An ex-husband successfully secured primary physical custody of the four children he shared with his ex-wife, but failed to persuade a trial court to order his ex-wife to pay child support on all four children. That’s because a governmental agency already paid a monthly stipend for the fourth child and,…
Articles Posted in Custody/Time-Sharing
Court Refuses to Approve Mother’s Move to Indiana After Failure to Prove Relocation Was in Daughter’s Best Interests
A recent court of appeals decision put a screeching halt to a mother’s attempt to relocate her daughter from central Florida to Indiana. The 5th District Court of Appeal’s ruling affirmed a lower court’s decision that the move was not in the daughter’s best interests, concluding that the mother was…
Florida Supreme Court Upholds Same-Sex Partner’s Right to Co-Parent Child After Couple Splits
In a groundbreaking decision earlier this month, a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court concluded that a woman who donated her eggs to her lesbian partner so that the couple could have, and raise, a child together possesses a fundamental constitutional right to parent the child. In the process, the court…
Appeals Court Rules Against Dwyane Wade in Latest Round of Divorce and Custody Battle
Just three short months after Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade’s divorce became final, a Florida appeals court was again called upon to enter a decision in the half-decade long legal contest. The 3d District Court of Appeal overturned a trial court’s order requiring the NBA star’s ex-wife to undergo a…
Biological Father Lacks Legal Relationship, Standing to Seek Custody
A recent case, involving a Pennsylvania man and his biological child living in Florida, demonstrated the significant differences that sometimes exist between science and the law. A Florida appeals court both denied the biological father’s effort to litigate his custody dispute in his home state, and foreclosed his efforts to…
Florida Congresswoman Proposes Legislation to Protect Rape Victims in Child Custody Cases
Florida is one of only a minority states with laws that allow rape victims to avoid potentially complicated and difficult child custody battles with their attackers in cases where the rape results in the birth of a child. However, that number could rise substantially if Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has…
Florida Child Custody Concerns on a Startling Rise
Child custody matters are not only a serious matter of concern for parents but also to the state of Florida. Florida has a legal and moral obligation to ensure its minor citizens are safe. Child custody matters are best handled by legal professionals but may be faced by parents who…
The Legal Battle for the Miccosukee children in Florida
The Miami-Dade area will be host to a landmark custody battle that will decide the fate of not only the litigants involved but of Native American-Florida relations.A West Miami-Dade resident will be fighting for the custody of his two children in a Miami-Dade court, after having been repeatedly denied parental rights…
Important Updates to Florida’s Alimony/Child Custody Legislation
This blog has previously discussed changes to Florida’s alimony laws (Senate Bill 718). Governor Scott vetoed this bill which included, as well, updates to Florida’s child custody laws.Specifically, child custody schedules were updated. Previously, there was never a codified mandate or guide that the custody break-down be 50/50 with both…
Couple Kidnapped Own Children, Fled to Cuba, Returned to Florida
On April 10, 2013, a couple accused of kidnapping their own children were arrested in Tampa after having been returned to the U.S. by Cuban authorities.The couple had officially lost custody of their two young boys on April 2. Last year, police found the couple at a hotel in Slidell,…