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In a Fort Lauderdale divorce case, you may ask your Broward divorce attorney to enforce a court order or judgment. In many instances, enforcement is sought when a spouse does not pay alimony or child support. Your Florida marital and family law lawyer may also seek enforcement if your spouse does not comply with child custody orders or pay your attorney’s fees and costs. Contempt of court is a mechanism that can be used to coerce compliance or even punish for non-compliance with a court order or judgment.

In Berlow v Berlow, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed a decision of the Miami-Dade divorce court that found the former husband in contempt of court for failing to provide the former wife with an irrevocable term life insurance policy. The parties divorced in 1994. In 2006, the former husband agreed to obtain a $1,000,000 irrevocable term life insurance policy naming the former wife as the beneficiary within 90 days.

At the Miami divorce hearing, the trial court found that the former husband willfully disregarded the prior court order and ordered the former husband to pay a $5,000 fine to the Miami-Dade County Fine and Forfeiture Fund within thirty days and to provide the required life insurance policy to the former wife. However, the contempt order did not contain a purge provision.

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A former South Florida Cathoic priest, David Dueppen, has fathered a minor child with a former stripper, Beatrice Hernandez. On October 5, 2009, he filed a Petition for Paternity, Timesharing, Child Support and for Related Relief in the Miami-Dade marital and family court which handles divorce and paternity cases for residents of Aventura, Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Pinecrest. He is seeking shared parental responsibility, child support and 70% of the custody and timesharing of the minor child.

Through his Miami divorce and paternity lawyer, David Deuppen has allegedly admitted paternity and would like to be involved in the minor child’s life. He joined the priesthood in 1999 but took an indefinite leave of absence in August 2009 after Beatrice Hernandez reported that the priest fathered a child. Over one year ago, they restarted their relationship and had a child, Marilyn.

The parties also have a pending domestic violence action since Hernandez claims that Dueppen choked her during an argument about paternity and child support. The Miami-Dade court has issued a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence.

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The purpose of a parenting coordinator during your child custody litigation is to provide an alternative dispute resolution to assist with your Broward parenting plan and time-sharing schedule. Your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer may recommend parenting coordination in your marital and family law case to assist you and your spouse with the resolution of your child related disputes by providing education, making recommendations, and, with prior approval, making limited decisions.

If you and your spouse have a history of domestic violence prior to or during your Broward divorce, your lawyer may not request that the court order parenting coordination unless you and your spouse consent. If both parties consent to parenting coordination during a divorce or paternity case, the Fort Lauderdale divorce court will require safeguards to protect the safety of the participants.

Absent a written agreement amongst the parties, the court can only appoint a qualified parenting coordinator who is either a licensed mental health professional, licensed physician certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a family law mediator with a master’s degree in a mental health field or a member of The Florida Bar. A parenting coordinator used by your Broward divorce lawyer in creating or implementing your parenting plan must also complete three years of post-licensure or post-certification practice, a family mediation training program by The Florida Supreme Court and 24 hours of parenting coordination training.

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Once your Broward divorce lawyer has finalized your divorce, you may seek to relocate . Some parents move closer to family and friends. Others find better employment offers outside of the Fort Lauderdale area. In addition, you may meet someone new and decide to relocate from Florida. Whatever the reason may be, a parent relocating after a Broward divorce can be traumatic for children. It is important that your children maintain contact and access with you in order to comply with the parenting plan and time-sharing arrangement.

It is important that your children keep in touch when you relocate. The children should visit with the relocating parent during long weekends and holidays. Time-sharing in Fort Lauderdale or your new home should be made in advance. Make a note of the time-sharing that your children will spend with you so that you can look forward to the time that you will spend with your children.

In between time-sharing in Broward, text message and e-mail your children in between telephone calls. Your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer can include other means of communication between your children and you including a web camera and videoconferencing.

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Fort Lauderdale police chief Frank Adderley retained a Broward divorce lawyer and has filed for dissolution of his marriage prior to his wife being sentenced for shooting at him for an alleged adulterous affair. Documents in the court filed indicate that a Christmas gift of earrings to another woman made Eleanor Adderley commit a serious crime against her husband, a law enforcement officer. Mr. Adderley alleges that his 18 year marriage to his wife is irretrievably broken. He has also requested custody of the minor child born during the marriage.

In July 2008, Eleanor Adderley used her husband’s gun and fired one bullet into the foot of the couple’s bed that her husband was lying on. In addition, she fired two more rounds outdoors as her husband ran outside to a neighbor’s home. Today, Broward County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Levenson sentenced Eleanor Adderley to nine months behind bars at the Broward County Jail followed by two years of probation.

The Fort Lauderdale divorce case has been assigned to Judge Alfred J. Horowitz, a circuit court judge assigned to the marital and family law division which handles matters pertaining to custody, time-sharing, parenting plans and alimony in Broward County, Florida.

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Many times a client will come into their Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer’s office and not know where there spouse is currently residing or located. Sometimes parties may have been separated for many years for a variety of reasons. A spouse may have returned to their home state or country. Others separated at the beginning of a marriage for reasons of domestic violence and have not seen their spouse in twenty years.

While your Broward marital and family lawyer can assist you in filing for divorce and requesting alimony, child support, attorney’s fees and costs as well as equitable distribution, a preliminary step requires that your spouse be served with your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, even when he or she has disappeared, before the court can enter a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

If you are unable to locate your spouse, he or she will have to be served by constructive service of process or service by publication (i.e service in your local newspaper). You must first make a diligent search and inquiry with the United States Post Office, last known employment, unions that your spouse may be affiliated with, regulatory agencies, relatives, death records, telephone listings, internet people finder sites, law enforcement arrest or criminal records and highway patrol records in the state of your spouse’s last known address. In addition, you should also check the department of motor vehicle records, department of corrections records, child support enforcement agency records, hospitals in the last known area of your spouse’s residence, utility companies (water, sewer, cable and electric), the armed forces and the tax assessor’s and tax collector’s offices.

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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%.

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When you hire your Broward divorce lawyer, you will most likely discuss your house, your furnishings, alimony, child support and custody and time-sharing with your children. During a Fort Lauderdale divorce, everything can become contentious. A common questioned asked to marital and family law attorneys in Fort Lauderdale relates to which spouse will ultimately get custody of the dog or cat.

In Miami-Dade and Broward, who gets the pet is a common point of contention in the office of divorce attorneys and mediators, and even sometimes in the courtroom. Most spouses manage to work out pet arrangements without the need of the Florida marital and family law judge. In Florida, judges have to follow the law related to pets. The law and case precedent state that animals are property, and that means that neither party can have custody, time-sharing, visitation or shared parental responsibility with the dog or cat. Insofar as a pet is property, it is subject to equitable distribution like all of your other assets

Just like your pension, furniture and car, pets are considered personal property, and legally, it can only be awarded to one person. If a pet is acquired during the marriage and is not a gift to one party from another person outside of the marriage, it is an asset subject to equitable distribution. In awarding the pet to one of the parties, the court will look at who spent time with the pet, fed it, cared for it, and had the closest bond with it.

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When you meet with your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer, you will soon have an understanding of the main elements of your divorce case. These includes sole or shared parental responsibility, a parenting plan that includes a time-sharing schedule, equitable distribution of the marital assets and liabilities, alimony, child support and attorney’s fees and costs. However, once the Broward marital and family court enters your Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, you will be a single mom who is responsible for the day to day care of your children.

When your former spouse exercises his custody rights of time-sharing in Fort Lauderdale, you may initially have some anxiety. How you and your former spouse communicate becomes an example for your children and lays the foundation for how your children will manage their future relationships. Your Broward divorce attorney will explain that you should never discuss your marital and family law case with your children or negatively criticize your former spouse to your children.

Regardless of whether you file for divorce in Miami-Dade or Broward, a divorce can have a major impact of your finances. If you are a newly single mother who relied on her former spouse to pay the bills, you need to quickly learn about your finances. You should establish a monthly budget that takes into account any alimony or child support that your receive, purchase life insurance and understand your credit.

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If you have recently been divorced in Broward, you most likely never thought that you would be a single mom. In Florida, the odds are stacked against you when you get married and have children. 50% of first time marriages and 67% of second time marriages end in divorce in Ft. Lauderdale. Single mothers in Fort Lauderdale who are becoming adjusted to their custody, time-sharing schedule and parenting plan are not alone. The following are some tips that your Broward divorce attorney should discuss with you after your case has concluded.

You need a group of people to rely on after your Florida marital and family lawyer finalizes your divorce. Consider your friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers when you have an emergency and need a third party to rely on. You should also consider the parents in your childrens play groups, classes and after school activities to provide you with emotional support. Chances are that you will be able to speak to other moms who have been divorced in Hollywood, Plantation, Westin, Pembroke Pines and other cities in Miami-Dade and Broward who can lend a helping hand.

There are many positive attributes about being a single mom. Immediately rid yourself of any guilt that you may feel from being a single mom. You need to find inspiration to feel good about your decision to hire a lawyer and file for divorce, child support and alimony in Fort Lauderdale.

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