pretty much all income. As illustrated in the case Schafstall v. Clifford-Schafstall, 211 So.3d 1108 (Fla. 2017), payments made toward living expenses by a third party on behalf of a parent can be credited to a parent for purposes of calculating child support.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Procedure
When a party to a Florida family law case fails to pay court-ordered support, if he or she is found in contempt, that party may face jail time, an award of attorneys’ fees to the opposing party, and/or other coercive sanctions. Getting the court to hold a party in contempt requires specific findings to be made as explained in the appellate case Brown v. Brown, 210 So.3d 781 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Procedure
Sometimes it is necessary to seek a continuance or delay of a hearing, but it may be difficult to do so if you have a trial date set in your Miami family law case. The decision to grant or deny a request for rescheduling of trial is within a Florida family court's discretion, but on appeal, that discretion can be reviewed to determine if it was abused. What factors may lead an appellate court to reverse an order denying a request for continuance? We examine them in the case Ramadon v. Ramadon, 216 So.3d 26 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Domestic Violence
A person who reasonably fears he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence can request that an injunction or stay away order be entered against the aggressor. How does this standard play out in real cases? As is seen in Zapiola v. Kordecki, 210 So.3d 249 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), the court must scrutinize the timing of the alleged incidents, and the reasonableness of the fear alleged.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Sometimes, we come across Florida parenting plans which grant a parent "liberal" visitation with the children, with the other parent having primary time-sharing. But what does "liberal" mean? Each parent may have a different definition of what this means, causing conflict and inconsistent time-sharing when a parenting plan lacks a specific schedule.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Alimony
Before a Miami divorce court can determine whether alimony is warranted in a Florida divorce case, the court must set aside to each spouse his/her share of the marital estate and his/her separate assets and liabilities. After this, the court can determine the need of the spouse asking for the alimony and the ability of the other spouse to pay it since some assets may generate income that can cut down on a spouse's need for alimony.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Alimony
Temporary alimony can be awarded while a Florida dissolution of marriage case is pending. The same analysis applies to temporary alimony awards as in the case of alimony awarded in a final judgment - the court must find there is a need for support and that the other spouse has the ability to pay it. Do anticipated expenses count as "need" for the spouse asking for expenses? We find out in the appellate case Ard v. Ard, 208 So.3d 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Grandparent visitation rights in Florida are generally restricted due to the constitutional right to privacy that parents have in raising their children. However, a 2017 case decided by the Florida Supreme Court opens the door to visitation for grandparents who obtain a child custody order in another state.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Support
A general rule followed in Florida family law cases is that you must put the other party on notice as to what relief you are seeking before that relief can be granted. Therefore, a Florida family court can only consider at trial those issues which were properly raised by the parties in their pleadings or those issues the parties agreed to try by consent.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Procedure
When a court makes an oral ruling that contradicts what is eventually written in the order that follows, what are the parties to do? We examine this issue in the appellate case Singer v. Singer, 211 So.3d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Alimony
Florida family courts sometimes make mistakes in their rulings. For that reason, it is important to have a Florida family law attorney at least review a court’s order with you immediately after it is entered, especially if you chose to proceed in your divorce case without an attorney. As seen in Conlin v. Conlin, 212 So.3d 487 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), two costly mistakes in the trial court’s order negatively affecting the former husband could have gone unchallenged had he not had an attorney helping him.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Procedure
There are sometimes parties who are so uncooperative in a Florida family law case that the party can frustrate not just the other party in the case, but also the judge. Such was the case in Pattison v. Pattison, 210 So.3d 785 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) where the former husband’s willful non-payment of alimony was noted as “dilatory and egregious”. As illustrated in this case, this finding was not enough to deprive the former husband of his due process rights.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Divorce
Sometimes, due to transfers of money and title to property during marriage, the waters of equitable distribution in a Florida divorce can get murky. Such was the situation in the appellate case Landrum v. Landrum, 212 So.3d 486 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) in which the former husband appealed a finding that his pre-Marital property was marital in nature.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Support
Until what age can a parent be obligated to pay child support in Florida? Generally, once a child turns 18, a parent is no longer responsible for paying support, with some exceptions. In the case Garcia-Lawson v. Lawson, 211 So.3d 137 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) we review a former wife's appeal of a final judgment denying her request for retroactive child support over three years after the parties' child turned 18.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Divorce
Divorce settlement agreements are contracts that are interpreted and enforced by a Miami family court similar to the way most other contracts are reviewed. Generally, a court cannot modify the equitable distribution terms of a Miami divorce decree without the consent of both parties, and the Court is bound by the plain language of the agreement in enforcement proceedings.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Divorce
When a Florida divorce settlement agreement states that one spouse will receive exclusive use, ownership and possession of the marital residence and the parties continue to reside in the home together after the entry of the agreement, can the other spouse request that the court award rental payments to the owning spouse? This was one question presented to the appellate court in the case Hudson v. Hudson, 209 So.3d 656 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Procedure
Due process is a fundamental part of the legal system, including Florida family law cases. Due process includes the right to be heard and to receive fair notice about court proceedings. In the appellate case Barsis v. Barsis, 209 So.3d 654 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017), we see what happens on appeal when the appellate court determines a party was denied due process.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When a parent has not been present in a child's life for an extended period of time, this presents a challenge in awarding overnight time-sharing with that parent. Usually, a Florida child custody court will order a gradual increase in time-sharing to allow the child and parent to become acquainted or re-acquainted. However, child custody orders must not impede a parent's ability to establish regular and substantial contact with a child, as illustrated in the case Munoz v. Munoz, 210 So.3d 227 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017).
