Are parties to a marriage responsible for separate debts incurred during the marriage?
My spouse and I are in agreement and just want an attorney to make our agreements legal. Can the attorney do that?
It is common for divorcing parties to reach verbal agreements prior to seeking counsel. They simply want the attorney to put their verbal agreements into a marital settlement agreement and navigate them through a relatively abbreviated divorce process. Attorneys are well capable of doing that. It is my suggestion, though, that if you do this, […]
Will the Florida court consider high living expenses, such as loan payments and income taxes, when determining my ability to pay child support?
In general, child support in Florida is determined by a formula, which has a variety of inputs. Of which, typical living expenses, even if they are high, are not part of the analysis. The courts don’t really care if you want to drive a corvette that has a huge monthly obligation payment or a 20 […]
Who is responsible for debts incurred before the marriage?
What are temporary orders and how important are they in a divorce or custody case?
Temporary orders are very important in divorce cases. A temporary order is an order which simply lasts from the time it is made until the conclusion of the divorce case when the terms of a final judgment or divorce decree then control. But what happens during the pendency, or while the case is going, can […]
Will the child support be reviewed in the future?
Typically child support obligations are not automatically reviewed in the future. Such a review is triggered by one of the parties demanding that such a review take place. The other side can either cooperate or else a supplemental petition or another filing in the divorce court will be necessary to do this. Sometimes people can […]
My ex-spouse and I have joint custody. He pawns off the child rearing on his mom. Can I revise the custody arrangement?
That is not an unusual circumstance. I see that a lot. The answer is maybe. If, when you initially entered into your arrangement, it was understood that the was what was going to happen, then probably not. If that wasn’t the understanding of what was going to happen, then perhaps so. If you can convince […]
How does marital fault affect alimony in Florida?
In general, Florida is a no-fault divorce state. In other words, the fault of either of the parties does not come into play when it comes to determining the outcome of a dissolution of marriage action. That having been said, there is a large exception to that. If the fault cost the other spouse money, […]