Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
If an ex-spouse stops paying court-ordered alimony, a remedy available to the other ex-spouse is a contempt proceeding. At a hearing on a motion for contempt, if the court finds a party willfully failed to pay court-ordered support, a suspended jail sentence may be imposed, contingent on the party paying what is called a purge amount within a certain amount of time to avoid jail. Because incarceration is involved, a court must be careful to provide due process protections in these types of hearings.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Alimony
Sometimes, it is appropriate for a court to combine two different types of alimony and award both in a Florida divorce. In one case, however, this was not appropriate, as found by an appellate court in Hedden v. Hedden, 240 So.3d 148 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
In a tale about two warring neighbors, an issue arose in a Florida appellate case after a trial court granted an injunction restraining one of the neighbors from coming within 500 feet of the other neighbor. The problem, of course, was that this order restricted the neighbor from living in his own house since it was within the 500-foot parameter laid out by the court’s order.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can a party subpoena all medical records in a Florida divorce? The answer depends on what is at issue in the case, and whether or not the party requesting the records has a good reason for being entitled to them. Take the case Brooks v. Brooks, 239 So.3d 758 (Fla. 1st DCA, 2018) in which the wife subpoenaed the husband’s medical, psychotherapist, pharmacy and employment records based on her allegations of domestic violence and the husband’s angry tirades during custody exchanges.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Annulment
What is the difference between annulment and divorce in Florida? Annulment is a legal declaration that a marriage never existed because it was void or voidable under the law. A divorce, on the other hand, is a legal declaration that a marriage existed but it is now dissolved. Examples of a void or voidable marriage include a marriage between individuals related within a certain degree or a marriage in which one of the spouses is still married to someone else.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Divorce can be a process that is filled with animosity. Adding adult children to the opposition no doubt adds to this animosity. The case Perez v. Perez, 238 So.3d 422 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018) presents a situation in which the former wife felt she had no choice but to sue her adult children over property that was at issue in her Florida divorce.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
The first weekend of March is upon us, and while the weather continues to heat up, stay cool with our weekend family fun guide!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
When a party seeks to modify his/her alimony obligation or payments, the party can ask the court to retroactively apply any modification so that he or she receives a credit for the alimony amount that should have been paid during the retroactive period. This period is usually limited to the date a party filed a petition for modification. If the court finds alimony should be reduced or increased, it can order that such reduction or increase apply back to the date the petition was filed. If alimony was reduced by $100 per month, for example, and the order was entered 12 months after the petition for modification was filed, the payor might be entitled to a $1,200 credit for over payment of alimony.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
We see time and time again how language in a Florida marital settlement agreement can be interpreted in multiple ways. Ultimately, how the court interprets the language is what controls, and how the court arrives at that decision is based on established Florida law. In the case Wells v. Wells, 239 So.3d 179 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018), an issue arose regarding the interpretation of a clause of a marital settlement agreement which gave the ex-wife possessory rights over the marital home for what turned out to be a disputed length of time.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
When domestic violence threatens a person’s safety, in addition to calling the police, a person has the option of filing a petition for injunction against domestic violence in Florida. The person accused of domestic violence, however, is still entitled to what is known as due process. This basically refers to the person’s right to be sued under “fair” circumstances.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a business interest needs to be divided in a Florida divorce, parties are usually required to hire a forensic accountant to provide expert testimony as to the value of the business, and the accountant usually values it based on the assets held by the business as well as the goodwill associated with the business. In the case Soria v. Soria, 237 So.3d 454 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018), the former husband appealed the trial court’s decision to value his business interest based on the par value of the stock in the business.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
It’s the last weekend of February, can you believe it? We hope your year continues to get better, and our weekend family fun guide is here to help.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Florida divorces that include substantial assets and income often include claims for alimony and complicated equitable distribution. Such was the case in Burnett v. Burnett, 237 So.3d 447 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) in which the former husband appealed a final judgment awarding permanent alimony, requiring him to maintain life insurance to secure the alimony award and requiring him to pay 100% of the former wife’s attorneys’ fees and costs.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
While we hope that divorcing couples can part ways amicably, that is not always the case. Unfortunately, the divorce court is sometimes put in the position of referee, having to enter orders that control the conduct of the parties toward each other. This is what happened in the case Ash v. Campion, 247 So.3d 581 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
A supportive relationship can affect an alimony award before it is even established. That is what happened in the case Bruce v. Bruce, 243 So.3d 461 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018) where at the time of trial, the former wife was residing with her boyfriend.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
There are multiple types of alimony that can be awarded in Florida for a short time, a moderate amount of time or permanently. What type of alimony is awarded in any specific case depends on what the parties agree on, or if the judge will decide alimony, factors such as the length of the marriage, the contributions of both spouses, and primarily the need of the spouse asking for alimony and the ability of the other spouse to pay it. When parties agree on alimony that is recorded in a marital settlement agreement, it is important that the intent of the parties with regard to alimony is accurately reflected in the wording used in the agreement.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
We hope your week was filled with love! Keep the positive vibes going with our weekend family fun guide which includes a circus, a free movie night, and much more!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Requesting a psychological evaluation in a Florida child custody case requires more than just a “hunch” that a parent has psychological issues. There must be competent and substantial evidence to support such a request, and it must be related to the best interest of the children involved. In the case Curtis v. Reinhardt, 243 So.3d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), an order requiring an accused sex offender to undergo psychosexual evaluation was appealed.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Prenuptial Agreements
Couples getting divorced in Florida who had a prenuptial agreement entered in another state or even another country may wonder whether or not the agreement will be valid in Florida. The answer to this question as is the case with many other legal questions is “It depends”. Today we review a case in which the parties entered a prenuptial agreement in Israel and in their Florida divorce, the wife objected to enforcement of the agreement.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
The way settlement agreements are worded is a very important part of Florida family law cases. If there is ambiguity in a settlement agreement, this can cause uncertainty, confusion and conflict in enforcement of the terms of an agreement. Take for example the case Wohlberg v. Conner, 234 So.3d 841 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018) in which the parties disagreed regarding the meaning of a part of their parenting plan which controlled timesharing.
