Divorce

High-End Fort Lauderdale Divorces Are Up Because The Market Is Down

Published on: June 16, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

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.

Facebook’s Impact On Your Fort Lauderdale Divorce

Published on: June 16, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyers are using Facebook to find the ammunition they need to help their clients’ cases. Broward County lawyers love these sites because they are evidentiary gold mines. Fort Lauderdale marital and family law attorneys browse wall posts and atatus updates on Facebook to uncover information about the other party. Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn are also popular social networking sites which lawyers utilize to build their cases when representing divorce clients in Weston, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines, Plantation and other cities in Broward County.

Social networking sites are great for reconnecting, but when couples are disconnecting, the situation turns ugly. Battles over finances and custody are the two hot buttons during dissolution proceedings. Lawyers say it has become routine for them to ask their clients if they have an active presence on these social networking websites. If so, the lawyers then scour their client’s pages and the pages of their girlfriends or boyfriends to find anything that could be used by their ex’s legal team.

Did your husband’s new girlfriend Twitter about a piece of jewelry he bought her? A court might regard this as marital assets being disbursed to a third party. Did your wife tell the court she is incapable of getting a job, but you found her pursuing job interviews on LinkedIn? The court might refuse her alimony. Did your ex wife assure the court during a custody hearing that she had not been drinking, but her MySpace page has dated photos revealing otherwise? The court will regard her as an unfit mother.

Five Things Every Married Person Needs To Hear About Divorce In Broward County (Part 1)

Published on: June 13, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Not many people enter into a marriage thinking that it will eventually lead to a divorce in Fort Lauderdale. Many scientists believe that up to 40% of marriages are terminated in Broward County by a divorce lawyer. The chances are very high that you or someone you know will get divorced in Florida and need to higher a marital and family law attorney in Hollywood, Hallandale, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Cooper City or any of the other cities within the jurisdiction of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court.

A divorce is one of the worst things that you can go through in life. You are hurt, sad, frustrated, scared and can not think clearly. It is also one of the most important times to keep on top of your game, as the decisions that you make during this time can affect you for the rest of your life. Here are five basic but important guidelines to keep in mind.

Keep Your Business Head

A Divorce In Fort Lauderdale Triples Your Risk of Alzheimer’s

Published on: June 11, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

If you are a middle aged person who resides in Broward County, get divorced and live alone, you triple your chances of developing Alzheimer’s. If you have traditionally always lived by yourself, you have double the Alzheimer’s risk as somebody who is married in Florida.

There is a very strong correlation between this social factor and developing dementia. Staying physically, intellectually and socially active reduces Alzheimer’s risk. However, recent studies show that living with a spouse or partner lowers the likelihood that you will contract dementia.

Widows and widowers are at the greatest risk of Alzheimer’s. When you loose your spouse or partner before middle age and the live alone, your chances of getting Alzheimer’s is six times greater, compared to people who are married.

Is It Fair for the Fort Lauderdale Divorce Court to Divide Marital Assets Between the Parties When They Get Divorced?

Published on: June 10, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Conceptually, the answer is yes because a marriage in Broward County is considered a partnership. The Fort Lauderdale Family Court divides the couple’s assets based on the idea that when a couple gets married they make decisions together. The partnership decides together who will work and who will run the home. Therefore, when the couple seeks dissolution in the Broward County Family Court, the judge will divide equitably the parties marital assets and the debts.

Here is a simple illustration of how the court views the marriage as a partnership. If the partnership decides together that the Wife will work and the Husband will stay at home, then all of the money the Wife makes is considered in furtherance of the partnership. The Husband is entitled to half of these marital funds because he has stayed in the home which consequentially has enabled the Wife to enter the workforce and make money. So, while the Wife is said to be supporting the Husband and the marriage monetarily, the Husband is said to be supporting the Wife and the marriage physically.

When the partnership dissolves the court begins with a presumption that the marital property should be divided equally between the parties. Even so, each divorce is unique, and therefore a 50/50 split is not always the best approach for the individual parties. The court considers four factors in deciding how to equitably distribute the marital property: (1) the contribution of each spouse to that property; (2) the value of the property set apart to each other; (3) the duration of the marriage; and (4) the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of divorce.

Temporary Alimony And Child Support During A Broward County Divorce Case

Published on: June 8, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

In Bengisu v. Bengisu, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a Florida divorce court’s decision awarding the Wife temporary child support and alimony. The Wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage with two minor children in the Florida divorce Court. Subsequent to filing for dissolution of marriage, the Wife also filed a motion seeking temporary child support and alimony. The Broward County divorce court awarded the Wife temporary support in the amount of $5,500 per month, and the Husband appealed.

At a hearing on the motion for temporary child support and alimony, the court looked at the parties’ financial affidavits as well as heard their direct testimony. The Wife’s financial affidavit listed that she was unemployed, had monthly expenses of $11,898.00 and a net worth of $744,123.00. The Husband’s financial affidavit listed he was a lawyer employed as a solo practitioner, that he had a net monthly income of $2,585.00, total monthly expenses of $4,886.58 and a monthly deficit of $2,720.29. He listed a net worth of $322,230.00.

In her direct testimony, the Wife told the court that the household expenses were $12,600 per month, that her Husband was responsible for all of the bills and that throughout the marriage the couple accrued no debt to pay their monthly expenses. Additionally, the Wife explained that her Husband left his solo practice to work for a law firm for four months leading up to the divorce and, while there, his salary was $85,000. Additionally, the Wife’s accountant testified that based on the financials she needed $5,500.00 per month during the pendency of the divorce and that he believed the Husband’s tax returns did not accurately reflect the Husband’s real income. The Husband testified that the reason the couple did not have any debt was because his parents had helped pay for their household expenses, but were no longer in a position to continue to provide this assistance. At the conclusion of the hearing the trial court awarded the Wife $5,500 per month in temporary support.

Fort Lauderdale Divorce Attorneys Find GPS Useful

Published on: May 29, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Prior to filing for your divorce in Broward County, Florida, your divorce lawyer may want to hire a private investigator to catch your spouse cheating on you. If it is discovered that your spouse has cheated on you, this is a factor that the Fort Lauderdale divorce court may consider in awarding your alimony. However, hiring a private investigator to help your divorce lawyer find out if your spouse is cheating on you at a restaurant or hotel in Hollywood, Weston, Pembroke Pines or Cooper City, Florida with a paramour may become expensive.

GPS, or global position system tracking, is a useful tool that may be used to catch your spouse cheating. GPS systems cost less than $1,000.00 for certain models. During your dissolution of marriage case, a party that owns a car can may be able to conceal a GPS system in a glove compartment or other hiding place legally.

Electronic toll information has now become a thing of the past because of the fact that GPS information is more detailed. Last year, 88 percent of divorce lawyer reported an increase in using electronic information such as GPS and toll-pass date and computer records.

Should the Fort Lauderdale, Florida Divorce Court Implement The Sandcastles Program As A Mandatory Requirement?

Published on: May 27, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Children whose parents are going through a divorce in Broward County, Florida have a tough time dealing with the breakdown of their family. M. Gary Neuman, a Florida psychotherapist, is the creator and founder of The Sandcastles Program, which helps South Florida families cope with the inevitable stress resulting from divorce.

Sandcastles originated in Miami-Dade County, Florida and is now mandatory for families seeking a divorce. The Judge will not enter a final divorce decree if the minor children have not participated in the Sandcastles Program. Unlike Miami-Dade County, Florida, minor children are not required to take the Sandcastles course when there parents get divorced in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Sandcastles is a three-and-a-half-hour, one time group session for children of divorce between the ages of six and seventeen. The children meet in a group where they find solace in other children who are also going through divorce in their home. For three hours the children role-play, draw pictures, write poems, compose letters to their parents, and answer questions about their experience. The last half hour includes the children’s parents and focuses on improving communication between them. The Sandcastles program has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Is The Divorce Rate In Fort Lauderdale, Florida An Economic Indicator?

Published on: May 26, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

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.

Bankruptcy or Divorce: Which One Should You Choose First in Fort Lauderdale?

Published on: May 22, 2009 | by Sandy T. Fox

Suppose you are a South Florida couple thinking about obtaining a divorce in Broward County, but you have been falling deeper and deeper into debt since you got married. Which should you file for first: bankruptcy or divorce? Theoretically, it is easier to file jointly for bankruptcy first, and then seek a divorce in Fort Lauderdale. This is because after filing for joint bankruptcy the couple’s debt is cleared, thus leaving one less thing to argue about during the divorce in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court.

However, in practice, filing for joint bankruptcy first may not be in the parties’ best interest. First, the parties must be able to get along well enough to do so, as well as trust each other to list all of their assets and liabilities correctly. Second, if one spouse has openly committed fraud, then the couple will want to file separately so that the innocent spouse is not bothered by problems that will arise regarding discharge of the other spouse’s debt.

Because each marriage presents unique situations and circumstances, it is best to consult with an attorney before filing for either bankruptcy or divorce. Despite the ease associated with filing for joint bankruptcy first; nevertheless, there are a variety of financial considerations that could make filing for divorce first a wiser decision for the couple.