Miami family law attorney blog
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Miami Child Custody
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Temporary relief orders are routinely entered in Florida child custody cases. This is so that parties do not have to wait several months (and in some cases a year or more) for their final hearing to obtain relief. The case Beck v. Lewis, 2D18-2319 (Fla. 2d DCA August 9, 2019) explores how a court reviews a party’s request to set aside a temporary order on child custody.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity
The father of a child born outside of wedlock in Florida should take important steps to ensure that he has parental rights. Being named on a birth certificate does not automatically grant parental rights such as visitation and decision-making authority.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity
Father’s rights received a boost in Florida this year when the Florida Supreme Court issued a decision which clarified that biological fathers of children born in an intact marriage have the right to assert paternity. Before this ruling, the presumption that a child born to an intact marriage was the child of the husband of that marriage (even if not biologically related) defeated many biological father’s claims for paternity. Another recent case applies the new ruling to allow a biological father to pursue his parental rights over his twin children.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a child is seeing a therapist and a Florida child custody case is pending, a question arises as to whether or not the therapist can be compelled to testify regarding the child’s statements to the therapist. In the case Garcia v. Guiles, 1D17-5125 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018), an order allowing the a child’s treating psychotherapist was appealed, and the appellate court discussed the standard for reviewing whether or not the order was appropriate.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
An often employed rule in Florida child custody cases is that a court cannot engage in guessing when it comes to the future best interest of a child. That is, a court generally cannot rule on a major change that will take place in a child's life before that change happens. This rule has been applied in different ways with different results in some Florida appellate cases. One recent case examines how this rule is applied to orders concerning where a child will live once the child starts kindergarten.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a party appeals a Florida family law ruling, in most cases, findings of fact made by a trial judge will not be disturbed unless there is a clear error. This is because the appellate court has a policy of not wanting to substitute its judgment for that of a trial court judge who saw witnesses testify and was able to weigh the credibility of those witnesses. A recent appellate case illustrates an extreme case in which the appellate court did feel it had to overturn the trial court's ruling because it was not supported by competent, substantial evidence.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Of note in recent Florida family law appellate decisions is grandparent visitation rights. While Florida recognizes a legal parent's constitutional right to privacy and therefore does not give standing to grandparents to petition for visitation rights, a Florida court must uphold and enforce a grandparent visitation order entered in another state. An interesting issue related to this came up in the case Downs v. Nottingham, 219 So.3d 244 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
It can take a year or more to get to trial in your Miami child custody case. This is why parties can and should seek temporary relief orders which, for example, provide an interim enforceable mandate regarding a parenting plan.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When the mental health of a parent is at issue in a Florida child custody case, is a parent required to produce his or her records regarding past treatment for mental health issues? The psychotherapist-patient privilege protects a party from having to disclose records and communications with a psychotherapist, but that privilege can be waived under certain circumstances. This is explored in the case Zarzaur v. Zarzaur, 213 So.3d 1115 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is an important set of laws adopted by most states which seeks to avoid conflicting orders from different state courts in child custody cases and promotes cooperation between state courts. The appellate case Haugabook v. Jeffcoat-Hultberg, 219 So.3d 65 (Fla. 2016) illustrates the importance of the UCCJEA.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When a parent seeks to relocate with a child more than 50 miles from his or her current residence and the other parent does not agree, the court must make the difficult decision of determining whether the relocation is in the best interest of the child. Such was the situation in the Miami Family Law case Naime v. Corzo , 208 So.3d 296 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When it comes to filing your child custody case, you will want to be sure the court in which you plan to file has jurisdiction to consider your case. Jurisdiction means the power or authority the court has to make rulings in your case.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Active duty military service members may face challenges in maintaining substantial and consistent contact with their children due to deployments. When a time-sharing order is already in place, Florida law provides certain remedies for a deployed parent to ensure that his/her contact is minimally affected.
