Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog

If you file for divorce in Broward, your attorney may suggest that you retain a forensic accountant to value the marital business. However, in these uncertain economic times the values of marital assets are volatile and may fluctuate after trial and before the marital and family court in Florida enters the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. In the case of Mistretta v. Mistretta, the Miami Herald is reporting that First District Court of Appeal ruled that the trial court erred in revisiting the equitable distribution due to the economic recession

In the final judgment of dissolution of marriage entered on August 25, 2008, the trial court distributed the marital business to the Husband, assigned a date of valuation of October 31, 2007 and ordered the Husband to make a one time cash equalization payment of $845,000 to the Wife. The Husband requested a new trial and valuation of the business relying upon the economic recession that began in December, 2007 as "newly discovered evidence." The trial court granted the Husband's motion.

Rehearing or a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence is permitted when it appears that the evidence will possibly change the result if a new trial is granted, the evidence has been discovered since trial, the evidence could not have been discovered before trial by the exercise of due diligence, the evidence is material to the issue and the evidence is not just cumulative or impeaching. The alleged "newly discovered evidence" cannot simply show some change in circumstance since the trial.

Here, the "newly discovered evidence", evidence of an economic recession that began in December, 2007 and operating results thereafter, proves a change in circumstances after the date of valuation and relates to events that took place after trial. In reversing the decision of the Florida divorce court, the First District Court of Appeal held that a cloudy crystal ball is no basis for a new trial. The Court reasoned that when the way that the future unfolds is different than business appraisers assume cannot be a basis for a new trial on the value of a business if trials on such issues are ever to yield final adjudications.

Residents of Broward cities such as Hollywood, Weston, Davie and Plantation may find themselves having disagreements with their spouse over marital finances. With unemployment at an all time high and a depressed real estate market, finance related tension is causing couples to speak to and retain a Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney.

The New York Times is reporting that finance related tension between married couples raises the risk of divorce. A recent study from Utah State University found that couples who disagree about finances one time per week were over 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples who reported disagreeing about finances a few times a month.

2800 couples were asked, separately, about how often they had a disagreement with their spouse over chores, in-laws, spending time together, sex and money. Several years later, these couples were contacted again and asked if they were still married. Out of all of the items that couples fight over, money disputes were most indicative of a divorce. While wives believed that disputes over finances and sex were good predictors of divorce, they believed that finance disputes were much stronger predictors. For husbands, they believed that financial disagreements were the highest indicator of whether they would get divorced.

The Miami Herald is reporting that many couples in Miami-Dade, Broward and South Florida are staying together or appearing pro se (without a lawyer) because they are unable to pay a divorce attorney. Some divorce lawyers in Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale state that their divorce business is down as much as 35%. In addition, many potential new clients do not appear for their consultation because they are embarrassed that they can not afford the consultation fee.

According to court records, 16,868 divorces were granted in 2006 in Miami-Dade, 16,005 in 2007 and 14,631 in 2008. In Broward, 11,179 cases were filed in 200, 9,876 in 2007 and 8,924 in 2008. Circuit Court Judge Sandy Karlan, administrative judge of the family division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Miami-Dade, believes that there has been an increase in modification of divorce agreements and support payments as well as spouses seeking contempt remedies to enforce their alimony and child support. In addition, Judge Karlan has observed couples continuing to live in their marital residence after the entry of the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

The economy appears to have a greater effect on the lower and middle class more than the wealthy. Many potential clients are requesting free consultations but have no intentions of retaining a Miami or Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer. Marital and family law attorneys are also dealing with many cases where a spouse is unable to live up to the terms and conditions of their marital settlement agreement.

While some lawyers have reduced their retainer and hourly rate, now accept credit cards and are offering payment plans, many individuals are opting to handle their case pro se (without a lawyer). However, Miami and Broward divorce lawyers often are retained during or after the divorce to fix the mistakes made by clients who file their own divorces that deal with alimony, child custody and support, time-sharing, parenting plans and equitable distribution of property.

The troubling economy may be downsizing the number of divorce filings in Miami-Dade and Broward county. According to a recent survery of lawyers involved with the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 57% of attorneys have reported fewer divorce filings since the last quarter of 2008. On the contrary, 14% reported an increase in divorce filings.
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers encourages the study, improving practice, eleveating the standards and advancing the cause of marital and family law in the United States and Fort Lauderdale. However, if you are not receiving any child support from your spouse, you should talk to a Broward divorce lawyer about the different options that are available to you. Staying in a marriage as a result of the recession may be detrimental to both you and your minor children.

Monroe County, Florida which is south of Broward and Miami-Dade has the second highest rate of divorced residents in the United States of America. 18.3%, or 11,473 of Monroe County's 62,229 have hired a divorce lawyer or proceeded without a divorce lawyer in obtaining a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage or have divorced somewhere along the way. Census reports indicated that 6,829 men and 4,644 women are divorced in The Florida Keys.

The Florida Keys atmosphere may play a role in these statistical figures. The Florida Keys is a place of escape. There has been economic problems in Monroe County just like every other county in Florida. Other counties in Florida that are included in the top ten counties in the nation for percentage of divorced residents include Putnam in North Florida and Pinelles on the west coast, both which report rates higher than 16%.

When you meet with your Broward divorce attorney, you are most likely to ask about the equitable distribution of your assets. Your Ft. Lauderdale divorce lawyer will also discuss with you matters pertaining to child support and alimony. Whether you live in Plantation, Coral Springs, Cooper City or Pembroke Pines, the recession has not only affected businesses and individuals in your area but also will impact your divorce in Broward County, Florida.

The recession requires concessions amongst couples who file for divorce. During a good economy, when there is greater wealth, couples will hire divorce lawyers and fight. These days, clients are requesting to attend mediation soon rather than later. Individuals are less inclined to drag out the divorce proceeding in court, fighting over the division of diminished assets.

Divorcing couples can not often afford two different homes. Sometimes they have to live together since the marital residence will not sell. The husband and wife must make accommodations for each other such as each party living in separate bedrooms. However, these couples share household chores, parenting responsibilities and baby sitting arrangements.

The inability to move on during these turbulent economic times can cause family stress. When a person feels secure that they can cleanly break away from their marriage, he or she is more likely to seek freedom and feel positive about the changes in their life. During a recession, an individual is forced to deal with an economy that he or she can not control. This type of individual is less likely to be optimistic about his or her future and have a more difficult time making plans and taking the required steps to move forward in life. A person who has to stay in an unhappy marital situation develops emotional stress from unpaid bills, unemployment, pay cuts and reduction in retirement payouts. With a divorce, one spouse may resent the other due to an inability to collect child support or alimony if the obligor is unemployed. The damage when couples are faced with a tough economy during their divorce can create fear and confusion for their children.

An economic downturn does not have to be a negative for couples who must continue to stay married. They will discover that they have the resources to support one another. They will weather the storm. Perhaps the recession is a good thing.

When you meet with your divorce lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, you will soon understand that there is never a best time to file for divorce. However, if a man is considering filing for divorce in the Broward County marital and family law court, the recession might be the time to do it. Divorce attorneys in Miami and Fort Lauderdale have exlained to clients that income, business values and assets have decreased in their present values.

For men, it may be less painful to walk away now. For women, it is important to think about whether they should file for divorce now before assets and income continue to decrease in value. However, couples throughout Florida believe that they should not file for divorce during the recession because of the need for dual incomes.

In Miami-Dade and Broward County, the business of divorce is slightly down from the number of filings one year ago. Throughout the state of Florida, new divorce filings fell from 21,333 in the first quarter of 2008 to 18,028 in the first quarter of 2009. In Miami-Dade County, new divorce filings fell from 3,239 in the first quarter of 2008 to 3,196 during the same quarter in 2009. In Broward County, new divorce filings fell from 2,148 in the first quarter of 2008 to 1,543 in the first quarter in 2009.

One of the factors that couples need to consider when filing for a divorce in Fort Lauderdale is the economic implications placed upon parties during the pendency of and after a divorce. In Broward County, it is important to discuss the impact of the recession with your marital and family law attorney before entering into a marital settlement agreement.

In many divorce cases, a husband and wife decide that they do not want to be married to each other. While they are ready to move forward in their lives, they can not afford to move out of the marital residence. Couples do not want to sell their home during a decline in the real estate market. In other instances, the parties can not afford two households until one of them finds a new job. In the interim, couples are residing in the same marital residence but on different floors. Children are generally acceptable to these conditions and understand that mom lives upstairs and dad lives downstairs.

While proceeding with your divorce case can be complex or inexpensive, the recession has complicated the process further. Many individuals are delaying the decision to file for divorce or are living in uncomfortable marriages due to the economic crisis. Other couples continue to reside together after the divorce as a result of financial necessity. It is unclear how the recession is affecting divorce rates overall because of the delay in compiling economic data. However, what is clear is that parties have been forced to become creative in order to adjust to these turbulent economic times.

If a man is going to file for divorce in Broward County, the recession might be the time to do it. Fort Lauderdale divorce attorneys have found that incomes, business assets and other holdings have decreased in value. In a strong economy, men do not believe there assets are valued at such a high level when it comes time to equitably divide the marital assets and liabilities.

Strategizing is common when a spouse files for a divorce. The recession may play a part of your strategy. For women, they may argue that they need additional alimony and child support of they have been laid off from their job. But for men, if a guy is impoverished, it is going to give him an advantage in arguing that his wife should take on more of the debt.

If you are planning to file for divorce, you should speak to your Broward County marital and family law attorney. It is important to discuss the best time financially for you and your spouse to file for divorce.

Financial hardships in Broward County brought on by the recession have made divorce a reality for couples who live in South Florida. The recession is causing many couples throughout Fort Lauderdale to rethink their marital situation since a high priced divorce may further deplete their shrunken assets and liabilities. Many divorce attorneys in Hollywood, Cooper City, Miramar, Plantation and other cities in Broward County are available to assist you with your dissolution of marriage during these tough times.

Many couples do not want to get divorced because of recession related problems. People who have have no children and limited finances can save money on their divorce by hiring a lawyer when they have reached a settlement and file for a simplified dissolution of marriage. However, couples with children, real estate and a more complicated financial situation have to salvage their finances during a divorce.

You must be consistent in communicating with your lawyer. Get a referral through word-of-mouth, local and state bar associations or online through search engines such as Google. During your initial consultation with a marital and family law attorney, ask for a free or reduced rate consultation. You should also ask your divorce lawyer about attending mediation as soon as possible. Be cooperative, realistic and prepared to compromise with your spouse during your divorce.

Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyers who represent wealthy clients are keeping busy. The Broward County divorce Court has seen a rise in high-end divorces because the parties' assets are currently worth less due to the recession. Wealthy Fort Lauderdale couples have realized that since their assets are worth less they will give less to the other spouse after the Broward County marital and family law court dissolves their marriage.

In theory, it is a great time for wealthy people to get divorced because their property value and investments are down. So, for a spouse who wants to keep the house and is on the verge of filing, this is a perfect time to divorce because the likelihood of keeping the marital home is high.

Nonetheless, the crashing market does present problems for the wealthy and has complicated their cases just as much as it has helped them out. This is because it is difficult to put a market value on some of their assets. In situations where the parties have been fighting over an asset for an extended period of time, that asset has been nearly lost in the stock market.

The divorce rate in South Florida could be a reliable indicator of when our economy begins to head out of the recession. Fort Lauderdale divorce attorneys have continuously believed that divorce is recession proof. However, the decreasing divorce rates in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, as well as across the country, reveal otherwise.

The reason for the decreased rate of divorce is the significant decrease in the amount of money available for equitable distribution. When a marriage is dissolved the marital assets are equitably distributed. The most valuable asset usually is the marital home. There are two typical scenarios regarding the marital home: (1) the parties sell the home and the proceeds are split equitably; or, (2) one party keeps home and the value of the home is deducted from the overall amount that party receives in equitable distribution.

In our current economic situation, the housing market is declining and so the value of the marital home has diminished. Thus, the parties are at a loss if they decided to sell the home and split the proceeds. This loss means the parties cannot afford to find new homes on their own. Therefore, the divorce rate has dropped.

It is not just the decrease in home value that has caused the diminished divorce rate, but also the depleting 401(k)'s and the plummeting stock market that have had an effect as well. With less money to go around, there is less to for equitable distribution; and therefore, it is unbeneficial to seek a divorce in this economy.

When our country sees an upswing in the divorce rate this change could be an indication that the economy is leaving the recession behind.

A divorce in Broward County, Florida is often a time in which both parties are not celebrating until the entry of the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. The family law judge in your Fort Lauderdale divorce court case will enter a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage that addresses alimony, equitable distribution, time-sharing (custody) and many other factors. Once the court enters the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage in your case, you are divorced and it is time to celebrate.

Elite Cake Creations now makes divorce cakes that depict domestic discord. These cakes include a heart-shaped cake broken in pieces that have a groom on one piece and a bride on the other piece and a cake that looks like the blackened walls of a prison cell decorated with a ball and broken chain. Other divorce cakes include a bride taking her groom out with trash, a man sitting dejected on a curb, a man sitting dejected on a curb, a woman dumping a man over a waterfall and a cemetery of broken marriages marked by tiny tombstones.

About 50% of marriages end in divorce nationwide. While that figure has remained fairly steady, there has been a drop off due to the economy and poor housing market. However, if you are looking to celebrate your divorce, the novelty divorce cake from Elite Cake Creations may give all of your friends and family a good laugh.

Filing for divorce in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is hard to do during a recession. Parties are divorcing but can't sell their home, so they still living together for now. They both live in the same house they can't sell because of the bitter state of the economy. The stress of the country's economic meltdown is taking its toll on marriages in Broward County, Florida. There is no evidence that people file for divorce more or less frequently during an economic slump. However, couples experiencing marital problems are feeling extra stress because of the economy and can not leave their current situation because the financial costs are enormous and the inability to sell their house. On the otherhand, couples experiencing marital problems may divorce because of the economic strain or because divorce during hard times could be weirdly profitable.

Couples who are certain that they want to proceed with a divorce will lose less money to their spouse due to the current state of the economy. In the past, recessions have caused married couples to separate in part due to the uncertainty and unemployment of the husband and wife. However, Husbands and Wives can make better financial choices by living together during a divorce. The economy has also impacted an individual's ability to pay a divorce lawyer in Broward County, Florida $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 as a retainer. A protracted divorce case involving complex custody matters can cost $30,000.00.

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