Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Exotic plants, a short film festival, a St. Patrick’s Day parade and more can be found in your South Florida weekend family fun guide!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Annulment
When a party tries to have a marriage annulled in Florida, certain requirements must be met. A party might seek an annulment instead of a divorce to avoid the legal obligations that attach to marriage such as alimony and equitable distribution of assets. The validity of a marriage is called into question in an annulment proceeding, and this is what happened in the case Claflin v. Claflin, 1D19-1370 (Fla. 1st DCA January 21, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a parent continuously violates a child custody order and negatively affects the other parent’s access to a child, what remedies are available in Florida? The parent may be held in contempt for willful violation of a court’s orders as happened in the case Thompson v. Melange, 1D19-854 (Fla. 1st DCA January 21, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Is a child repeating a school grade enough to warrant modification of timesharing? This issue was considered in the case Light v. Kirkland, 1D19-2012 (Fla. 1st DCA January 21, 2020) in which the trial court considered the acrimonious relationship between the parents and tied this to the child’s poor performance in school.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Grandparents have very limited child custody rights in Florida. One scenario in which a grandparent may be able to obtain custody is via a petition for temporary custody by an extended relative. This was at issue in the case Lunsford v. Engle, 4D19-774 (Fla. 4th DCA January 22, 2020) in which a grandmother appealed a trial court’s denial of her petition for temporary custody based on another state exercising emergency jurisdiction over the child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
March is in full swing, and along with it, your South Florida weekend family fun guide! You can dance in a barn, celebrate women’s history, have a family bike ride and more in this edition.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
Sometimes judges find themselves embroiled in the Florida family law courts as litigants. Such was the case in Hart v. Griffis, 1D19-919 (Fla. 1st DCA January 15, 2020) in which a sitting judge sought an injunction for protection against domestic violence directed at his former wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
An award of attorneys’ fees in a Florida divorce must include certain findings. The most common bases to award fees are misconduct by a party or a disparity of income between the parties. In the case Office v. Office, 4D18-2910 (Fla. 4th DCA January 8, 2020), the former husband appealed an order granting the former wife’s motion for enforcement and awarding her attorneys’ fees.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
What a Florida domestic violence court called “creepy” behavior on the part of a party accused of stalking a minor child turned out to be insufficient to support an injunction against stalking. In Santiago v. Leon, 3D19-0011 (Fla. 3d DCA January 2, 2020), the accused stalker appealed an order mandating that he stay away from the child of his former partner.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a court orders temporary alimony in Florida, such alimony can be ordered retroactively. If the court finds a party is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it can also order that income be imputed to a spouse. In Cura v. Cura, 3D18-1126 (Fla. 3d DCA January 2, 2020), the husband appealed an order on these two issues.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
Happy Leap Year weekend! Your South Florida weekend family fun guide includes knitting for kids, festivals, farm fun and more!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A Florida parenting plan can be modified upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time the plan was entered. There must also be a showing that a modification of the plan would be in the best interest of the child. In Hutchinson v. Hutchinson, 1D19-946 (Fla. 1st DCA December 27, 2019), the former wife appealed an order modifying timesharing.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
When is summary judgment appropriate in a Florida family law case? Such a procedure is used when there is no issue of material fact for the court to decide. That is, it is undisputed that a party is entitled to relief without the need for a trial or the normal steps of litigation. In the case Bradner v. Bradner, 1D18-4604 (Fla. 1st DCA December 27, 2019), we see summary judgment used to terminate Florida alimony.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
In a recent appellate case, the court overturned a permanent injunction entered against a father concerning his son. In the case De Hoyos v. Bauerfeind, 1D19-581 (Fla. 1st DCA December 16, 2019), the mother brought the case on behalf of the parties’ child who alleged the father hit the child in the face on the way to school.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What does equitable distribution include in a Florida divorce? Generally, all assets and debts that were acquired from the date of marriage through the date of filing for divorce are going to be included in the equitable distribution scheme. In the case Dubose v. Dubose, 1D19-885 (Fla. 1st DCA December 20, 2019), the appellate court considered an appeal concerning an alleged error in the division of assets in the parties’ underlying divorce case.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
It’s the last full weekend in February, can you believe it?! Time flies when you’re having fun, so we are here to keep the fun rolling with your South Florida weekend family fun guide.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When child support is established by an administrative order in Florida, is it possible to modify the order? This issue came up in the case Mirabella v. Mirabella, 2D18-4219 (Fla. 2d DCA December 18, 2020) in which the husband appealed an order that retroactively modified child support payments ordered to be paid by the wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
In the case Suess v. Suess, 2D18-2521 (Fla. 2d DCA December 20, 2019), we see that words matter in contracts. A dispute arose as to enforcement of the parties’ Florida marital settlement agreement regarding the former husband’s retirement accounts and the former wife’s entitlement to them. Interestingly, the enforcement of the agreement turned on the court’s interpretation of the word “all”.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When calculating retroactive child support in Florida, it is important that the parties produce evidence of all income during the retroactive period. Under Florida child support laws, a court can order a party to pay child support retroactive to two years prior to the date a petition to establish support is filed. Since income may have increased or decreased during this period, the court may rely on tax returns for the past two years to calculate what support should have been during that period. In the case Jones v. Jones, 1D19-1051 (Fla. 1st DCA December 20, 2019), this issue arose when the former husband appealed his final judgment of divorce.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida family events**
For some of you lucky souls, it’s a 3-day weekend, and it’s also Valentine’s Day! Celebrate with your South Florida weekend family fun guide.