Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes
Carb lovers, unite! National Pasta Day is October 17 and was made for you. Embrace it with our weekend recipe picks!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
If someone posts insults and character attacks regarding another person on his or her social media account, does this qualify as cyberstalking for purposes of obtaining a domestic violence injunction? The Florida Statutes define cyberstalking as “engag[ing] in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific person causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose." This was at issue in the case Krapacs v. Bacchus, 4D19-641 (Fla. 4th DCA August 12, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What happens if a party does not show up to a hearing in his or her Florida family law case if the party’s appearance is required? Since the testimony and evidence of the party who does show up may be unopposed, the Court can order relief against the missing party that may not be favorable. This happened in the case Barrett v. Busser, 2D19-1744 (Fla. 1st DCA August 7, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a party is self-employed, income can fluctuate which may make it difficult to assign a fair or consistent income amount to the party. This affects child support and alimony calculations, along with rulings on a request for attorneys’ fees and costs. At issue in the case Waldera v. Waldera, 3D18-1546 (Fla. 3d DCA August 5, 2020) was the former wife’s complaint that the trial court did not correctly calculate the former husband’s income for purposes of calculating his support obligations.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
What happens when there is a delay between a trial and the date the final judgment is actually entered? Sometimes when too much time has passed, details can be forgotten and evidence becomes stale. An appeal of the final judgment may be necessary when there are differences between the findings made at the hearing and what is included in the order. A delay in entering the final judgment was an issue in the case Tavares v. Enoch, 4D19-2135 (Fla. 4th DCA August 5, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes
If you love angel food cake, October 10 is set aside as a national day to celebrate this sweet treat. Try some variations of the heavenly dessert with our weekend recipe picks!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
If a parent who is ordered to pay child support has other children after the support order is entered, is that a basis to modify child support in Florida? If a parent is seeking a decrease in child support, Florida law generally states that modification cannot be based on after-born children. However, if a parent is seeking to increase the other parent’s child support payments, the after-born child may be asserted as a reason to deny modification or at least to grant a deviation from the Florida child support guidelines in the paying parent’s favor. This was an issue in the case Reed v. Fla. Dep't of Revenue, 1D19-3833 (Fla. 1st DCA August 6, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
How does the standard of living experienced during a marriage affect an award of Florida alimony? The standard is a factor the court will consider in awarding the amount of spousal support. If parties lived a modest lifestyle, the alimony award should reflect that. This was an issue in the case Pricher v. Pricher, 5D19-243 (Fla. 5th DCA July 17, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Parties can agree in their Florida marital settlement agreement that if future litigation is initiated by either party, the party who “wins” will have his or her attorney’s fees paid by the other party. This is referred to as a prevailing party clause. Must a Florida family court enforce this clause? This was at issue in the case Levy v. Levy, 3D19-73 (Fla. 3d DCA July 15, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Getting an order or final judgment that declares money is owed to you in a Florida family law case is the first step in collecting your award. If the other party does not pay what is owed to you, what are your options? One method of enforcement is a writ of continuing garnishment. This was at issue in the case Ziegler v. Ziegler, 5D19-2218 (Fla. 5th DCA July 10, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes
Fall is in full-swing, so let’s embrace this cozy season with some fall drink recipes!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is a petition for writ of certiorari in a Florida family law case? This is a pleading filed with a higher court, known as the appellate court, which reviews the trial court’s decisions. In order to obtain a writ of certiorari, the petitioner has to show (1) a material injury in the proceedings that cannot be corrected on appeal (sometimes referred to as irreparable harm); and (2) a departure from the essential requirements of the law. This was at issue in the case Stivelman v. Stivelman, 3D20-136 (Fla. 3d DCA July 8, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
There are rules of procedure in Florida family law which inform all parties how to move a case forward. Comprehension of these rules includes knowledge of the nuances and clear directives in each rule. In the case Wiendl v. Wiendl, 2D19-3325 (Fla. 2d DCA July 8, 2020), the appellate court was required to analyze the plain meaning of a certain rule of procedure when the former husband challenged an order entered against him.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a parent fails to exercise time-sharing in accordance with a Florida parenting plan, that parent may be at risk of having his or her child support obligation retroactively increased starting from the date the parent stopped regularly exercising his or her time-sharing. But what happens when there is a typo in the parenting plan regarding the amount of overnights spent by the parent paying child support? This was at issue in the case Coriat v. Coriat, 3D19-904 (Fla. 3d DCA July 8, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a child is disabled and deemed dependent, can child support be extended past age 18 in Florida? Generally, the answer is yes, and whether or not this can happen in a case requires specific analysis. The case Skelly v. Skelly, 5D19-3780 (Fla. 5th DCA July 10, 2020) gives some guidance on this issue.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes
This weekend, there are multiple national food days including National Quesadilla Day, National Lobster day and National Pancake Day, so our recipe line-up is full of yummy options, to say the least!
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A guardian ad litem is sometimes appointed in contested Florida child custody cases. The guardian is a party to the case who investigates the claims made by each side and reports to the Court concerning the investigation. It is usually inevitable that one or both sides will be unhappy with the guardian’s findings. When a party wants to have the guardian replaced or dismissed, what standard must a court follow in determining a motion to disqualify a guardian ad litem? This was at issue in the case Bouchard v. Bouchard, 2D19-3592 (Fla. 2d DCA July 8, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony
Under Florida law, a court must consider the length of a marriage in determining whether or not alimony should be awarded. A marriage of less than 7 years is considered short-term, while a marriage that lasts between 7 and 17 years is considered moderate term. A marriage that is 17 years or longer is considered long-term. Permanent alimony is usually reserved for long-term marriages. How precise does the length of the marriage have to be? This was an issue in the case Giles v. Giles, 2D19-1268 (Fla. 2d DCA July 10, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
Due process in Florida domestic violence cases is a requirement in order for an injunction to survive appellate scrutiny. One example of due process is the rule that a party must be on notice about what he or she should defend against at a hearing. So in a domestic violence case, a party filing a petition must be specific about the alleged incidents of violence and cannot bring up new incidents at the hearing that were not mentioned in the petition. This type of “ambush” litigation was at issue in the case J.G.G. v. M.S., 5D19-3483 (Fla. 5th DCA July 2, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
“Double-dipping” occurs in a Florida divorce case when a party is awarded credit twice in matters concerning equitable distribution and support payments. This was an issue in the case Jorgensen v. Tagarelli, 5D19-2132 (Fla. 5th DCA July 2, 2020) in which the former wife appealed a final judgment of dissolution of marriage concerning imputation of income and deductions given to the former husband in calculating his business income.