Miami family law attorney blog
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
A common issue in many Miami divorce cases deals with calculating alimony when a spouse is underemployed or unemployed. This issue was on appeal in the case Dottaviano v. Dottaviano, 219 So.3d 990 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) where the wife objected to the court imputing income to her and rejecting some of her monthly expenses.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
A common issue when it comes to self-employed parties is difficulty in ascertaining the party's income. When it comes to calculating child support and/or alimony, a Florida family court can impute income to a party who is found to be under reporting income. Such was the case in Newman v. Newman, 221 So.3d 642 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) where the wife appealed the trial court's denial of alimony.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
What do you need to get a restraining order against someone for stalking in Florida? For one, it is necessary to show a repeated pattern of following, harassing or cyber stalking another person. In Kriebel v. Piedrahita, 219 So.3d 867 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) we see how a love triangle led to a restraining order being entered against the wife by the mistress.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Name Change
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, the saying goes, and a person's name can impact a first impression. For this reason, many people choose to legally change their name. But what if a parent wants to change a child's name? A case recently considered in Miami family court regarding the name change of a minor child shows us how Florida courts analyze the right of a father not listed on a birth certificate to participate in a proceeding for a name change of his purported child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Fun
The first official weekend of summer is upon us and so is your line-up of fun!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Support
Retroactive child support in Florida can be ordered dating two years prior to the date of a petition to establish child support. This is support that applies in the past - for every month that a parent was supposed to be paying support that he or she was not, the court can order that a parent pay that amount as a lump sum or in monthly installments. Calculating retroactive support requires the court to look at the incomes of the parties during the retroactive period.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Of note in recent Florida family law appellate decisions is grandparent visitation rights. While Florida recognizes a legal parent's constitutional right to privacy and therefore does not give standing to grandparents to petition for visitation rights, a Florida court must uphold and enforce a grandparent visitation order entered in another state. An interesting issue related to this came up in the case Downs v. Nottingham, 219 So.3d 244 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Attorneys' fees may be a sore spot for some parties in a Miami divorce and it seems they keep coming up in recent appellate decisions. Generally, the analysis for who pays attorneys' fees and costs in a Florida divorce revolves around need and ability to pay - that is the need of the spouse asking for fees to be paid and the ability of the other spouse to pay them. In the case Richards v. Weber, 221 So.3d 714 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), a court's decision to make the husband responsible for 70% of the wife's attorneys' fees and costs is reviewed.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
While divorce itself can be an unfortunate event, the rift that can sometimes occur in families as a result of the divorce is just as unfortunate. Take the case of Martinez v. Martinez, 219 So.3d 259 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) where the wife had to also sue her adult stepson as part of the divorce case because she alleged her husband was transferring marital assets to his son in an effort to deprive her of them.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Fun
Happy Father's Day weekend, superheroes! While you honor the dads in your life, consider these family events happening in South Florida June 15 through June 17 that can help you celebrate.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Equalizing payments are ordered in Florida divorces when a party is awarded certain assets that may not be capable of immediate liquidation. In the case of a house, for example, if one spouse is awarded the house and that award in light of all other equitable distribution in the case provides for an inequitable split of the marital estate, the spouse keeping the house would owe the other spouse an equalizing payment to cover the other spouse's share of equity in the marital estate. If this is ordered, the court must make sure certain parameters are covered in ordering the payment.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Once a Florida child support order is entered, the party responsible for paying child support must keep up with his/her payment obligation to avoid a motion for contempt. Motions for contempt can result in sanctions such as suspension of a driver's license and even incarceration. Specific findings must be made, however, in order for a court to hold a party in contempt for non-payment of child support as we see in the case Crawford v. Crawford, 219 So.3d 224 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
A Florida divorce can be expensive when you consider attorneys' fees and fees spent on experts such as forensic accountants, vocational evaluators, etc. For this reason, parties sometimes agree to sell marital assets and split the proceeds even before the divorce is finalized so that each can free up cash to pay for the divorce proceedings. The parties in the case Rosaler v. Rosaler, 219 So.3d 840 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) agreed to do just that with a pricey diamond, but how the court classified the proceeds of the sale at the end of the case brought on disagreement.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Parties involved in a dissolution of marriage case in Miami should be aware that a local administrative rule is in place which generally requires the parties to maintain a financial status quo with some exceptions. This essentially means a party cannot pull the financial rug from under the other party, so-to-speak, until there is a court order entered stating otherwise. Part of the financial status quo may include joint bank accounts. The case Gotro v. Gotro, 218 So.3d 494 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) shows us how Florida family courts handle funds in a joint account that have been spent during a pending divorce case.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Family Fun
School's out, hooray! Kick off the first weekend of summer break with this selection of family fun for the weekend of June 8 through June 10.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Same-Sex Family Law
Before same-sex marriage became legal in Florida, many couples opted to enter cohabitation agreements which spelled out their rights and responsibilities in the event of their break-up. Although it is usually best to have a cohabitation agreement reduced to writing, Florida law recognizes oral cohabitation agreements between unmarried parties. The case Armao v. McKenney, 218 So.3d 481 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) shows us how a court determines the existence of an oral contract in these cases.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Divorce
A recent appellate case shows us once again in a Florida divorce how the court determines who pays attorneys' fees and costs. The basic standard for making this decision is need and ability to pay - the need of the spouse requesting fees to be paid and the ability of the other spouse to pay them. In Hanson v. Hanson, 217 So.3d 1165 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), we review a court's decision to order the husband to pay over $80,000 to the wife for her attorneys' fees and costs.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Support
Once a man finds out he is not the father of a child for whom he is ordered to pay child support, he may be able to file a petition to disestablish paternity in order to cancel his child support obligation. Certain requirements must be met in order for the court to grant the petition. The case DOR v. MJM, 217 So.2d 1148 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) sheds light on how a Florida family court interprets those requirements.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Alimony
When a spouse commits adultery, how does that affect Florida alimony? Generally, in order for a court to take adultery into consideration in a Florida divorce case, there has to be some financial connection to the marriage. For example, if a spouse spent money on furthering an affair, the other spouse may be entitled to a credit for the money spent. Alimony, however, is affected by an extramarital affair in a different way.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Family Fun
School's almost out and pre-celebration is in order in the form of family weekend fun. Check out this line up we procured for you to choose from.
