Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Calculating child support in Florida is controlled by Florida Statute 61.30. The Statute goes over the type of income that will be considered in calculating support as well as any discretion the court has in adjusting the child support guidelines. The Florida child support guidelines are based on the net incomes of the parents, any daycare or medical insurance premiums being paid as well as a threshold amount of overnight timesharing being exercised by the parents.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
The last weekend of March is here already, can you believe it?! South Florida has lots of family fun to check out this weekend in our event guide.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
It is important for parties to bring court reporters to their Florida family law hearings as a type of insurance. This is because if you want to appeal a family court ruling, you usually cannot do so without a transcript of the proceedings. This is illustrated in the case Joyner v. Worley, 1D17-3540 Joyner v. Worley (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) in which the former husband appealed an order but did not provide a transcript of the proceedings.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
The year in appellate cases started off strong with the case Julia v. Julia, 4D17-2261 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019) in which the former husband appealed an array of issues in his Florida divorce ranging from equitable distribution to child support to alimony. Ultimately, the former husband prevailed on appeal on the issues raised.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Time and time again, we see cases in which parties’ marital settlement agreements are not fully clear as to intent. A paragraph about child support, for example, may say something, but when read years later, can cause different interpretations. These different interpretations usually lead to expensive post-judgment litigation as was the case in Quillen v. Quillen, 247 So.3d 40 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Child support may be established via an administrative proceeding in which documents are sent to the parties by mail to establish child support. If a party disagrees with the proposed child support amount in mailed documents, he or she may request a hearing. As part of this process, retroactive child support can be established. Retroactive child support is that which was owed prior to the order being entered establishing the child support obligation. How far back can retroactive support be ordered?
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
Spring is here, and also for many, spring break! Kick off the weekend of vacation and nice weather with our weekend family fun guide.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
“Although determining whether notice provided is reasonable depends upon the circumstances of each case, we have not identified a single case where less than twenty-four hours' notice of a hearing impacting an individual's parental rights was upheld as reasonable.” - The Second District Court of Appeal in Florida in Ferris v. Winn, 242 So.3d 509 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018). In this case, a father’s right to communicate with his children was suspended after he received less than 24 hours notice of a hearing on the issue.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
In order to modify a Florida parenting plan, a party must show a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time of entry of the parenting plan. A court has much less discretion in modifying a parenting plan than it does when initially creating one. The main components of Florida parenting plans are timesharing and parental responsibility. In a case in which the mother sought to remove the father’s ultimate decision-making authority concerning extracurricular activities, the court granted more relief than requested by the mother.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
The State of Florida is authorized to initiate child support proceedings by serving a parent with notice of a proceeding to establish an administrative support order. This process is done by mail with a parent mailing requested proof of income and the Department of Revenue creating a proposed order to be sent to the parent who will pay child support. If the party disagrees with the order he or she can request a hearing. Because failure to respond to these documents could result in the entry of an order against a party which may not have accurate information, it is important not to ignore these mailed notices.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
To calculate child support in Florida, a Court looks at the incomes of both parents. Income is defined by Florida Statute 61.30 and includes business income. When using business income to calculate child support, Florida law requires the court to subtract ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce income from a party’s gross business income.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events**
It’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend and if you’re looking for family-friendly fun, look no further than our weekend family fun guide!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Parties to a Florida divorce case are understandably concerned about receiving a fair trial in front of a judge. If a party has a reasonable fear that he or she will not receive a fair hearing in front of a judge, he or she may file a motion for disqualification. However, as we see in the case Erlinger v. Federico, 242 So.3d 1177, certain behavior by a judge, although unpleasant to a litigant, does not automatically disqualify the judge from presiding over a case.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
An important component of a Florida family law case is proper procedure. Failure to follow proper procedural steps could result in a party losing a valid argument or claim based on technicalities. For example, knowing where to file your case is an important first procedural step that needs to be followed to start your legal process. In the case Robinson v. Robinson, 248 So.3d 174 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018), an order dismissing a suit to set aside a mediated settlement agreement was appealed.
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.
