When a couple decides to get married, it?s a joyous occasion, a declaration of love, and an occasion for friends and family to get excited. But it?s also a time in which each person entering the marriage needs to think about his or her finances. Marriage is a legal arrangement involving a great number of [...]
I?ve noticed that there are a lot more prenuptial agreements than there were in the past, and I?m not alone in that. Last fall, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers noted that nearly 2/3 of family lawyers they surveyed reported an increase in the past three years. What?s more, nearly half of the lawyers surveyed [...]
In the debate over adopting new laws concerning alimony in Florida last year, part of the debate was about a provision that would set a new legal presumption for timesharing. If Gov. Scott had signed the bill into law last year, divorces in Florida would now operate with the legal presumption that children would spend [...]
I?d love to see, at some time in the not-too-distant future, a world in which divorces are primarily settled through Collaborative Law. While that might be challenging ? especially for lawyers who pride themselves on the ability to be ?bulldogs? ? I do think that it is possible for more divorces to bring Collaborative Law [...]
As a lawyer who has worked on many divorce cases, I can tell you first-hand that divorce can be a very emotional time, and emotions can greatly impact the divorce process. If it is a litigated divorce, emotions can even go as far as driving one or both parties in a divorce to employ tactics [...]
One of the most challenging issues in any divorce case is parental interference. When a divorce decree is signed, parents either agree to a time-sharing schedule with their children, or, in litigated cases where they can?t agree to the schedule, cede that decision to a judge who creates a schedule for them. Before a divorce [...]
With the start of a new year comes the inevitable set of New Year?s resolutions, and for many of us, the equally inevitable breaking of New Year?s resolutions. The idea behind a New Year?s resolution is based on sound principles ? we want to change for the better, we see places in our lives where [...]
A few months ago, I had a friend refer a couple to me who were considering a divorce and wanted to review their options. When I talk to people about divorce, I run through all of the possibilities with them, including options that don?t involve lawyers, or even counseling and reconciliation for couples who shouldn?t [...]
One of the most challenging timesharing issues for divorcing parents is where children celebrate the holidays. In Florida?s typical orders for timesharing, children spend Thanksgiving weekend with their mother one year and their father the following year, and alternate the first half and second half of winter break with the parties usually alternating Christmas Eve [...]
I?m starting this blog to articulate something I believe in strongly ? that divorce should not be fought in a courtroom. I have been practicing family law for over 25 years and have witnessed first- hand what happens when divorce becomes about winning and losing rather than trying to seek common ground. Courtroom battles can [...]
