Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog

A 30-year-old Opa-locka mother of three was arrested last weekend for allegedly attempting to sell her infant son for $7,000. Kenia Quiala Bosque was charged with a felony adoption violation after she called an acquaintance and offered to sell him her 8-month-old son. The man, a confidential police informant, immediately alerted Monroe County authorities and assisted police by recording conversations with Bosque regarding the planned sale. After Bosque failed to meet the man and an undercover officer from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, she was taken into custody at her apartment. An outraged Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ordered Bosque's bail set at $25,000.

Bosque purportedly chose to sell her child due to financial strain. She recently sought assistance from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust. According to her neighbors, she was also struggling to pay the monthly rent on a one bedroom apartment. Bosque told the judge presiding over her bond hearing she only received $650 per month in child support from her estranged husband.

A Miami-Dade juvenile court judge, María Sampedro-Iglesia, placed temporary custody of all three children with Osmani Pelegrín, Bosque's estranged husband. According to Pelegrín, the infant Bosque allegedly attempted to sell is not his child. Because Pelegrín is currently unemployed, the judge also ordered him to seek food stamp assistance.

Yoel Boza Alonso also attended the temporary custody hearing and stated he may be the father of the infant allegedly put up for sale. Alonso stated he would seek custody of the child if a paternity test revealed he is in fact the boy's father. According to Sampedro-Iglesia, the law views Pelegrín as the child's father and Alonso currently has no paternal rights.

In Florida, parents are obligated to provide support for their children. A child support award is determined using established statutory guidelines. The award will take into account costs related to medical and dental care, day care, and the amount of time each parent is awarded according to their time sharing plan. If a child suffers from any disabilities, it may also factor into an award of support. If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed, a court may award child support based on imputed income. Imputed income is determined using a parent's job qualifications, past employment record, and community pay rates.

Continue reading "Florida Mother Accused of Trying to Sell Infant Son" »

Details of professional wrestling personality Hulk Hogan's confidential divorce settlement came to light this week after a recent court filing. After more than 25 years of marriage, Hogan's ex-wife, Linda Bollea, received approximately 70 percent of the couple's liquid assets, $3 million in property, 40 percent of various company revenues and several luxury vehicles. Luckily for Hogan, he was not ordered to pay alimony despite the long term nature of the Florida couple's marriage. Child support was not at issue as the couple's two children were adults at the time of the couple's split.

The divorce settlement was disclosed when Hogan filed a copy of the agreement as part of an ongoing legal dispute between the former couple. Hogan is currently challenging a court order to pay his ex-wife a percentage of gross company revenues. According to Hogan's attorneys, the divorce settlement stipulated his ex-wife receive a percentage of net company revenues and requires that all disputes must be addressed through arbitration.

Hogan's divorce was no doubt costly. He likely would have benefited immensely from a negotiated prenuptial agreement. In Florida, a prenuptial agreement is a written contract signed by both potential spouses prior to marriage which outlines how assets will be divided in the event of divorce or death. The semiretired wrestler's highly public and acrimonious split from his wife dragged out in the courts for almost two years. If the parties had entered into a prenuptial agreement, negotiations over assets and spousal support obligations would have been decided well in advance of any split. Unfortunately, many people who enter into marriage with few assets do not consider signing a prenuptial agreement and later regret it.

Even where no prenuptial agreement exists, most family law issues can be resolved outside of a courtroom through negotiated settlements. Postnuptial agreements can be a useful tool for couples in Florida. Postnuptial agreements are written contracts, such as marital settlement agreements, entered into by married couples who are contemplating separation or divorce. A postnuptial agreement will generally address the disposition of assets and spousal support obligations. Such agreements may also include provisions regarding child support and custody but they are always subject to modification by a court.

Continue reading "Hulk Hogan Lost Big in Florida Divorce Settlement" »

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If you are interested in buying a divorce cake, a local bakery in Cooper City, Florida can provide you with your custom cake. A Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney has learned that couples who divorce in Broward are throwing parties to celebrate that their marriage is over. These parties help transition a party from married life to single life. One divorce party planner strictly provides services to divorcees. The company allows a divorcee to choose from different themes depending upon their own preferences.

Divorce party planners believe that divorce parties justify the traumatic experience that people go through following a trial in Fort Lauderdale that deals with alimony, child support, child custody and other marital and family law matters. The party fulfills a void in a person's life during a crisis such as a divorce.

For some individuals, celebrating their divorce fulfills the need for companionship. During and after a divorce, people are on their own. They tend to feel anxious and depressed. While some people spend as much as they spent on their wedding, a divorce party can also be viewed as an unfortunate way to celebrate a family that has been split up.

At one divorce party, a former wife had a three layer cake that had a knife-wielding bride and a bloodied groom. This woman looked at her divorce party as a way to celebrate being single and starting a new chapter in her life.

In the Muslim world, divorce parties provide a way for women to redeem themselves since divorce is considered a disgrace in this culture. At these parties, single men bring women perfume, money and camels. These parties often last for three days or until the woman finds a new man.

A legislator in Florida, Representative Ritch Workman, is attempting to repeal a state law which makes it illegal to cohabit with a party who is not a spouse. Specifically, "if any man or woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together..they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree". This crime is currently punishable by 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Approximately 544,907 Floridians live in a relationship in violation of Florida law. This law is now viewed as both unenforceable and unrealistic. One advocate believes that there is a role for government to promote marriage instead of cohabitation. The rationale is that greater marriage rates have a lower likelihood of crime, less domestic violence and better educational results for children.

Individuals believe that there are governmental limitations in promoting marriage. Arresting individuals who live together is not realistic or fair. Many Floridians do not want to marry due to a prior Broward divorce which they experienced or lived through with their own parents.

There are also negative consequences pertaining to cohabitation which you should discuss with your divorce attorneys in Broward county. A court may reduce or terminate an alimony award if the receiving spouse is in a supportive relationship with a person who is not related by consanguinity or affinity and with whom the person resides.

At the Fort Lauderdale alimony trial, the court will examine whether the parties hold themselves out as married couples, how long they have resided together, whether they have pooled assets or income, whether they support the other party, whether they perform services for the other or their company, and whether they have acquired assets together. The court will also look at whether they have acquired real property, whether there is an express or implied agreement regarding assets and support and whether they support the others children.

(Photo courtesy of Orlando Sentinel)

In 1981, John Ferenc bought a home in Florida with his wife. Several years later, he began to serve a prison sentence for burglary, grand theft and some other crimes. While in prison for 26 years, his wife paid off the entire mortgage.

In 2009, Ferenc was released from prison after 26 years. Shortly after, he filed for divorce. His wife, Loretta Jean, is 72 years of age. She is disabled, uses a walker and is not very mobile. She is not prepared to move and does not want to move largely in part of the depressed real estate market.

A order issued by a Florida marital and family law divorce judge requires the wife to vacate her home, a place where she has lived in for 30 years. Effective September 1, 2011, the husband will receive temporary and exclusive use and occupancy of the marital residence.

Ferenc plans to repair the house so that it can be sold. Once the repairs are complete, he will be able to choose a real estate agent to place the property for sale. Both parties are required to cooperate with the sale of the marital residence and must accept a fair market offer. The court further ordered that the net proceeds are to be divided equally. The wife will be required to pay $1,408 in attorney's fees and costs since she has failed to appear in court for hearings.

John Ferenc received a 55 year consecutive prison sentence. He was released early as a result of good behavior. While in prison, his wife received his monthly disability benefits. A divorce attorney in Broward believes that the husband would be unjustly enriched from the sale of the marital residence since the wife will be left without a home.

The wife's divorce lawyer has filed an emergency motion to prevent her from being removed from the marital residence. Meanwhile, the husband has advised that he will request that she be found in contempt of court if she does not leave the home as previously ordered by the court.

Last week, a judge denied her request to continue to stay in her home during this contested divorce proceeding. The court found that the facts did not constitute an emergency which would require an immediate hearing.

The wife is now temporarily residing in a hotel. Since returning to the home, the husband found a sink full of dishes, bugs in the refrigerator, clutter and cobwebs. While Ferenc will continue to fight in court to return to her home, the husband does not believe that she will be permitted to reside in the house ever again.

The parties are set to return to court in a few weeks.

Recently, I posted a blog titled "Stay-At-Home Dads Are More Likely To Divorce In Miami." However, Al Watts, President of Daddyshome, Inc., the national At-Home Dad Network and home to the 16th Annual At-Home Dads Convention in Washington DC on October 8, 201, does not believe it is accurate that stay-at-home dads are more likely to divorce.

Time's Healthland was the first to report that "stay-at-home dads are more likely to divorce." There report was based on a study led by Dr. Liana Sayer of Ohio State University. Published in the American Journal of Sociology, the study found that married men who are unemployed are more likely to divorce than men who are working.

After reading the summary of the study, Watts found it strange that the study did not mention stay-at-home dads or even whether any of the men were fathers. He decided to contact Dr. Sayer.

"The study doesn't include a measure of 'stay-at-home' dads," Dr. Sayer replied in an email originally sent by Watts. She further stated, "All we know is if the husband is unemployed and the (lagged) number of months unemployed."

Watts then spoke to Bonnie Rochman who wrote the article for Time's Healthland. He found out that she believes all stay-at-home dads are unemployed so she concluded that the study was about stay-at-home dads.

She was wrong.

First of all, the study was about married men. They never asked if any of them were fathers. If you do not have any kids, Watts does not think you would be considered an "at-home dad" when you get laid off.

Secondly, not all married dads have young children at home to take care of. Some of them surely have high school or college-aged children. Some may even be married to a stay-at-home mother who remains at home with the kids while the husband looks for a job, and apparently, a Broward divorce attorney.

Third, it is a complete myth that stay-at-home dads are unemployed. Most men who are the primary caregivers of their children are, in fact employed. The latest U.S. Census reports that 154,000 men are stay-at-home fathers but that only includes men who earn no income for one year or go to school while caring for the kids. Most demographers put the real number around 2 million which means up to 90% of at-home dads work, at least part-time and some full time.

Finally, men become stay-at-home dads for many reasons. Watts started staying home because he and his wife wanted one of them at home with the kids. His wife had better career options. Some dads choose to stay home because they do not want to miss out on their children's lives. Some are forced into it when they lose their job. Watts believes that to say "Stay-at-home dads are more likely to divorce" is saying that all stay-at-home dads, regardless of why they chose to stay home, are more likely to divorce. To him, that just doesn't make sense.

"I do think (based some on my research) that of course men who become stay at home dads purely based on job loss and not other reasons have their challenges," says Dr. Aaron Rochlen, associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of two recent extensive studies on stay-at-home fathers. However, after reviewing Dr. Sayer's research, Dr. Rochlen concluded that "it is ridiculous the connection they (Time) are making" between stay-at-home fathers and divorce.

And Time agreed.

The headline of the Time article now accurately states "Unemployed Men are More Likely to Divorce."

So, if your husband is, or becomes, a stay-at-home dad, it is not any more likely you will end up divorced.

If your husband loses his job, however, there is a slightly higher chance you may end up retaining a divorce attorney in Fort Lauderdale to address your child support, alimony and parenting plan matters.

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.

Fifty-seven percent of Florida families go through a divorce. Divorce rates in Florida tend to exceed national averages. While the statistics show that many couples are getting married in Florida, just as many are retaining a Broward divorce attorney to end their marriage.

Many people move to Florida and leave their families. Some blame the economy for the recent increase in divorce filings. While financial pressure is often a cause of divorce, the cost of divorce can make unhappy couples continue to remain married.

When you hire a Miami divorce lawyer, he or she will often require a retainer of $4,000 to $7,500. The clerk of court requires a $409 filing fee and a $10 summons fee. In the event that a couple cannot resolve their case at mediation, they are also required to pay their lawyer a trial retainer which can often be between $5,000 to $10,000.

If you want to try and save your marriage, you should consider the level of communication amongst you and your spouse. You both should learn how to talk to each other. Couples who are contemplating saving their marriage find that the problems in the marriage often deal with the level of communication. If the goal to save your marriage is not shared and one spouse is not commited to recovery of the marriage, this process will fail and you will most likely wind up in divorce court.

Information from the US Census indicates that couples who live together before they marry are two times more likely to get divorced. Insofar as many couples in Florida reside together before their marriage, this may explain the higher number of divorces in this state.

Another reason for the high divorce rate may be because Florida is a no-fault divorce state. If one party has been a resident for 6 months before the filing of the complaint and the marriage is irretrievably broken, the Court will generally grant the divorce. While the value of marriage may be lost in our society, one thing for sure is that it is very easy to get divorced in the Sunshine State.

Congratulations to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ivan Fernandez for being elevated to the Third District Court of Appeal. The Third District Court of Appeal and Daily Business Review are reporting that Judge Fernandez was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David Gersten.

After the military, Judge Fernandez became a City of Miami police officer. He was a member of the K-9 unit, handled homicide cases, worked in narcotics and eventually was promoted to the rank of a major.

While working as a police officer, Judge Fernandez enrolled in the University of Miami School of Law. He graduated law school in 1992 but remained a law enforcement officer with the City of Miami Police Department until 1995. In 1995, he retired and opened his own law office.

While in private practice, Judge Fernandez handled business, personal injury and divorce cases in Miami. In 1999, he left private practice to become a prosecutor for the state attorney's office. As a prosecutor, Judge Fernandez dealt with misdemeanors, juvenile, felony and public prosecution cases.

As a Circuit Judge in Miami-Dade County, Judge Fernandez presently presides in the family division. Miami divorce attorney's who regularly appear before the Court will remember him for being well prepared, professional, fair, having a great ability to listen and the courage to make difficult decisions in marital and family cases involving alimony, child support, paternity, domestic violence and child custody.

Prior to presiding in the family division, Judge Fernandez heard cases in the circuit civil and criminal divisions. Judge Fernandez is the second family court judge to be appointed to the Third District Court of Appeal in the past year.

Many years ago, men worked while most women stayed at the home taking care of the household and children. The attitiudes of how society views women working has changed. Yet, the pressure for men to remain the breadwinners remains strong.

A recent study in the American Journal of Sociology indicats that unemployment in a marriage is a strong predictor of divorce. For some men, they do not feel that it is acceptable to stay home and raise the children while their wife is the sole financial provider.

Women who are unhappily married are more likely to hire a divorce attorney in Broward when they are working instead of if they are unemployed. The study indicated that employment had no bearing on whether or not a woman would proceed with a dissolution of marriage.

Men who are not employed have a greater chance that their spouse will file for divorce even if they were happily married. While the role of a wife has changed, it remains unacceptable in this culture if the husband is not earning a majority of the money to support the household.

It was also recently discovered that men who lost their jobs during the recession have been suffering from depression. Unemployment has impacted their self-esteem and have caused them to feel overwhelmed. All in all, when men are unemployed it increases the chance that they will leave their marriage and it also increases the chance that their wife will leave the marriage and file for divorce in South Florida.

There is a stigma about being married in your 20's, and it is not that your getting married too young, it is that being getting married while in your 20's has a high divorce rate. The divorce rate is not 70, or even 80% it is somewhere near 50% for people married in their 20's. That means that almost 50% of people you know who get married in their 20's will need a divorce attorney in Fort Lauderdale.

Broward divorce attorneys are seeing an increase of people in their 20's coming to their office. Is there a stigma for those people who are divorced in their 20's? The short answer is no. There is no sign over your head at that says you are recently divorced. But it is difficult for someone who has been dating the same person for 8 years to get back into the single life. Clearly it is easier for someone who lives in an urban environment to meet new people, but it cannot be very simple. Before you get back to dating make sure you confirm with your Florida marital and family lawyer that your divorce is finalized.

A divorce in your 20's is still a divorce. It is just like any other breakup except that there are legal issues involved such as alimony and equitable distribution. But once you resolve those issues, you are a single individual who can choose whether or not you will date again.

But what does a newly divorced individual do to get back into the dating scene? Some people have no problem being set up by friends. Do you ask your friends to tell the person you're being set up with that you were divorced? Do you know how to be single? Are they looking for a serious relationship that quickly? These are all normal thoughts to have. Don't get bogged down by these questions, and don't blurt out that you were recently divorced. Let those conversations happen naturally.

Just because your first marriage failed, it does not mean your next will not last a lifetime. There is no need to paint a picture of yourself before someone is getting to know you, not the fact you were divorced. One of the ways to meet new people is to change your habits that you got accustomed to while you were married. Maybe change gyms, and start taking exercise classes, or join a basketball league. Change the time in which you go to the grocery store, go when there are more people, and you can strike up a conversation with a stranger. Be open to being set up by friends. Any route you choose will be a positive step into putting your life back together.

The goal is to let someone get to know you for you, and not for your past relationships. It is also beneficial for you to possibly see a divorce attorney who can relate to being divorced in your 20's. A young family law attorney is very suited to helping you deal with being 20's and newly single. So when you are looking for an alimony attorney, ask for references, ask for their experience, and ask if they are suited to handle your specific case. And remember being divorced in your 20's isn't the end of the world, just a new chapter in your book of life.

When many people think of virginity they think of teenage years, high school, or even college. They think of how it may affect their social lives, popularity, or a memorable moment they will remember forever. What they do not think about is how will loosing ones virginity may affect their future marriage.

A recent study by the University of Iowa found out some very shocking news correlating the time when women lost their virginity, to current divorce rates. This study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family surveyed close to 4,000 women.

The study found that women who had lost their virginity in their teens had a shockingly high divorce rate once married. Within 5 years of being married, those women who lost their virginity in their teens had a 31 percent divorce rate. Within 10 years of being married, those same women had a 47 percent divorce rate. This rate alone illustrates that among women in this study almost 50 percent of women who lost their virginity in their teenage years statically should be divorced within 10 years of their marriage.
The study also found that women who waited to lose their virginity after their teenage years had a much lower divorce rate. Within 5 years of being married, those women who waited to lose their virginity had a 15 percent divorce rate. Within 10 years of being married, those same women had a 27 percent divorce rate. This rate alone illustrates that the women in this study who waited to lose their virginity after their teenage years, after 10 years of marriage had a remarkably lower divorce rate compared to those who lost their virginity in their teens after 5 years.

Age isn't the only factor that would affect the in Fort Lauderdale divorce statistics. Some women who had unwanted sexual encounters before the age of 18, made up 42 percent of those women who lost their virginity in their teens. According to Anthony Paik, the study's author, these unwanted sexual encounters could lead to the negative impact on how women feel about relationships, or how their own relationship skills are. This could directly impact the divorce rate because of women's relationship issues.

This article gives people something to think about. As teens we tend to think impulsively, act reckless, and sometimes not think about the future. Maybe this is something we should talk about with a younger generation of America to possibly lower the current rate of divorce.

Richard Brown, a suspended Florida lawyer, is charged with hacking into his wife's email account. He is accused of gaining access to thousands of her e-mails. Some of those emails include conversations with her Florida divorce attorney about the parties ongoing marital and family law case.

Brown has been jailed since May 5, 2011 on charges of organized fraud and grand theft of more than $50,000 from his prior clients. He was suspended from The Florida Bar in April, 2011 based upon allegations that he misappropriated client funds.

Mr. Brown is also accused of passing worthless checks, grand theft and criminal use of personal identification information. Brown blames most of his problems on a difficult divorce case which is pending in Florida. Now, the latest accusations pertain to his intentional interception of electronic communications from his wife so that he could use the e-mails against her.

In November, 2010, approximately 30 days after the parties separated, Mrs. Brown realized that her Gmail account had been compromised. Specifically, many of her email messages were forwarded to him through his girlfriends account. After obtaining a search warrant, the State Attorney's Office obtained warrants and learned that 4,921 messages were forwarded from June, 2010 through November, 2010

The Sun Sentinel is reporting that there has been an increase in the number of amicable divorces and divorces without lawyers. While the total number of divorces between 2005-2009 decreased, simplified divorces increased 20% in Broward County and 50% in Palm Beach County. In these simplified cases, parties resolve their case in a more amicable fashion.

The economic downturn has resulted in less assets to divide, concerns about the cost of hiring two lawyers and mediation becoming a more attractive alternative to contested divorce litigation. In South Florida, 60% of marriages end in divorce. A contested divorce can cost $10,000 to $25,000. Conversely, mediation can cost less than $5,000.

Couples who require equitable distribution of their assets and liabilities, a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule should consult with a Broward divorce attorney. Lawyers can assist their client in finding hidden assets and calculating child support.

Couples who chose a simplified divorce enter into their own agreements without the necessity of a courtroom battle. However, these parties generally have no assets, no children and do not request other financial relief such as alimony or the payment of attorney's fees and costs. Notwithstanding the financial constraints which are a result of the economy, a divorce can be a complicated procedure if you are not familiar with the legal system and if you are not a South Florida marital and family law attorney.

The Sun Sentinel is reporting that a husband attacked his wife in the chambers of Broward Circuit Judge Ronald Rothschild during a final divorce hearing today causing her to have serious injuries which required hospitalization. Paul Henry Gonzalez, 23, committed domestic violence on his wife without any advanced provocation. He hit her numerous times with closed fists causing her to sustain a torn lip and injuries to her head.

When law enforcement officers arrived in the courtroom, the husband was being restrained by a Broward divorce attorney. After refusing to put his hand into handcuffs, Broward Sheriff Officers tasered him two times before taking him to a hospital for examination.

Mr. Gonzalez is being held in the Broward County Jail on pending charges of felony domestic violence and resisting arrest without violence. The Wife, 23 year old Catherine Ann Scott-Gonzalez, is at Holy Cross Hospital. She will be kept overnight to monitor brain trauma, a broken nose and a broken facial bone by her eye.