Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog

The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal recently ruled in a case of first impression involving a same sex partnership child custody dispute. In a rather unique case, two women involved in a same sex partnership decided to have a child after engaging in a committed relationship for 11 years. When one woman in the partnership learned she was infertile, the other donated an egg which was fertilized using an anonymous donor. The infertile partner then carried the child to term and a baby girl was born in January 2004. The result was that although one partner gave birth to the child, the other is the child's biological mother.

Only the woman who gave birth to the child was listed on her birth certificate, but the child's last name is a hyphenated version of each woman's last name. Although the couple parted when the child was 2 years old, she continued to treat each woman as a parent and divided her time between them. When the child was 3.5 years old, the birth mother took the child and left the country without notice. A short time after the egg donor learned of their whereabouts, the two returned to Florida.

The child's biological mother filed a lawsuit in Brevard County seeking visitation. A circuit judge reluctantly ruled in favor of the child's birth mother because a woman who gives birth to a child is the child's mother according to Florida law. The biological mother appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The appellate court stated both the United States and Florida constitutions provide parental rights to both women and preempt Florida law on the matter. The Fifth District overturned the Brevard County judge's decision and remanded the case to determine visitation, custody, and child support issues based on the best interests of the child.

The appellate court also asked the Florida Supreme Court to consider whether application of the Florida statute regarding parentage to the facts of the case at hand rendered the statute itself unconstitutional.

In the state of Florida, a custody arrangement is generally referred to as a time-sharing schedule. An overall parenting plan which includes a time-sharing schedule is usually established when parents divorce but can be established any time parenting partners choose to end their relationship. A time sharing plan outlines the amount of time a child will spend with each parent every week. This includes both holidays and overnights. If a child's parents cannot agree on a time-sharing plan, a court will set a schedule which takes into account a variety of statutory factors and the child's preference. Florida law requires a parent who seeks to modify a time-sharing schedule to show the existence of substantially changed circumstances which justify the change.

Continue reading "In Unique Case, Daytona Court Says Both Lesbian Moms Have Parental Rights " »

A Lee County judge signed an order Thursday demanding the return of Country singer Mindy McCready's 5-year-old son, Zander, to his maternal grandmother's care in Florida. McCready took the boy to her home in Tennessee after visiting him late last month at her father's Florida home. McCready, who is currently seven months pregnant with twins, said she was currently incapable of travel and refused to return her son to Florida.

McCready's mother was named Zander's guardian in 2007. Since then, the two have engaged in a long battle over his custody. The 36-year-old singer recently accused her mother of abusing Zander and stated she took the child in an effort to protect him. Her mother denies the allegations. In August, McCready also filed a libel lawsuit against her mother.

Early Saturday morning, Arkansas authorities took Zander into custody at a previously unoccupied summer home in Heber Springs. McCready apparently did not have permission to be on the property and was found hiding in a bedroom closet with her son. The Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services are currently making arrangements to return the child to his grandmother in Florida. McCready later told her half-brother via text message their mother would never see her again.

McCready has led a complicated life since finding fame. She reportedly suffers from severe depression, has publicly battled a drug addiction, and she spent time in the hospital three years ago for an alleged suicide attempt. It is unclear whether McCready will now face criminal charges for violating the custody arrangement and the judge's order.

Clearly, it was not in McCready's best interests to ignore the judge's custody order. Highly disputed child custody arrangements such as this must be approved by the courts. In Florida, a parent must show substantially changed circumstances since the original arrangement was created before a court will modify a child custody arrangement. Additionally, the child's best interests must justify any change. A parent's fitness to raise the child, the child's age, the parent primarily responsible for the child's upbringing, and the child's preference are all factors a court will look at when determining the best interests of a child. The court will also look at other factors such as the moral fitness of the parents, any evidence of sexual violence, child abuse, child neglect or child abandonment, and various other statutory factors.

Continue reading " Judge Orders Country Singer Mindy McCready to Return Son to Florida" »

A number of judges in Broward and Miami Dade county courts have begun ordering divorcing parents to use third-party websites designed to effectively manage scheduling for their children. Websites such as OurFamilyWizard.com and ShareKids.com allow parents to maintain an online calendar to communicate important events, appointments and custody hand-offs. The technology can often eliminate the need for parents to call, text, or email one another during times of discord. The websites can also provide parents with an incentive to restrict highly emotional or vindictive communications because messages cannot be erased and all communications may be traced. Additionally, such technology may cut down on time spent in court as the websites may be viewed by divorce mediators, lawyers and judges.

Scheduling websites for divorced parents are popular. OurFamilyWizard.com was started in 2001 and currently has more than 20,000 subscribers hailing from all 50 states and some foreign countries. It provides parents with a shared calendar, expense logs, a place to list significant telephone numbers, a message board accessible to children as well as parents, and space to upload and view documents like report cards and school awards. Courts in more than 35 states currently order its use. ShareKids.com, founded by a divorced father of four, offers many of the same features.

Broward County's administrative family court judge, Susan Greenhawt, believes other forms of communication such as emails and texts are not always an effective method for parents to communicate productively. She thinks scheduling websites have the ability to assist parents who are seeking what is best for their children. Miami-Dade chief family court judge Sandy Karlan has stated most judges in the county have been recommending the technology to parents for years. Many judges also order its use. Both judges said they generally encounter little opposition from parents who are ordered to use the online scheduling websites. Parents who divorced before use of the technology became widespread may also find the sites useful.

In Florida, custody arrangements are referred to as time-sharing. A parenting plan that includes a time-sharing schedule is established when parents divorce. This plan will outline the amount of time each week a child will spend with each parent including overnights and holidays. If parents cannot agree on a time-sharing plan, the court will set a schedule which takes into account several statutory factors such as abuse or violence and the child's preference. In order to modify a time-sharing plan, Florida law requires a parent seeking modification to show circumstances have changed substantially enough to justify the change.

Continue reading "Broward Judges Increasingly Order Divorced Parents to Utilize Scheduling Websites " »

A Broward divorce lawyer and his client received promising news last week which may help him regain custody of his child. Christopher Dahm was advised by the United States Department of State that his former wife, Leslie Delbecq, was detained at the Abu Dhabi airport when she attempted to depart the United Arab Emirates.

Dahm has been engaged in a global search for his two year old child for approximately one year. The United States Federal government has indicted his former wife with the crime of parental kidnapping, a violation of the laws of the United States of America.

The court in Abu Dhabi has requested information and documentation about the federal charges which are pending against Ms. Debeq who, along with her mother and father, were recently indicted by a federal grand jury.

Today, Broward marital and family law Circuit Judge Susan Greenhawt appointed a guardian ad litem for two girls and ordered an expedited study to determine if a relative is capable of having temporary child custody of the minor children. While the court waits to learn whether or not the young girls, ages 6 months and 5 years old, have a relative who they can reside with they have been placed in foster care. The court also ordered supervised time-sharing between the mother and the minor children when she is released from jail.

On Tuesday, an anonymous tip led Broward Sherrif's officers to a home where they discovered roaches in three rooms, trash and mold in the living room, foul odors in the kitchen and piles of garbage on the floor. The two minor children were sleeping in a roach infested bedroom without sheets on their bed. An animal control officer also discovered filthy and malnourished pitbulls in the back yard.

When child protective services investigators arrived at the home, they were unable to locate any responsible adults to watch the two children. The children were immediately placed in protective child custody.

The mother of the two children pictured above, 22 year old Lindsay Wallin, has been charged with cruelty towards a child, child neglect without great harm, animal abandonment and violation of probation. She is being held without bond at the Broward County Jail.

Last Friday a ten year old autistic boy was abandoned at Broward General Medical Center. This weekend the mother of this child appeared before Circuit Judge Marina Garcia-Wood, a marital and family law Judge, at the Broward Courthouse for a child custody hearing. At thea hearing, the court wanted an explanation why her ten year old son, Benjamin, was found wandering around an emergency room on Friday.

The mother told the judge that she suffers from bipolar depression and recently separated from her husband. She has two other children, is unemployed and was recently evicted from her foreclosed home. Mrs. Benjamin dropped the minor child off at the hospital because she could not take care of him or find assistance to help her with the minor child.

While the boy's father travelled from his residence in Islamorada after hearing that his son was abandoned, the minor child has been placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families pending a complete investigation. He has been taken to a foster home for children with special needs so that he can receive the services that he needs.

The next court appearance will be in two weeks where both parties may appear with Fort Lauderdale child custody attorneys. In the meantime, both parents are permitted to have unsupervised time-sharing with the minor child.

Clients will often call their divorce lawyer in Fort Lauderdale and complain about time-sharing scheduling difficulties, missed appointments for their children and other parenting plan problems. Miami marital and family lawyers also hear complaints that one party has sent inappropriate text messages and emails or has requested reimbursement of unauthorized dental and doctor bills. These problems result in expensive court battles with children stuck in the middle of their parents disputes.

Websites are now available to assist parents in being more efficient with their parenting plan and minimizing conflict. Messages are saved in order to avoid conflicting stories from litigants.

In Broward and Miami-Dade, marital and family lawyers request that the court order parents to use websites such as OurFamilyWizard.com and Sharekids.com to communicate with each other in a more effective manner. While these websites permit therapists, lawyers and parenting coordinators to view the site, they also assist in the resolution of child custody disputes without litigation.

For a fee as low as $99 per year, litigants can use a shared calendar, message boards, expense logs, and an area where they can list important information for their children such as doctors, insurance company information and phone numbers. Parents can also scan and store important documents such as report cards.

Broward Circuit Judge Susan Greenhawt believes that these websites have come a long way since the days when parties communicated by fax machines. E-mails, text messages and Facebook often convey more anger than productive communication amongst litigants.

In Miami-Dade, Circuit Judge Sandy Karlan recommends families use communication sites. Many of the judges and lawyers prefer that parties use these programs. Judge Karlan believes that these sites work well for high conflict cases since the parties are able to talk to one another and save their messages for future dispute resolution.

While few people object to use these family-friendly sites, the ones who have difficulties communicating often find that these programs are beneficial. At the end of the day, it takes two parents to co-parent in order to do what is in the best interest of their children.

Many children from divorced parents experience difficulties with math and social skills. Emotionally, they experience anxiety and depression. While parents predivorce problems do not influence their kid's social and academic progress, children fall behind and fail to catch up for at least two years after their parents divorce in Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Research now shows that divorce is very difficult for children. The stress can double a kid's risk of a stroke. In a recent university study, children were followed from kindergarten until eighth grade. Researchers followed children whose parents divorced between their kindergarten and third-grade years compared with 3,433 children from intact homes.

Children from divorced families and intact families were compared based upon math and reading tests, ratings of social skills and ratings of behavior. The study found that children began to struggle at the commencement of their parents divorce. Over the next two years, children of divorced parents fell behind on math and social skills and displayed behavioral signs of sadness, loneliness, depression and anxiety.

The sample of children was not large enough to analyze the effects of a dissolution of marriage by gender, age or ethnicity. Researchers plan to replicate this study with a different group of children.

There are good reasons why divorce may be difficult for children in comparison to predivorce problems between parents. These include child custody and time-sharing litigation in Fort Lauderdale when children are moving back and forth between both parties homes.

According to WPLG Local 10 News, Jorge Barahona, whose adopted daughter, Nubia, was found dead in the back of his pickup truck has been charged with attempted murder after her 10 year old twin brother, Victor Barahona, was found badly burned by a chemical in the same truck. The minor child is at the pediatric intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital. While Barahona, 53, faces child abuse and attempted murder charges in Palm Beach County his daughter, Jennifer Perez, appeared before Judge Sandy Karlan in Miami for an emergency child custody hearing.

Judge Sandy Karlan heard testimony that Jennifer Perez, daughter of Jorge Barahona, knew that the twins were being abused. Allesandra Perez, the 7 year old grandaughter of Jorge Barahona, told her father, Yovani Perez, that the 10 year old twins Victor and Nubia were required to stay in a bathroom at the Barahona home with their hands and feet tied together.

On February 18, 2011, Judge Sandy Karlan commenced proceedings to terminate Jennifer Perez's parental rights on a permanent basis. In the interim, she temporary changed custody to the father, Yovani Perez, and ordered that Jennifer Perez was to have no visitation, time-sharing or contact with her daughter, either directly or indirectly. Judge Karlan warned Ms. Perez that any violations of the court's directives would result in her being held in contempt of court.

A Fort Lauderdale mother was awarded unsupervised time-sharing and visitation rights to her 11-month-old son. However, a Broward county General Magistrate denied her requested to regain full custody of her child. The court ordered the child, Charlie Costa, to stay with a new foster family in light of a recent injury.

The minor child, Charlie Costa, is at Broward General Medical Center suffering from a skull fracture. He is reported to be alert, eating and does not have any hemorrhaging. In light of his recent injury, the mother, Apple Costa, unsuccessfully persuaded General Magistrate Giuseppina Miranda to remove her child from foster care and place him back in her home.

The minor child entered foster care 7 months ago due to burns on his hand and his mother's drug addiction. Since then, his mother has had clean drug tests, completed parenting counseling and had psychiatric evaluations.

The Florida Department of Children & Familes is investigating how the minor child sustained a head injury. It is being reported that the minor child's injuries are not inconsistent with a fall. Investigators and doctors do not believe that there has been evidence of deliberate abuse.

Many clients will ask their Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney how they will have contact an access with their child in cases involving relocation or in which one parent resides outside of the state where their child resides. Video chats through the internet and programs such as Skype have become very popular in parenting plans. In fact, Florida marital and family lawyers believe that language regarding virtual time-sharing will soon become entrenched into all parenting plans.

Presently video conferencing between a parent and child is used by parents who face distance hurdles such as one parent living in Los Angeles and one parent residing in Miami. While relocation of a minor child often carries a difficult burden of proof, professionals believe that virutal access between a parent and a minor child is in his or her best interest.

Video conferencing between a parent and child is not a substitute for doing homework with a child or watching a child enjoy extracurricuar activities. There is a tremendous benefit in a child being able to immediately see their parent by webcam chatting. However, there still remains many unanswered questions such as whether virtual access should take place in front of the other parent and whether the use of technology by Miami child custody attorneys will be beneficial in all cases.

The Miami Herald is reporting that Circuit Judge Jeri Cohen has ruled that a Hialeah women will not have custody of her children pending an investigation by DCF. On Monday, Rebecca Garcia, 21, left her infant and five year old son alone in her vehicle while shopping. She was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect. In addition, she tested positive for marijuana prior to Tuesday's hearing.

She told law enforcement that she was returning a previously made purchase and only left her children in the car for five minutes. Judge Cohen placed the daughter with the grandparents and father and the son with an aunt. While the parties are due to return to court on September 28, 2010, the court is permitting liberal time-sharing with the mother.

Garcia was previously investigated by DCF in 2005 when her daughter obtained a bone fracture.

Marital and family law in Miami-Dade and Broward, judges and divorce attorneys have relied upon the OurFamilyWizard® website for high conflict child custody, parenting plan and time-sharing cases. This website has become one of the most effective shared parental responsibility tools to remove parental conflict and to assist parents in doing what is in the best interest of the minor children.

After nearly ten years of helping separated families communicate, the OurFamilyWizard® website has added yet another revolutionary tool to its repertoire. Earlier this year the OurFamilyWizard® website announced the release of OFWpay™.

The OFWpay™ system allows parents to make and receive electronic payments to their checking or savings account. OFWpay™ transactions allow parents to send payment for expenses like unreimbursed medical, extra-curricular activities or even child support payments where permitted.

Parents know exactly when payments were sent and received. No more "the check is in the mail". No more waiting for the check to clear. And, there are no fees associated with receiving funds.

The OFWpay™ system uses a flat rate fee structure based on the amount the sender transmits. These fees are far cheaper than traditional electronic fund transfers or other web based services. OFWpay™ users also avoid certified mail costs and post office hassles. Many will even save on expensive cashier's checks or money orders.

Payments are completed in just a couple of clicks of the mouse, and may incorporate any number of expenses. OFWpay™ receipts itemize all requests included in each payment. Parents have a clear and accurate record of all expense reimbursements.

Transactions processed through the OFWpay™ system are completely secure and safe. Parents transfer funds without sharing personal bank information with each other. OFWpay may help parents avoid embarrassing wage garnishments, waiting for state disbursements, and delayed payments due to job changes. Additionally, OFWpay™ is eco-friendly, no paper, no mess.

The OurFamilyWizard® website is the leading provider of tools that help families move forward after a divorce or separation when child custody is an issue. For nearly a decade, the OurFamilyWizard® website has helped remove conflict, promote healthy communication, and shield children from difficulties facing separated parents. The website has rapidly evolved since inception, and continues to enhance features that better meet the needs of today's families.

For more information go to www.OurFamilyWizard.com

Dwyane Wade was in a marital and family law court today while his former wife testified during child custody proceedings in Chicago. Lawyers for the Miami Heat star tried to establish that his former wife has erratic behavior based upon her relationships, confrontations and parenting decisions. Prior to the trial, the divorce judge requested that the Miami Heat basketball player and his former wife attempt to resolve their child custody litigation. However, the parties quickly reached an impasse.

Divorce lawyers for Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade argued that the former wife has bizarre behavior and interferes with his time-sharing. On the otherhand, lawyers for the former wife argued that Mr. Wade is too busy to be designated as the sole custodial parent.

The guardian ad litem has recommended that Dwyane Wade be granted custody. Dwyane Wade is scheduled to testify in court later this week.

An extended family member such as a relative in the third degree by blood or marriage to the parent of a stepparent of a child currently married to a parent may have a lawyer file an action under Florida law to seek temporary custody of a minor child in Broward. This is intended to provide a legal means for a statutorily defined family member to acquire the necessary legal documentation to permit them to provide for the minor child under for whom they are caring for by allowing them to consent to medical treatment, to obtain copies of school records and to enroll the minor child in school.

In a recent case from the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Mohorn v Thomas, the grandmother appealed an order entered by Broward marital and family Judge Marina Garcia-Wood. The trial court denied her petition for temporary custody. Judge Garcia-Wood found that the father's name on the birth certificate was insufficient to establish paternity and that the father was required to file a paternity action to establish or ratify paternity before temporary custody of an extended family member could be sought by an extended family member.

The minor child's birth certificate listed Sylenia Danielle Thomas as the mother and Ronnie Kennedy as the father. One year after the minor child was born, the mother and father executed a document that gave all rights and legal guardianship of the minor child to the paternal grandparents.

In reversing the decision of the trial court, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that trial court erred in requiring the father to file a paternity action before it could make a ruling on an extended family member's petition for temporary custody of the minor child. The court found that the establishment of paternity was sufficient to render the father a parent and the paternal grandparents extended family members under Florida Statute Chapter 751.

Here, the father signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity at the hospital when the minor child was born. When the father signed the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, he was advised of the consequences of signing this document and the mother signed the document as well. Additionally, the father again acknowledged paternity when him and the mother signed an additional document giving all of the rights and legal guardianship to the paternal grandparents.