Vacating a Florida family law order

Vacating a Florida family law order

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

What are the reasons a Florida family law order will be set aside? There are various ways to challenge a court order, and knowing which way is best is the key to optimizing your chances of success on a motion to vacate an order. In the case Romero v. Brabham, 4D19-3769 (Fla. 4th DCA July 22, 2020), the former wife challenged an order holding her in contempt after she did not appear at a hearing.

Recipes for your weekend

Recipes for your weekend

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes

October 24 is National Food Day, a day which focuses on healthy food and nutrition. Gather the family and try some of these healthy and delicious recipes this weekend!

Mediation requirement in Florida family law case

Mediation requirement in Florida family law case

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

Are parties required to attend mediation in their Florida family law case? Some jurisdictions require that the parties attend mediation prior to a trial date being set in their case. This is so that the parties have an opportunity to resolve their differences rather than having the judge decide what happens. Some parties agree in their settlement contracts that any future disagreements will be submitted to mediation prior to the parties initiating litigation. This was an issue in the case Rudnick v. Harman, 4D20-1004 (Fla. 4th DCA July 22, 2020).

Imputation of income reversed in Florida administrative child support proceeding

Imputation of income reversed in Florida administrative child support proceeding

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

Florida child support can be established through what is called an administrative child support proceeding. This proceeding is usually handled via mail and without the parties attending court, unless a hearing is requested or the obligor indicates he or she has filed or wishes to have filed a petition in court regarding support. In the case Crespo v. Watts, 1D19-4194 (Fla. 1st DCA August 12, 2020), a ruling from a hearing held in an administrative child support proceeding was appealed.

Motion to dissolve a Florida domestic violence injunction

Motion to dissolve a Florida domestic violence injunction

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

Once an injunction is entered against a person, he or she might wonder how to get the injunction dissolved. If the time for appeal or the filing of the appropriate motion or pleading to challenge the entry of the injunction has passed, a party may have the option of filing a motion to dissolve the injunction. In Sweet v. Tucker, 1D19-1964 (Fla. 1st DCA August 17, 2020), an appeal was taken regarding the denial of a motion to dissolve.

The right to put on a defense in a Florida domestic violence case

The right to put on a defense in a Florida domestic violence case

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

The right to defend yourself against allegations made against you is a fundamental one in the Florida family law courts. When a party is accused of domestic violence, he or she has the right to call witnesses and present evidence to the court in opposition to the allegations. This fundamental right was an issue in the case Berkley v. Roy, 1D19-3792 (Fla. 1st DCA August 19, 2020).

Recipes for your weekend

Recipes for your weekend

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!

Florida domestic violence: Analyzing free speech in the midst of cyberstalking allegations

Florida domestic violence: Analyzing free speech in the midst of cyberstalking allegations

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).

Florida family law procedure: Calendaring error leads to appeal

Florida family law procedure: Calendaring error leads to appeal

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).

Florida divorce: Determining the income of a self-employed party

Florida divorce: Determining the income of a self-employed party

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.

Delay in entering Florida final judgment of paternity results in reversal

Delay in entering Florida final judgment of paternity results in reversal

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).

Recipes for your weekend

Recipes for your weekend

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!

"Speed" credit in Florida child support modification

"Speed" credit in Florida child support modification

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).

Analyzing the standard of living in awarding Florida alimony

Analyzing the standard of living in awarding Florida alimony

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).

Florida family law procedure: Florida Statute makes prevailing party clause reciprocal

Florida family law procedure: Florida Statute makes prevailing party clause reciprocal

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).

Writ of continuing garnishment in Florida family law case

Writ of continuing garnishment in Florida family law case

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).

Recipes for your weekend

Recipes for your weekend

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!

Certiorari review in a Florida family law case

Certiorari review in a Florida family law case

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).

Florida family law procedure: Adequacy of e-mail in requesting to vacate order

Florida family law procedure: Adequacy of e-mail in requesting to vacate order

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.

Retroactive modification of Florida child support

Retroactive modification of Florida child support

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).