Miami family law attorney blog
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Florida family law attorney
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Filing your petition for appeal in the correct court is one of the first steps to protecting your appellate rights. Since there are strict deadlines to follow in appellate matters, the failure to timely file in the correct court can be fatal to an appeal. This was an issue in the case McGann v. Walker, 1D2023-1294 (Fla. 1st DCA December 11, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
When appealing a Florida family law order, it is important to understand if the order is final or non-final. If it is non-final, it is important to understand if the appellate rules of procedure allow it to be appealed. Understanding these issues can avoid potential waste of money and time in appealing an order that may not be appealed under the rules. This was an issue in the case Gaskins v. Bahour, 2D2023-2617 (Fla. 2d DCA November 27, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Chapter 742 of the Florida Statutes governs paternity cases in Florida. Subsection 742.045 states “The court may from time to time, after considering the financial resources of both parties, order a party to pay a reasonable amount for attorney’s fees, suit money, and the cost to the other party of maintaining or defending any proceeding under this chapter, including enforcement and modification proceedings.” Does this include fees when a paternity case is appealed? This was an issue in the case C.T. v. T.G., 6D2023-1771 (Fla. 6th DCA November 15, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is a writ of mandamus in a Florida family law case? This is a petition filed with the appellate courts that requests an order directing the trial court to take action. This was an issue in the case Labriola v. Da Silva, 3D24-1726 (Fla. 3d DCA November 20, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What does dismissal without prejudice mean in a Florida family law case? This refers to the right of a litigant to re-file a case. For example, if a motion to dismiss is granted “without prejudice” it means the person who filed the dismissed petition can re-file it in the future. This may be appropriate where, for example, a petition is defective and needs to be corrected before the court can move forward on the petition. This was an issue in the case Pacin v. Granja, 3D23-2295 (Fla. 3d DCA September 18, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
A Florida divorce case can be dismissed if neither party takes action to move the case forward. If there has been no activity in the case for 10 months, the court or a party may issue a notice that the case will be dismissed for lack of prosecution if nothing is done to progress the case within the 60 days following service of the notice. This was an issue in the case Reed v. Reed, 4D2023-1898 (Fla. 4th DCA May 15, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is a 57.105 motion in a Florida family law case? This is a motion which asks the court for sanctions against a party and/or the party’s attorney for raising unsupported claims in a proceeding. 57.105 refers to the Florida Statute section which authorizes this fee. That section of the statute requires that specific steps be taken before this motion can be filed. This was an issue in the case Fantauzzi v. Fleck, 2D23-1390 (Fla. 2d DCA April 3, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What happens if an attorney misses a scheduled hearing in a Florida family law case? One of the harshest sanctions that can be imposed is dismissal of a case. If the attorney can prove mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, the case should not be dismissed. This was an issue in the case Little v. Turnbow, 5D23-2441 (Fla. 5th DCA February 9, 2024).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Can a party amend pleadings in a Florida family law case? Sometimes, circumstances change after a petition has been filed, or a party changes his or her mind as to what relief he or she wants to ask for from the court. Florida law favors resolution of cases on the merits so it leans in favor of allowing amendment of pleadings. This was an issue in the case Gerber v. Dubrowksi, 23-71 (Fla. 2d DCA December 27, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
How important is it to have a transcript of your Florida family law hearing? If you want to appeal the court’s decision, a transcript is usually required. Without it, the appellate court may decline to review the merits of your case. This was an issue in the case Scognamillo v. Scognamillo, 3D22-2054 (Fla. 3d DCA November 15, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Can a Florida family law judgment make a payment owed from one party to the other non-dischargeable in bankruptcy? For example, if a court orders that one party pay the other party’s attorney’s fees, can the court order that this payment be non-dischargeable? This was an issue in the case Polo v. Martinez, 3D23-249 (Fla. 3d DCA August 30, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
How long does a party have to challenge a final judgment based on a fraudulent financial affidavit? According to the Family Law Rules of Procedure, there is no time limit. A recent case, however, questions whether or not this rule allows a party to challenge a final judgment more than 10 years later and certifies this question to the Florida Supreme Court. The case is Mason v. Mason, 1D22-1871 (Fla. 1st DCA April 12, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Is a judge required to grant a continuance in a Florida family law case? While a judge may not be required to grant a continuance, consideration has to be given to “(1) whether the request for continuance was dilatory or unforeseeable; (2) whether the denial created an injustice for the movant; and (3) whether the opposing party would have suffered prejudice or inconvenience.” Dussan v. Zoghbi, 3D21-2160 (Fla. 3d DCA April 5, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
There are strict deadlines for appealing a general magistrate’s ruling in a Florida family law case. The appeal is known as a motion to vacate a recommended order. Failure to timely file this motion may mean the recommended order remains valid. This was an issue in the case White v. Morris, 1D22-1597 (Fla. 1st DCA March 22, 2023).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
When a party wants to remove a judge from presiding over a Florida family law proceeding, the party must file a motion for disqualification. “To be legally sufficient, a motion to disqualify must demonstrate some actual bias or prejudice so as to create a reasonable fear that a fair trial cannot be had.” Saenz v. Sanchez, 3D22-1688 (Fla. 3d DCA February 1, 2023) (internal citations omitted).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What does it mean to recuse or disqualify a judge in a Florida family law case? This means you are asking the court to remove a judge from deciding your case because you can show the judge is biased or otherwise unable to fairly decide a case. This showing cannot be based on your feeling that the judge is biased - there has to be evidence to support it. This was an issue in the case J.R. v. D.C.F., 3D22-1537 (Fla. 3d DCA October 6, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Can an attorney be sanctioned in a Florida family law case? It is possible for an attorney to be sanctioned for bad faith conduct in a proceeding. This usually happens when an attorney violates an order or pursues relief to which the attorney knows the client is not entitled. These sanctions are rare, however, and certain procedures must be followed to uphold the sanctions. This was an issue in the case The Shir Law Group, P.A. v. Carnevale, et. al., 3D21-0988 (Fla. 3d DCA August 10, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Can you amend your Florida family law petition? Sometimes parties forget to ask for certain relief in their pleadings such as alimony. If relief is not requested in a petition, it usually cannot be granted by the court. This is why permission to amend pleadings are liberally granted. But there are limits. This was an issue in the case DiGiacomo v. Mosquera, . 3D20-463 (Fla. 3d DCA June 16, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What happens if a party wants to appeal a general magistrate’s ruling in a Florida family law case? First the party is usually required to file a motion for exceptions to the general magistrate’s report within a certain amount of time. Doing so allows the trial judge to review the general magistrate’s ruling and decide whether or not an error was committed. We review this procedure in the case Langsetmo v. Metza, 4D19-2138 (Fla. 4th DCA November 4, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Pro se litigants in Florida family law cases are parties who are not represented by a lawyer. They are representing themselves, and even if they are not familiar with rules of procedure or the law, they are usually held to the same standard as a lawyer in conducting themselves in the case. This is why it may not be ideal to proceed pro se. The case Duhamel v. Duhamel, 2D18-4020 (Fla. 2d DCA September 5, 2020) is an example of how self-representation can cause complications.
