Miami family law attorney blog
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Is a party required to provide his or her mental health records to the opposing party in a Florida divorce? This issue arose in the case Laforest v. Laforest, 4D19-2189 (Fla. 4th DCA December 11, 2019) in which the husband appealed an order requiring him to produce his mental health records.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When parties to a Florida divorce just cannot get along, does this justify awarding sole parental responsibility to one parent? This issue arose in the case Musgrave v. Musgrave, 2D18-2792 (Fla. 2d DCA November 27, 2019) in which the court noted animosity between the parties and awarded sole parental responsibility to the former wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a family member loans money to a married couple, is that loan repayable by both parties at divorce? This was an issue in the case Burns v. Cole, 1D18-3979 (Fla. 1st DCA November 26, 2019) where the trial court characterized money given to a couple by the former husband’s mother as a loan, but ordered that the former husband would be fully responsible for repaying it.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Are you ready for Super Bowl weekend in Miami? It’s here, along with your South Florida weekend family fun guide!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
If parties separate and one spouse moves to a different county than the other spouse, in which Florida county should the petition for divorce be filed? Florida law states venue is proper where the spouses last resided during their intact marriage with the intent to remain married. What if one spouse moved to another county to escape alleged domestic violence by the other spouse? This issue arose in the recent appellate case Dlin v. Dlin, 3D19-1042 (Fla. 3d DCA November 20, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can a Florida marital settlement agreement that was not ratified by a court order be enforced via a motion for contempt? In what was referred to by the appellate court as a “novel” case, a five-year lapse between an initial filing for divorce and a second petition for divorce created a tricky set of facts for a trial court to navigate in determining whether or not the former husband should be held in contempt of a marital settlement agreement. The case is Thilloy v. Ciccone-Capri, 3D18-1468 (Fla. 3d DCA November 27, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When modifying a Florida divorce judgment, depending on what you are seeking to change, it is important to know the standard the court is obligated to use in deciding on your request. For example, modifying alimony or child support requires the court to review several similar factors, while modification of child custody in Florida requires the court to review other factors. In Suarez v. Suarez, 4D18-1148 (Fla. 4th DCA November 13, 2019), we see the standards applied to these types of modification.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When filing a paternity case in Florida, it is important to know which court has proper jurisdiction over the child custody part of your case. The issue of jurisdiction often arises in these types of matters when one parent moves to another state close to the time the case was filed. This happened in Martinez v. Lebron, 5D18-2966 (Fla. 5th DCA November 15, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Brrrr…. it has been a cold week in South Florida! The temperatures may rise a little this weekend, but no matter what, you’re sure to find something fun to do in our South Florida weekend family fun guide!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What is a partition in a Florida divorce? This means the parties are asking the court to apportion to each their respective ownership interest in real property they jointly own since the property cannot physically be awarded to the parties in parts. Who pays attorneys’ fees for this? A dispute about payment of fees came up in the case Vergne v. Glidewell, 4D19-444 (Fla. 4th DCA November 13, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
When permanent alimony is awarded in a Florida divorce, it will usually be upheld if the court examined all required factors in arriving at the determination that such spousal support was warranted. In the case Schroll v. Schroll, 1D18-4716 (Fla. 1st DCA November 13, 2019), the former husband appealed the trial court’s award of $5,000 per month permanent alimony to the former wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Child support in Florida can be established through a proceeding in which the Department of Revenue (DOR) pursues a case on behalf of a custodial parent owed support. When this happens, DOR petitions the court for an order that obligates the paying parent to pay support to DOR, and DOR in turn disburses the funds to the custodial parent. How much participation is required by the custodial parent in the case? This was an issue in the case Dept. of Revenue v. Rogers, 5D19-1570 (Fla. 5th DCA November 15, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Holidays
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Here is our favorite MLK quote:
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Martin Luther King Day weekend is upon us, and your South Florida family fun guide is here to help you spend it with those you love. A chili cook off, food trucks and more await you.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Because supervised visits in Florida child custody cases usually severely restrict a parent’s access to a child, the law requires that certain provisions be included in an order which includes this type of visitation. The case T.D. v. K.F.., 2D18-4291 (Fla. 2d DCA November 8, 2019) goes over these provisions.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
When two people cannot get along and one is committing acts perceived by the other to be threatening, is a Florida restraining order an option? It depends on the acts alleged to be committed and whether or not the alleged victim has a reasonable basis to fear that he or she is in danger of being the victim of continued acts of violence by the accused. The case Hegedus v. Willemin, 5D19-958 (Fla. 5th DCA November 8, 2019) explores what is NOT considered stalking under Florida law.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is a general magistrate in a Florida family law case? This is a judicial officer who is appointed by the judge to receive evidence and make recommendations on a motion filed by a party. The general magistrate conducts a hearing just as a judge would. After the hearing, the general magistrate sends a report to the judge which includes findings regarding the testimony and evidence submitted by the parties and a recommendation as to how to rule on the motion. The judge can adopt the findings and recommendations unless a party objects via a motion for exceptions. In Lawson v. Bartley, 1D18-5273 (Fla. 1st DCA November 6, 2019), the mother in a Florida child custody case filed exceptions to a general magistrate’s report and an appeal ensued when her exceptions were not considered by the judge.
osted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When considering in a Florida divorce whether or not a spouse should be responsible for student loans taken out during the marriage by the other spouse, some believe it would not be fair to have the non-incurring spouse help pay the loan because that spouse will not benefit from the degree earned by the student spouse after the parties’ divorce. Some may also object to paying because they objected to the spouse going to school during the marriage and believed the spouse should have instead been working. This issue arose in Tsacrios v. Tsacrios, 1D19-914 (Fla. 1st DCA November 6, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Winter fun in South Florida continues with this edition of your South Florida family fun guide. You can enjoy free jazz in the park, a carnival, a bike tour and more!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a default is entered against a party in a Florida divorce case, it means the case will proceed without input from the defaulted party. A default is usually entered when a party fails to timely respond to a petition. When the court strikes a party’s pleadings for failure to obey court orders, this can have an effect similar to a default. The consequence of a default is that the defaulting party admits the allegations in the petition by the other party, usually resulting in the other party getting everything they asked for in the divorce because it was unopposed by the defaulting party. There are limits to this default effect, however, as highlighted in the case Shewmaker v. Shewmaker, 2D18-4604 (Fla. 2d DCA November 1, 2019).
