Florida’s Department of Revenue is currently sitting on $28 million of paid child support. The Department of Revenue said the funds have not been distributed because of incorrect information, addresses, etc. If you are supposed to be receiving child support, but have not received the payments, check with the Department of Revenue to see if they have your money, but are unable to locate you.
Read the full story from the Orlando Sentinel here.
Australia’s new “Family Law Act” allows mistresses to sue their married partners for support, maintenance, child support, etc. Men with a history with multiple women may be paying each of those women. OUCH!
Florida does not have an equivalent law allowing Mistresses to sue for support for themselves, only for children born to the parties.
Read the full article: http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/asksam/archives/2009/03/mistresses_and_the_other_woman.html?page=2#comments
1. Consult an Attorney
Make sure you know what your rights and obligations are. Be aware of how your behavior could affect the outcome of any potential divorce proceedings, i.e., should you move out of the marital home?
2. Copy Documents
Make copies of everything you can find: tax returns, bank statements, check registers, investment statements, retirement account statements, employee benefits handbooks, life insurance policies, medical/dental insurance policies, mortgage documents, applications for credit, deeds and titles to property, financial statements, credit card statements, wills, social security statements, automobile titles, any prenuptial or postnuptial agreements between the parties, documentation of any child support either spouse already pays, etc. Remember to check the home computer for additional documentation. Florida requires certain documents be disclosed in all divorce proceedings. Find that list here. It is easier to obtain these documents before you separate than after.
3. Inventory Household and Family Possessions
List the major items: furniture, artwork, jewelry, appliances, automobiles, etc. Did you forget about anything in storage or that someone else is holding for you or borrowed from you?
4. Know the Household Budget and Expenses
Examine and record where every penny goes. This is important to determine if there are temporary needs while the divorce is pending and to determine the amounts owed between parties when negotiating a settlement or final judgment.
5. Determine How to Manage Family Debt
Try to pay down any debt you may have if you can before divorce. Division of debt is often a sticking point in divorce proceedings. Cancel credit accounts if one spouse is too willing to whip out the credit card for unnecessary items.
6. Find Out Exactly What Your Spouse Earns
Gain this information through paystubs, other documents, or casual conversation with your spouse’s business partner.
7. Make a Realistic Appraisal of Your Earning Potential
What is a realistic view of your earning potential before and after the divorce? Will some changes need to be made here? If you have been a homemaker for a lengthy period of time, will education help you become self-sufficient? Will your work schedule or location be effected by your divorce and your ability to care for your children? What child care needs should be considered?
8. Examine Your Own Credit History
Either establish or reestablish credit in your own, individual name.
9. Build a Net Egg of Your Own
Try to have access to your own money in case your spouse stops paying the household expenses or bills during the divorce proceedings. You may also need additional money for an attorney’s retainer, security deposit on a new residence, deposits on utilities, costs of moving, etc.
10. Put Your Kids at the Top of Your Agenda
Divorce is not about you or your spouse when children are involved. Children generally have no choice in the matter and their needs and wellbeing should always be your first concern. Keep their routines as normal as possible, don’t argue in front of the children, don’t bad-mouth the other party to the children, stay involved with your children and their activities as much as possible, and don’t use your children as your sounding board, psychologist, attorney, or counselor!
Source for some information here.
Florida Court of Appeals held that a father did not have to pay child support because his children are members of the Seminole Tribe and the monthly stipends the children receive as members of the Seminole trible are sufficient to cover their needs.
Source: Seminole Tribe Per Caps Sufficient to Cover Child Support, Turtle Talk Blog.
The awarding of child custody is of prime concern to parents going through divorce. In Florida, the custody of your child is determined by seven simple words: “best interest and welfare of the child.” While it is the parents who initiated the divorce, from the court’s point of view, it is often the rights of the child that dictates child custody determinations. What if you are the parent who is better suited to support the child financially? Does this give you an advantage in obtaining residential custody of the child or children? In Florida, the fact a child would be more financially secure with one parent as opposed to the other parent is not a controlling factor in determining custody rights.
It’s not hard to consider a situation where spouses are going through divorce, they have children, but one parent makes substantially more money than the other. Take, for example a situation where the father is an executive of a corporation with an annual salary in excess of $250,000.00, and the mother is a homemaker who works really hard but does not earn her own income. In an economically driven society, some tend to think that the more money you make, the better you will be able to provide for the best interests and welfare of your children.
The truth is, even though one parent may bring home more money than the other, in most cases, both parents are still able to provide for a child’s reasonable needs. And although money is important in raising a child, especially in recent years, the courts also look to a parent’s ability to provide for a child’s personal, emotional, and social welfare as well as providing for a child’s material welfare.
If you are a parent going through a divorce, but know you make less money than your spouse, there are other important factors to consider in the issue of determining custody. Rather than spending time worrying about your financial situation, spend time detailing the factors the court will consider, such as: (1) character and moral conduct; (2) mental health; (3) the proposed home environment for the child; (4) character of others living in the proposed home of the child; (5) ability to maintain continuity in the child’s home; (6) parent’s work schedule; (7) and the effects, if any, that an interracial marriage may have on the child. And while no single factor alone is indicative of how the court will rule, it’s important to look at all of them and plan accordingly. Together, these factors comprise the analysis by which a court will determine what is in the best interest of the child when deciding the issue of residential custody.
In such cases where there is a significant disparity of income between one parent and the other the court will often mitigate that difference with awards of child support and alimony.
Source: Bradley H. Trushin, Esq., Florida Family Law Blog
Florida is an equitable distribution state, meaning when you file for divorce, the court will divide the assets and liabilities 50/50 unless a party argues for a different distribution percentage. By having an antenuptial agreement (also known as a prenuptial agreement or “prenup”), parties can determine before they marry how their assets and liabilities will be distributed should a divorce occur.
Who needs an Antenuptial Agreement?
· You have assets such as a home, stock or retirement funds
· Own all or part of a business
· You may be receiving an inheritance
· You have children and/or grandchildren from a previous marriage
· One of you is much wealthier than the other
· One of you will be supporting the other through college
· You have loved ones who need to be taken care of, such as elderly parents
· You have or are pursuing a degree or license in a potentially lucrative profession such as medicine
· You could see a big increase in income because your business is taking off, or that garage band you play in has just gotten a contract with a big record company.
Why have an Antenuptial Agreement?
· To establish your own rules for property division and avoid potential disagreements in the event of a divorce
· Save money on attorney’s fees, time spent in court, and reduce the level of emotional distress of divorce court
What can an Antenuptial Agreement do for me?
· Financial disclosure prior to the marriage
· Protect inheritance to children born before the marriage
· Protect family heirlooms, antiques other property
· Protect inherited property you receive during the marriage
· Distinguish joint and separate property
· Determine the division of assets and liabilities
· Protect business owner’s assets
· Protect self from debts of the other party
· Various monetary agreements
· Retirement benefits
· Bank accounts
· Bills
· Taxes
· Various nonmonetary agreements
· Personal preferences/duties
· Pets
What can’t an Antenuptial Agreement do?
Cannot dictate child visitation, child support, child custody
How do I get an Antenuptial Agreement?
Please contact my office to discuss drafting a valid Antenuptial Agreement to protect your interests.
by Jan M. McCray Flemmons, Esq.
Florida law requires Parenting Plans for all divorcing couples with children starting October 1, 2008. Florida law divides parenting issues into three categories: parental responsibility, time sharing and support. This article examines the support section of a parenting plan.
Both parents have a legal requirement to support their children, regardless of the parents’ marital status. Florida has a formula to calculate child support in Florida Statute 61.30. The calculation involves using the total of both parents’ net monthly incomes and the chart in Florida Statute 61.30, to find the “guideline amount” of child support. This is the amount the court will presume is correct. It is the total amount that will be apportioned between the parents based on their incomes.
Using the guidelines number, the percent each parent contributes toward the whole monthly amount is determined by dividing that parent’s net monthly income into the total income for both parents. Each parent is then responsible for his or her percentage share of the total monthly child support amount. If one parent is paying more than his or her share, the difference is eliminated with a cash payment from the parent paying less than his/her share.
Once the guideline amount and appropriate percentages are calculated, you will need to consider some other items.
First, you must add 75% of the cost of child care due to employment. You must also add the cost of health insurance actually being paid for the child and any on-going monthly medical care costs not covered by insurance. This is all done on page 2 of the child support guideline worksheet.
Next, is the guideline amount appropriate for your child? You can go up or down 5% from the guideline amount without court approval. If you want to change the amount more than 5%, the court must approve the change based on specific reasons that are in your child’s best interest.
The amount must be reduced if the child spends at least 3 nights per week with the other parent. The law has a formula for making that reduction. Recent changes to the law require child support be calculated according to the actual number of overnights the child has with each parent starting October 1, 2008. The new law specifically says that an order for 50/50 time sharing can include payment of child support.
Third, what events will end child support? The recent changes to the law added these termination-of-support events:
Child emancipation (turning 18, getting married or an order of emancipation)
Child dies
Child joins the military
If you want these, or any other events, to automatically terminate child support, you must include a provision for that in your parenting plan. Otherwise, the paying parent must return to court to obtain a reduction order.
If you have more than one child, what happens to support payments when the older child turns 18? Will you recalculate the amount or reduce the payment by a certain amount automatically?
Also remember that if you have a child with special needs who will remain dependent past the age of 18, the court can order continuing support be paid after the age of 18. The same is true if your child is still in high school, but expected to graduate by age 19.
If your child will attend college, what happens to the child support payment? Will cash support payments continue during college or will the parent pay college costs in lieu of cash payment to the other parent. Is there an agreement for both parents to contribute to a pre-paid tuition account? What is included in college costs, if the parents agree to pay them?
Fourth, how will other child-related expenses be split? Will the parents share the costs according to their income percentages or split evenly? Who will provide the children’s health insurance? How will the other parent be informed about these costs? How long will he or she have to pay his or her share? Will payment be waived if there is not timely notification? Is there any other agreement about costs contained in your parenting plan? For instance, if one parent has assumed all costs of religious school, does that parent receive any type of credit for paying those religious school costs?
Fifth, will there be an Income Deduction Order immediately? If not, under what situations will a delayed IDO become active? Because children and parents depend on child support, you may want a delayed order to become active if payments are more than 15 days late. Of course, you will have to return to court to activate the order unless there is language in the order itself that permits it to be sent to the other parent’s employer “without further order of court.”
Finally, will the parent making the cash payment be required to have life insurance to secure his or her child support obligation? The court can require life insurance if the cost of the insurance is reasonable. Of course, the chances of becoming disabled are much higher than for death. While disability insurance is not something a court can order, if there is an existing policy that is reasonably-priced, think about a requirement to maintain that policy as long as child support is being paid.
While both parents are legally required to support their children, there are other expenses you should consider for the benefit of your children. Think about the future and the possible events that will occur in your family. Calculating the basic child support obligation is only one part of child support. Include all the provisions you need to support your children in your new Florida parenting plan.
Source: Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.
Florida law requires Parenting Plans for all divorcing couples with children starting October 1, 2008. Florida law has a strong public policy to keep both parents in frequent and continuing contact with their children after divorce. In Florida law, parenting issues are divided into three categories: parental responsibility, time sharing and support. This article examines the time sharing section of a parenting plan.
The time sharing section of your parenting plan spells out when the children will be with each parent. Many Florida courts currently have “model schedules” for visitation. You can also check the websites of the larger urban areas near you for their models. For example, Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach all have model schedules, but Orange County and Broward County do not.
You will want to read the model schedule for your area for two reasons. First, you will see what a partial parenting plan looks and sounds like. Second, you may decide that the model schedule in your area is appropriate for your family. If so, the timesharing part of your parenting plan is done when you attach a copy of the model to your plan and make reference to it.
If the model schedule for your area is not appropriate for your family, you may decide that the model plan can be re-worked for your family. You may also want to do an online search and look at some time sharing schedules from other areas of the country. Just be sure to include all the plan sections that Florida requires.
As for time sharing with your children, think about how these items should work for your family:
Transitions – Pick up and Drop Off – Which of you is driving? If you use school as the transition point, what happens when school is not in session?
Holidays and Special Occasions – Will these days be treated differently than the usual time sharing and have a separate schedule? Are school holidays that are not public holidays included in this part? How will both parents receive notice of special school events?
Transfer of Belongings – Will toys, clothes, backpacks and other property of the children transfer between homes (if so, how and when) or will both parents have these items? What happens if a needed item is not transferred?
Right of First Refusal – If the other parent cannot personally attend to the children in that parent’s designated time sharing period (due to illness, travel, etc), does the other parent have the right of first refusal? How long a period must it be before the right of first refusal applies – overnight, four hours, 24 hours?
Notice of Whereabouts – When does information have to be provided to the other parent if the children will not be at the usual location? When and how will the other parent be notified? This could include leaving the county, being out-of-county overnight, leaving the state, etc.
When developing your parenting plan, it is often helpful to see the proposed schedule on a calendar. There are many different software programs for dividing parenting time. One of the least expensive programs provides excellent color-coded calendars that let you see what various schedules looks like. So, for example, if the parents designate birthdays as a special occasion days in the parenting plan and everyone’s birthday is in May or June, you can see how that looks when combined with Memorial Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. And, depending on your rotation schedule, holidays may not need to be designated separately when you see your regular schedule on the calendar.
So start with a model schedule to see if it meets your family’s needs. If it does not, can it be re-worked to meet them? Is there another model schedule (or re-work of one) that meets the needs of your family? If not, you will need to write down the details of how and when each parent will spend time with the children for your Florida parenting plan.
Source: Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.
Florida divorce law requires Parenting Plans for all divorcing couples with children starting October 1, 2008. Florida law has had a strong public policy about children and divorce for several decades. As Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes states:
It is the public policy of this state to assure that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys of childrearing.
Florida law divides parenting issues into three categories: parental responsibility, time sharing and support. This articles examines the decision-making section of a parenting plan.
First, the law requires divorced parents share parental responsibility for their child after divorce, unless shared responsibility is detrimental to the child. The goal is to keep both parents involved in the life of the child.
Shared parental responsibility means that both parents discuss and decide major decisions affecting the child. These are the decisions that have long-term consequences in your child’s life. Some examples involve the choice of:
For an older child it means making decisions about issues like part-time employment, driving, buying a car, dropping out of school, and college education. As your child gets older, consider having a joint discussion on these issues with your child. Of course, the child should never be responsible for any final decision.
Some additional decision-making areas to consider in your parenting plan include:
Parents may want to divide up the areas, each taking responsibility for certain ones. Some parents prefer to meet and discuss all issues together and reach a joint decision. Others may allow one parent to make the decisions and inform the other parent.
There are no set rules for shared decision making, but the new law requires a description of how the parents will share the daily tasks of child upbringing and time sharing with each parent. It must also describe who is responsible for health care, school matters and activities and what communication methods the parents will use to contact the children.
Parents’ post-divorce decision making process is often the same type of process they had during the marriage. When developing a parenting plan, consider how the decisions have been made in the past and what changes may be needed to that process now that the parents will live apart. Starting October 1, 2008, you must describe the decision making process your family will use in your Florida parenting plan.
Source: Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.
Florida’s “best interest” of children factors will change on October 1, 2008. Notice the clear emphasis on demonstrating parenting behaviors and a history of meeting the child’s needs. Keeping children away from the divorce case is another area that is now clearly spelled out in the law. Here are the new factors:
(a) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close & continuing parent-child relationship, to honor the timesharing schedule, and to be reasonable when changes are required.
(b) The anticipated division of parental responsibilities after the litigation, including the extent to which parental responsibilities will be delegated to third parties.
(c) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to determine, consider & act upon the needs of the child as opposed to the needs or desires of the parent.
(d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
(e) The geographic viability of the parenting plan, with special attention paid to the needs of school-age children and the amount of time to be spent traveling to effectuate the parenting plan. This factor does not create a presumption for or against relocation of either parent with a child The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home.
(f) The moral fitness of the parents.
(g) The mental and physical health of the parents.
(h) The home, school, and community record of the child.
(i) The reasonable preference of the child, if the child is of sufficient age
(j) The demonstrated knowledge, capacity, & disposition of each parent to be informed of the circumstances of the minor child, including, but not limited to, the child’s friends, teachers, medical care providers, daily activities, and favorite things.
(k) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child, such as discipline, and daily schedules for homework, meals, and bedtime.
(l) The demonstrated capacity of each parent to communicate with and keep the other parent informed of issues and activities regarding the minor child, and the willingness of each parent to adopt a unified front on all major issues when dealing with the child.
(m) Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect, regardless of whether a prior or pending action relating to those issues has been brought.
(n) Evidence that either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding any prior or pending action regarding domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect.
(o) The particular parenting tasks customarily performed by each parent and the division of parental responsibilities before the institution of litigation and during the pending litigation, including the extent to which parenting responsibilities were undertaken by third parties.
(p) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to participate and be involved in the child’s school and extracurricular activities.
(q) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to maintain an environment for the child which is free from substance abuse.
(r) The capacity & disposition of each parent to protect the child from the ongoing litigation as demonstrated by not discussing the litigation with the child, not sharing documents or electronic media related to the litigation with the child, and refraining from disparaging comments about the other parent to the child.
(s) The developmental stages & needs of the child and the demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to meet the child’s developmental needs.
(t) Any other factor that is relevant to the determination of a specific issue
These are the factors a judge will use when determining all child-related issues starting October 1, 2008. Remember, when the law changes there will no longer be a “primary residential parent” and parenting plans will be required.
Much more than a visitation schedule, parenting plans must be comprehensive and cover not only time sharing, but decision-making and child support.
Source: Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.
Nassau Florida Family Law & Divorce bLAWg www.jmmflaw.com 
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