Miami family law attorney blog
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Divorce
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Are parents in Florida required to pay for college education as part of child support? Generally, the law considers the obligation to pay college tuition a moral obligation rather than a legal obligation. This was one issue appealed in the case Douglas v. Douglas, 5D20-2574 (Fla. 5th DCA October 8, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Many Florida marital settlement agreements contain an attorney’s fee provision which allows a party who has to enforce the agreement to collect attorney’s fees from the party who is in violation of the agreement. Florida law introduced a statutory provision not long ago which makes contractual fee provisions reciprocal - that is if the party who is seeking fees loses, the other party could be awarded attorney’s fees. This issue was recently examined by the Florida Supreme Court in the case Levy v. Levy, SC20-1195 (Fla. October 7, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Sometimes mistakes can happen in your Florida final judgment of divorce. These mistakes can usually be corrected via a motion for rehearing and ultimately, an appeal to a higher court. To protect your appellate rights, it is important to take the correct steps on the trial level to preserve arguments for appeal. This was one issue in the case Gupta v. Gupta, 5D20-536 (Fla. 5th DCA October 1, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When alimony is calculated in a Florida divorce, does the court consider the expenses a spouse incurs for children born of the marriage? Generally, expenses for children are excluded from consideration in an alimony calculation because these are separately handled via the child support guidelines. This was an issue in the case Hamilton v. Hamilton, 1D20-1019 (Fla. 1st DCA October 13, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When parties divorce and their assets are separated by a Florida court, it is important to also remember to change beneficiary designation forms on retirement accounts and life insurance policies to conform to a divorce judgment. This is because a dispute can arise later if the retirement plan or insurer is bound by the beneficiary designation, and therefore must pay funds to an ex-spouse, even if this was not intended by the deceased ex-spouse. This was an issue in the case Martinez-Olson v. The Estate of Dan Olson, 3D20-1301 (Fla. 3d DCA September 1, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can a Florida family court award shared parental responsibility but also award ultimate decision-making regarding specific matters affecting children? Ultimate-decision making authority gives a parent the right to be the sole decider over issues specified by the court when the parents do not agree otherwise. This was one issue appealed in the case Moses v. Moses, 5D20-2534 (Fla. 5th DCA September 17, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What steps are required in equitable distribution in a Florida divorce? According to the Florida Statutes the steps are (1) identification of marital and nonmarital assets, (2) valuation of marital assets, and (3) distribution of marital assets as stated in Fla. Stat. 61.075. In the case Morgan v. Morgan, 2D20-1622 (Fla. 2d DCA September 17, 2021), the court considered an appeal involving equitable distribution, alimony and child support.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
The words used (or not used) in a Florida marital settlement agreement are important. A court cannot rewrite the terms of the parties’ contract and must enforce the clear terms “as-is”. This is why it is important to be sure your agreement says what you mean. This was an issue in the case Grey v. Grey, 5D20-1809 (Fla. 5th DCA July 23, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a Florida court analyzes need and ability to pay for purposes of awarding alimony, does the analysis stop if the court finds one party does not have the ability to pay alimony? This was an issue in the case Samaniego v. Samaniego, 2D19-3920 (Fla. 2d DCA August 11, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What if there is a mistake in your Florida marital settlement agreement? How can it be fixed? Whether or not it can be fixed depends on how long ago the agreement was entered, and the nature of the mistake. In the case Asad v. Sheikh, 5D21-316 (Fla. 5th DCA July 9, 2021), the court considered an appeal concerning a retirement account in the parties’ marital settlement agreement.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What is a status quo order in a Florida divorce? Many jurisdictions in Florida have this administrative order in place which automatically applies to most family law cases once filed. The status quo order usually contains provisions that require parties to continue to pay common household expenses such as utilities, health insurance premiums, etc. This is so that a spouse who does not pay these bills does not have to worry that these services will be in jeopardy once a divorce case is filed. A status quo order was the subject of the case Lykkebak v. Lykkebak, 5D20-1927 (Fla. 5th DCA June 18, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
How does a Florida divorce court decide who gets the family dog? Pets are generally considered property and would be viewed similar to a vehicle or other asset of value. If the parties cannot agree on who gets certain property, including a pet, the Florida Statutes authorize a court to consider, among other factors, the desirability of retaining any asset when deciding to whom the property should be awarded. The case Springer v. Springer, 2D20-812 (Fla. 2d DCA June 11, 2021) concerned a dispute about a dog.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Dissolution of Marriage
Equitable distribution in a Florida divorce is the division of assets and debts between spouses. Generally a Florida divorce court looks at the value of marital assets and how much marital debt is owed, and distributes these between the spouses to arrive at an equal division. In the case Ouimette v. Ouimette, 2D20-22 (Fla. 2d DCA May 28, 2021), the division of a retirement account was at issue.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
An equalizing payment can be ordered in a Florida divorce when one spouse is awarded a higher amount of equity in marital assets than the other spouse. For example, if one spouse is awarded the marital home, the other spouse might be paid his or her one-half share of equity in the home by the spouse keeping the home. However, there are limits to equalizing payments, and this was an issue in the case Sanders v. Peterson-Sanders, 4D20-2082 (Fla. 4th DCA May 26, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Can the other spouse be ordered to pay my attorney’s fees in a Florida divorce case? Yes, this is possible, if the spouse asking for attorney’s fees to be paid shows the need for it, and also shows that the other spouse has the ability to pay. This was an issue in the case Freeborn v. Freeborn, 4D20-1124 (Fla. 4th DCA May 19, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a spouse owns property prior to marriage, that property is usually classified as the spouse’s separate property so long as that spouse has not taken steps which convert the property to a jointly owned-asset. Even if the property remains the spouse’s separate property, the other spouse may be entitled to half of the appreciation in value of the property accumulated during the marriage, especially if the increase was due to active appreciation (meaning the spouse’s labor or efforts). This was an issue in the case Palmer v. Palmer, 5D19-2389 (Fla. 5th DCA April 16, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
When a spouse fears the other spouse is disposing of assets or removing money from bank accounts, a request to freeze assets may be made to a Florida divorce court. Because this is a form of injunction, it must be requested a certain way. A party’s failure to properly request the correct relief related to freezing assets may result in denial of the request. This was an issue in the case Doddapaneni v. Doddapaneni, 5D20-1735 (Fla. 5th DCA May 7, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
What happens when one party files a motion to disqualify a lawyer in a Florida family law case? An example of disqualification is when one party alleges it would be unfair to have the other party represented by a certain lawyer because that lawyer also represented the alleging party in a separate but related matter. In the case Reuschel v. Reuschel, 1D20-1039 (Fla. 1st DCA May 14, 2021), the husband appealed an order he believed granted the wife’s motion to disqualify counsel.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
Who gets the marital home in a Florida divorce? A court can award one party the home and order that party to pay equity to the other spouse. The court can also order that one spouse have sole possession of the property until their youngest child turns 18 and then the house be sold. Yet another option is to order sale of the home immediately and a split of the net proceeds between the parties. This was an issue in the case Ortiz v. Ortiz, 2D19-587 (Fla. 2d DCA April 7, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
How many continuances can a party seek in a Florida family law case? A continuance is a delay of a hearing date or other deadline in the case. There is really no limit, but the court has discretion to deny requests for delay that are repeated, are made in bad faith, and which cause prejudice to the other party. This was one of many issues raised in the case Apesteguy v. Keglevich, 3D20-60 (Fla. 3d DCA April 7, 2021).
