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Changes may be coming soon to Florida alimony law and the effects may retroactively extend to cases settled years ago. If a bill recently vetoed by Florida Governor Rick Scott is reintroduced for the 2014 legislative session, it will spark another long fight over how Florida’s “permanent alimony” system is enacted. Proponents of the bill include the “Florida Women for Alimony Reform” and “Family Law Reform”. They are supported by elected officials in the Florida House of Representatives like Representative Ritch Workman (Republican -Melbourne) who claim current laws have lead to situations “where alimony was used as a weapon by the judge to punish the person that they thought was wrong in the divorce,” an improper practice, considering Florida is a “no fault state”. A “no-fault” divorce means that specific grounds are not needed for divorce proceedings to be initiated, only that a marriage is “irretrievably broken” or there is a “mental incapacity” on the part of one of the parties in a marriage. These supporters of the bill believe current law in Florida allows for too much abuse and misinterpretation on the part of the courts.Although the bill passed the Florida House and Senate, Governor Rick Scott vetoed the bill, stating as his reason that the bill would retroactively affect past court decisions that granted alimony. Others have speculated that there is more to the veto, as a plan to pass a retooled version of the legislation that eliminated the bill’s effect on prior court decisions was not met with any response and text messages reported to have been sent between the State Senate President’s chief of staff and State Senator Tom Lee (Republican -Brandon) guess that the decision “may be larger than just the veto message”.

There are those who believe that the Governor issued the veto in an attempt to distance himself from what some call an “anti-women” reform plan. Despite the anti-woman label, there are women’s groups on both sides of the argument. The “Florida Women for Alimony Reform” claim the bill will be beneficial to the growing number of working women in Florida, while a group known as the “Frist Wives First” say they are trying to protect the many “lifelong caregivers” who rely on alimony checks to live, as they cannot find work after having been out of the workforce for so long.
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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 have had reports filed against them or by parents who, during divorce proceedings, are not found fit for custody.Violating child custody orders may lead to severe civil and criminal penalties in Florida. On Sunday June 28, a missing child alert was called off for a mother who kidnapped her two daughters who were the subject of a child services investigation.

The department attempted to seize custody of the daughters, aged 7 and 15, after the court issued a dependency shelter order having found them at risk in their mother’s custody. Upon visiting the home, they discovered that the family had disappeared. After a two week search, an anonymous tip led investigators to North Carolina where the mother had kidnapped and transported the children.

Broward county is seeing an unfortunate increase in the number of children removed from homes due to allegations of abuse or neglect. The total number removed by the Broward Sheriff’s office has increased from just over 1,100 children last year to an astonishing 1,525 children in 2013 (up through June 30).

The CEO of the private firm contracted to oversee foster care in the county, ChildNet, identified the spike as being quite significant but cannot point to a clear cause. Some contributory evidence that will be further investigated is the increase in hotline calls reporting abuse, a new administration staff at the Sheriff’s Office, and recent heavily publicized stories of child deaths by the hands of parents previously investigated by child services.

According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, 12 children have died in 2013 due to neglect or abuse in the homes of parents having a history with the department.

The most recent death was a two year old in Homestead. His father is now being charged with second-degree murder. The Department’s records list a long history of Project SOS services having been offered to the father. Project SOS was a social services initiative through the police department that attempted to address homes suffering from abuse and neglect.

In most cases, child services are not eager to remove children from the homes of their parents unless it is clearly unsafe, and will instead try to solve more of the root causes of the abuse or neglect before taking further steps.
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Residents of the Miami-Dade area, even Florida itself, have heard a lot about Dwayne Wade over the past year. He has had a storied history both on the court and in court. As one of the Miami Heat’s most prized players, Dwayne Wade has lived the typical athlete’s life of marriage and divorce that involve high stakes finances mixed with public attention. Wade’s stands out for its marathon duration, however.The beginnings of this divorce epic began quite simply. In 2002, Wade married his high school girlfriend. The marriage lasted five years until he filed for divorce. The divorce was finally granted three years later in 2010 after a long, drawn-out divorce court battle. Wade retained full custody of their two sons after the court, in its 102 page ruling, described his wife as embarking on a relentless crusade to alienate Wade’s children away from him. Now in 2013, six years after divorce was filed for, the one last thing left unresolved was the division of Wade’s fortune. Until now.

The claims made by Siohvaughn Funches, Wade’s former wife, have been a tabloidist’s dream. On July 19, despite claims by Wade’s attorney that Wade had been paying Funches $25,000 a month in spousal support, Funches took to the streets of Chicago, portraying a destitute woman with a sign reading “NBA Miami Heat star, mother of his children on the streets”. Wade additionally had provided her with four cars, paid for her mortgage, maintenance, security and taxes. During the legal process, Funches employed 16 different attorneys to battle Wade, all fees for which Wade paid.

The settlement agreement entitles Funches to $5 million. There are strings attached to this agreement, however. The agreement includes a “non-disparage” provision essentially meant to discourage and punish disparaging remarks made by one party against the other. Reportedly, this provision also protects against comments made by Funches against Wade’s new girlfriend and Wade’s family.

Such non-disparage provisions are not uncommon in celebrity splits, but are a good idea in most separations where children are involved. Negative comments made with malice, especially made unwittingly during the emotional turmoil of a separation or divorce, often have a major impact on the development of the children and their desired relationship with their loving parents. Non-disparage agreements must be carefully constructed, and it is advisable to speak with a Florida divorce attorney to achieve the best results.

The book is now closed on the division of finances for Wade and Funches. But no one should assume the story is over, as Funches is still exploring methods to acquire visitation rights for their children. Wade’s attorney says that due to her history and seeming mental instability, visitation rights may be difficult to acquire, however.
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“Contempt of court” sounds like something you might hear a judge yell at an unruly defendant on a TV show, but its real-life use as a procedure is more common than one might think. This is evidenced in a recent case against former professional wrestler Ric Flair (legal name: Richard Fliehr).Sometime after his most recent spouse, Jacqueline Beems, filed for legal separation in the summer of 2012, Fliehr was ordered to pay a monthly spousal support in the amount of $4,000. Having failed to do so, contempt proceedings were brought against Fliehr. On June 18, 2013, Fliehr was found in contempt and ordered by a Mecklenburg County judge to pay the amount of $32,352.51 to Beems. When he failed to make that payment, a warrant for his arrest was issued July 3 of this year. Fliehr is now required to pay the ordered amount or risk jail time as part of the contempt order, although the amount of jail time he could face is unclear. While this case is in North Carolina, Florida laws concerning contempt of court can be similarly stringent.

Contempt of court in the state of Florida is defined in Florida Statute 38.23. It essentially deals with the failure, whether intentional or not, to comply with any legal directive levied against a defendant, by a judge, within a given time frame. The severity of the punishment can vary based on the nature of the transgression and whether a person is facing the charge of contempt in criminal or civil proceedings and said punishment can range from a fine, to the payment of legal fees, to jail time. It is not uncommon for judgments in civil proceedings to be enforced through the mechanism of contempt.

According to Florida state law, the courts themselves cannot initiate proceedings to hold a person in civil contempt. A motion must be filed by the complainant alleging the failure of the offending party to comply with the court’s initial ruling; in this case, that Mr. Fliehr should pay the $4,000 a month in Spousal Support. At this point in the proceedings, it is the burden of the complainant to prove that the offender has knowledge of the motion of contempt, generally through “Personal Service” (hand delivery) of the motion, although there are instances where a motion can be mailed. Next, the complainant (in Fliehr’s case, Ms. Beems) must prove the offending party (Fliehr) has the means to pay the amount that is due. Though Fliehr has stated he plans to make the payment, this may not be an option for some people. If it can be argued that the “contemnor” does not have the means to comply with the judge’s order, they cannot be held in contempt and cannot, at that time, be made to face punishment.
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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 in Native American Tribal Court. The mother of his children and he never married. She is a member of the Miccosukee tribe. After their relationship dissolved the two shared custody and visitation of the children in an informal and unofficial weekend-by-weekend manner.

In October, relations went sour between the two and the woman filed for a petition for temporary custody in Miccosukee tribal court in which the petition was immediately granted and a court date was set. The man reacted by having his attorney file a petition in Miami-Dade and the two of them attended the Miccosukee tribal hearing. The man’s attorney was not allowed in the courtroom based on his “failure to speak the Miccosukee language”. The hearing was conducted wholly in the tribal tongue with only a brief translation. The woman was awarded full custody.

In this case, the central focus will not be the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which so often comes into play during adoption and custody battles regarding Native American children, but rather the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act which provides the courts jurisdiction in deciding custody disputes involving citizens of different states or countries. The act follows federal law and accordingly Indian reservations, the Miccosukee included, are treated as sovereign states.

The key provision of the law: the court with jurisdiction is the one from where the children resided “within 6 months” of the “commencement of the proceedings” for child custody. The man is contending that the woman does not and has not lived on the reservation; the woman is obviously claiming she has resided on the reservation and that she has been the sole financial provider for the children.

The state of Florida officially recognized the now well known reservation known as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida in 1957. The reservation was recognized by the federal government in 1962.

These types of custody battles are not uncommon in states with large Indian populations. In South Florida, however, this case is likely a first, according to the attorneys. The latest census puts the number of Native Americans in Florida at less than 10,000. The Miccosukees are the Miami-Dade area’s biggest local tribe with a population of 600.
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Commonly known as DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act was partly overturned by the Supreme Court on June 26, 2013.DOMA was originally enacted in 1996 under President Clinton. One component of the statute permits states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed under the laws of other states. President Clinton, later in 2009, admitted that he supported same-sex marriage but ultimately did not feel it was a federal issue. The other part of the statute defines marriage, for federal purposes, as between one man and one woman, effectively precluding married same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits. It was this federal definition (“Section 3”) that the Supreme Court struck down.

In 2011, the Obama administration proclaimed that although it is their belief that the Section 3 is unconstitutional, they would continue to enforce the bill but refused to defend it in court. Prior to the historic Supreme Court ruling, Section 3 was struck down as unconstitutional in the Court of Appeals for eight federal circuits.

The case that made it to the Supreme Court which ultimately led to its overturning is United States v. Windsor. The case followed Edith Windsor who had married her spouse Thea Spyer in Canada in 2007. The couple moved to New York and New York state recognized their same-sex marriage. When Thea died, she left her entire estate to Spyer. Historically, when a spouse dies in the US, the spouse, and only the spouse, will be exempt from federal estate taxes; if the estate is left to anyone but a spouse then the limit is $3.2 million dollars before estate taxes apply. In Edith’s case, the IRS did not recognize Edith as a legitimate spouse under DOMA leaving Edith with an estate tax bill totaling over $300k.

Windsor proceeded to sue for a refund of the money she did eventually pay. The grounds were that such a tax under DOMA’s non-recognition was a violation of her Fifth Amendment right of equal protection. The two federal courts ruled in favor of Edith and the case made it to the Supreme Court; oral arguments were heard in March 2013. The court found Section 3 unconstitutional as “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment”.

Governor Scott and Senator Marco Rubio disagreed with the SCOTUS decision but identified that it won’t affect Florida ban. The Florida state ban on gay marriage was introduced in 2008. The Florida ban would need to be repealed by either an act of legislature, which is slow and the bill was introduced based voted on by the citizens of Florida (62%), or by a petition requiring nearly 700,000 signatures. Equality Florida, a gay-rights group, announced it will campaign in 2014 for a bill to challenge the Florida ban.

Although the focus is on same-sex marriage, an interesting effect of this case is same-sex divorce. Historically, upon a divorce, ex-spouses could transfer unlimited money between them in settling property distribution. Same-sex couples now can settle divorces without imposing large tax fees. Additionally, federal gift taxes would not apply to same-sex spouses.
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In the wake of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) tragic report detailing the extent domestic violence persists throughout the world, the Law Firm of Sandy T. Fox is dedicating this post to an overview of domestic violence solutions for those in need.The report released by the WHO this month was the first comprehensive worldwide survey of domestic violence. The rate of domestic violence in North America, although lower than the world average, is still about one in four. The report found one third of women have suffered domestic violence with a startling 40% of women killed across the world as a result of attacks by their intimate partner.

Florida Working to End Domestic Violence
A grant awarded to Florida State University researchers has been put to use to attempt to tackle domestic violence in the criminal justice community. This first-of-its-kind online toolkit known as the National Prevention Toolkit on Officer-Involved Domestic Violence and will first hit 10-states before going nationwide. The goals of the initiative are to educate criminal justice officers on communication dynamics and the consequences of domestic violence. The Law Firm of Sandy T. Fox is proud of the nationwide contributions Florida is making to combat this trend.

Leaders in Orange County are also currently revising new ways to tackle this national problem. The Domestic Violence Commission has come up with several new recommendations which may hint towards similar changes throughout the state. Some major recommendations are: preventing those accused of domestic violence from having a phone in jail as they often abuse the privilege to harass the victim, enforcement agencies should be required to alert the State Attorney’s Office in the cause of repeat violations within 24 hour periods, and victims should be added to a no-contact order lists which would allow law enforcement to more easily identify if the individual is in danger again.

Domestic Violence and Family Solutions
Since no-fault divorce has taken the place of more specific fault-based grounds in Florida, domestic violence importance in the divorce has been downgraded to non-existent. Previous acts or a history of domestic violence no longer factor into the divorce proceeding. However, these still do matter in other aspects of a divorce.

Equitable distribution, the settlement of the spouses separate property, is supposed to be fair to both parties and the court will have difficulty ignoring spouses who have been abused, physically or emotionally, or spouses who have suffered acts of adultery.

In instances of domestic abuse in homes with children, it is not only a good suggestion to seek help but a moral obligation. One solution the court may grant is a Protection from Abuse order which can lead to jail time if the offender violates the terms. These cool down periods are necessary to keep yourself and children safe while you consider the road ahead. Anyone within a family may file this order, including grandparents, spouses, ex-spouses, children or anyone intimately involved with the family. Different injunctions exist for those suffering from violence that do not qualify for . A Petition for Protection against Sexual Violence or Injunction for Protection against Dating Violence
Any acts of domestic abuse would favor the non-abusive parent heavily in determinations related to the child including custody and visitation rights.
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How can a couple that has never had a marriage ceremony or a marriage certificate be married? This legal theory is known as common law marriage and it treats a man and woman who act like a husband and wife as a husband and wife upon splitting up.Florida recognized common law marriages for many years until 1968 when the state ended it with Florida statute 741.211.

This does not mean that no common law marriages exist in Florida. Florida will, in fact, recognize common law marriages in two main capacities: Couples having entered a common law marriage before 1968 and couples seen as married under common law from a state that permits common law marriage. As stated succinctly in the opinion of Johnson v. Lincoln Square Properties, Inc., “Florida has always determined the validity of marriage in accordance with the laws of the place where the marriage occurred.” Such a following also requires Florida to look at how those states treat property acquired during the marriage.

The states which recognize common law marriages are: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire (select cases), South Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia.

Courts in these states will look at the following elements when deciding to recognize the couple as married under common law:

– (1)The couple has cohabited in a common-law state
– (2) with the intention to be married
– (3) for a period of time (which will be viewed subjectively on a case by case basis)
– (4) and has held themselves out as married (joint tax returns, shared surnames, etc)

If all these elements are not present, the couple cannot be deemed to be married under common law. As one might notice, there is much subjectivity with each element, and it is important for individuals to contact an experienced family law attorney to assess their potential situation and assist in the process.

If a common law marriage is found to be valid, the couple will be treated as no different than a traditionally married couple in these states. They will need to go through all the same formal divorce proceedings to dissolve their marriage.
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A flawed prenuptial agreement has made it all the way to the highest court of New York State, with the New York Court of Appeals ruling that a flaw in formation can be deadly to a prenup’s enforcement. In a recently decided case, the court ruled against the husband (6-0) for failing to properly acknowledge his signature. Errors like this reinforce the basic contractual nature of prenuptial agreements and stress both the formalities that must be followed and the importance of contacting an experienced matrimonial attorney when making such important life decisions.Millionaire Corner, a website for the well-to-do, released a survey this April that dispelled commonly held stereotypes regarding certain gender views towards prenuptial agreements. When given the choice between five different views ranging from very pro-prenup to very anti-prenup, women identified more with pro-prenup side of the spectrum and their male counterparts identified more towards the antiquated, negative view of prenups. The most telling of these indicate that women lead men, 62% to 54%, in recommending a prenup to a couple getting married, and approximately 50% “don’t feel there are any disadvantages” to a prenuptial agreement between the parties. The same website published another survey days later showing counter-intuitive views of prenups held by older generations, with more than two-thirds of participants over the age of 61 recommending a prenuptial agreement.

Prenuptial agreements, as discussed in a previous post, can often include strange, unorthodox terms. A common specific type of prenup has earned a name among those in the industry: the love contract. Love contracts are meant to put on paper an agreement regarding how the intimate love life of the couple will be conducted. Often in these contracts the terms specify either frequency or methods of lovemaking.

Such language in a prenuptial agreement really can muddy the waters for very limited enforceability, and such obligatory scheduling of a generally spontaneous act could trivialize many portions of the relationship. Suzanne Pelka, a sex therapist, explains that it is “really this false sense of control that we have because we don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow.”

So, what happens when someone tries to fight such a clause? Typically these clauses are not enforceable within the marriage. Aside from demeaning the basic nature of intimacy, if a partner fails to meet the obligations outlined by the agreement, the only thing it may affect is the division of property during a divorce. These documents can not be referred to during the marriage or act as a supporting document to how the partner must act. No breach of contract cause of action can exist when it comes to “love contracts”.
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The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Canadian couple in their suit against an Indiana-based adoption agency after the couple learned of their potential child’s drug addiction.The baby, only days old, began showing signs of drug addiction while still in the hospital. The addiction was inherited from the birth- mother who had abused methadone while pregnant. The couple learned of the child’s condition from a social worker, days after the agency knew.

A Bond of Life Adoptions, the adoption agency operating out of Indiana, originally succeeded in having the couple’s complaint dismissed from trial court. The agency relied on a release clause found in their contract signed by all potential adoptive parents which limits liability against the agency for claims derived from unknown medical conditions of the child or the child’s birth family.

The couple’s complaint, based heavily on a breach of contract theory, cited the failure of the agency to disclose important medical information to the couple which would have affected their decision to adopt. Since the discovery of the condition, the couple withdrew from the adoption process, completely distraught, and has expressed that they will not likely explore further adoption opportunities.

In the court’s opinion overturning the trial court’s dismissal, the court listed an unfortunately long history of adoption agencies hiding behind such releases citing that withholding information is not protected under “unknown medical conditions”.

Adoption providers, such as agencies or attorneys, are often barred from disclosing identifying information regarding the birth parents. However, this does not include medical or psychiatric information which would likely be important for the adoptive parents to know.

Nearly half of the states permit some sort of civil liability against adoption providers for a wrongful omission or commission. One of those states is Florida. Issues like this are another major reason that smart adoptive parents will seek out a knowledgeable experienced family law attorney.

Wrongful adoption suits, recognized in a number of states, vary in the basis of their elements. Most wrongful adoption suits do in some way allege that, through intent or negligence, the adoption provider did not act in good faith to inform the parents of potentially important information. Wrongful adoption claimants typically involve elements of misrepresentation, fraud, negligence, or contractual breach of good faith. Courts look at whether the information not disclosed is “material”. Information is “material” if it would have impacted the adoptive parents’ decision to adopt.

Many couples looking into adoption often explore international adoptions to avoid some of these problems, but US News recently reported on the failures of international adoption providers to diagnose, identify, or explore medical or psychological issues in the child and the child’s family. Plus, suits become incredibly more complicated if not impossible when brought against an international adoption agency.
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