Summary judgment in a Florida family law case

Summary judgment in a Florida family law case

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

What is summary judgment in a Florida family law case? This is a procedure in which a party requests the court to grant or deny a petition without going to a trial or having further proceedings because the evidence in the case so far shows that there is nothing to dispute at trial. A party can attach affidavits to a motion for summary judgment for the court to consider in making its ruling. This was an issue in the case Sanz v. Herrera, 3D24-2046 (Fla. 3d DCA October 3, 2025).

Florida family law: contempt sanctions must be commensurate with amount of loss

Florida family law: contempt sanctions must be commensurate with amount of loss

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Alimony

Life insurance which is intended to secure a Florida alimony obligation is subject to certain parameters. For example, the availability of the insurance and the ability of the obligor to afford a premium for this type of insurance are considerations the court must take into consideration. Once life insurance is ordered, failure to maintain it may lead to sanctions from the court. This was an issue in the case Marin v. Marin, 2D2024-2222 (Fla. 2d DCA October 15, 2025).

Florida child support: hearing officers and disputed paternity

Florida child support: hearing officers and disputed paternity

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

If paternity is contested in a Florida child support case that is being heard by a hearing officer, can the hearing officer rule on this disputed issue? According to Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.491(e), “A support enforcement hearing officer does not have the authority to hear contested paternity cases.” This was an issue in the case DOR v. Harris, 1D2025-0809 (Fla. 1st DCA October 15, 2025).

Florida child support: Redirecting payments when the Department of Revenue is involved

Florida child support: Redirecting payments when the Department of Revenue is involved

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

When the Department of Revenue (DOR) is involved in a Florida child support case, can the parties privately resolve their child support dispute without involving DOR? Sometimes, DOR is owed retroactive support due to the obligee parent receiving public benefits, so it may not always be possible to leave DOR out of agreements or other resolutions. This was an issue in the case DOR v. Serwe, 6D2025-0892 (Fla. 6th DCA October 3, 2025).

Florida divorce: Can a court ignore a pretrial stipulation?

Florida divorce: Can a court ignore a pretrial stipulation?

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

If parties agree to resolve an issue before trial, can the trial court make rulings that may contradict the agreement? In the case Taha v. Hassan, 6D2024-1270 (Fla. 6th DCA October 3, 2025), the parties entered a stipulation regarding equitable distribution, yet the trial court ordered the husband to make an equalizing payment to the wife for the husband’s alleged dissipation of marital assets.

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali!

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Holidays

Happy Diwali! May the light of Diwali illuminate every corner of your life with abundant happiness, peace and success.

Disqualification of a judge and choice of venue in Florida domestic violence case

Disqualification of a judge and choice of venue in Florida domestic violence case

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

When should a judge be disqualified from presiding over a Florida family law case? Florida law holds “Although a judge may form mental impressions and opinions during the course of hearing evidence, he or she may not prejudge the case.” Minaya v. State, 118 So. 3d 926, 929 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). Disqualification of a judge was an issue in the case Meredith v. Meredith, 5D2025-0873 (Fla. 5th DCA September 26, 2025).

Florida family law: enforcing prevailing party clause when there is a "tie"

Florida family law: enforcing prevailing party clause when there is a "tie"

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

Many Florida marital settlement agreements or other family law agreements have prevailing party clauses. These clauses indicate that if there is future litigation, the prevailing party will be awarded attorney’s fees to be paid by the other party. What if there is a “tie” and the court finds that no one prevailed? This was an issue in the case Pierre v. Honore, 3D25-0357 (Fla. 3d DCA October 1, 2025).

Florida divorce: determining marital portion of jointly-owned premarital property

Florida divorce: determining marital portion of jointly-owned premarital property

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

How does a court determine the marital portion of a non-marital property that is not solely owned by a spouse? For example, a spouse may have purchased a home prior to the marriage and that spouse may own the property jointly with his or her parent. Therefore, depending on how the property is titled, the spouse may only own fifty percent of the property as his or her non-marital portion. This was an issue in the case Wilson v. Hurter, 2D2024-1954 (Fla. 2d DCA September 26, 2025).

Division of military retirement account in a Florida divorce

Division of military retirement account in a Florida divorce

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

Dividing retirement accounts in a Florida divorce case can present complications when the language of a marital settlement agreement is open to different interpretations. Division of a military retirement account was an issue in Rushing v. Rushing, 6D2024-1357 (Fla. 6th DCA September 19, 2025).

Writ of garnishment in Florida family law cases

Writ of garnishment in Florida family law cases

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

Writs of garnishment are used in Florida family law cases to collect money judgments. This is an order that allows money from bank accounts to be involuntarily withdrawn to satisfy attorney’s fees or support orders, for example. This was an issue in the case Baumann v. Agudelo, 3D25-0755 (Fla. 3d DCA September 24, 2025).

Florida domestic violence injunction reversed for lack of evidence

Florida domestic violence injunction reversed for lack of evidence

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

To obtain a domestic violence injunction in Florida, the petitioner must be (1) the victim of domestic violence OR (2) reasonably believe that he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence. § 741.30(6)(a), Fla. Stat. (2024). The sufficiency of evidence in a Florida domestic violence case was at issue in Rosa v. Heredia, 5D2025-0452 (Fla. 5th DCA September 12, 2025).