Martindale-Hubbell
The National Advocates
The National Advocates
National Board of Trial Advocacy
The Florida Bar
Best Lawyers
Client Distinction Award
The National Advocates

Published on: | by

Whether you are seeking a divorce, alimony, child custody, paternity, or any other relief from the Fort Lauderdale marital and family law court, you must conduct yourself professionally. Your Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney will take the lead, and you should remain silent while in the family court until your lawyer or the Broward County judge directs you to speak.

While the judge is talking pay close attention. While your attorney speaks listen to what he says. If either the judge or your attorney misstate the facts, use a notepad and write a note to your attorney. Whispering should be kept to a minimum because many courtrooms have microphones at the table and the court reporter may incorporate your private discussion with your attorney into the record.

If your ex-spouse takes the stand and twists the truth, sit back, relax, and remember that you will have your chance to explain the real story. You should make a note to your attorney to alert him that the witness is lying, but do not speak out loud or make funny faces during the testimony. This will only hurt your case. Remember that you are before the judge asking for relief, and if you appear intelligent, confident, secure and sympathetic, you have a better shot at winning your motion.

Published on: | by

If you reside within Broward County and are having marital problems, it is highly likely that you have or will consult with a divorce lawyer. Before meeting with a divorce attorney in Fort Lauderdale, there are five things that you need to hear about a divorce. In my blog posted yesterday, I discussed two of the five things that you should know before speaking to your marital and family law divorce attorney in Florida. Today I will discuss the remaining three topics.

Hire A Lawyer Who Will Work With You

Educate yourself about your rights so that you can direct your lawyer. You need to make decisions with your lawyer together. Fire a lawyer that you feel uncomfortable with sooner rather than later because after a while, he or she will be too entrenched in your case.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

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

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

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.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

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.

Published on: | by

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.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

In the Broward County divorce court, parties continuously attempt to litigate their divorce “pro se” meaning without an attorney. Obtaining a Fort Lauderdale divorce is expensive and quite often a party does not have the funds to hire an attorney to fight the litigious battle. Despite the rise in “do it yourself divorces” Fort Lauderdale attorney’s are still in high demand. This is because navigating the Fort Lauderdale Family Court is a challenge for pro se parties. A new trend is on the rise: Fort Lauderdale marital and family law coaches.

A divorce coach is a family law attorney that a pro se litigant can consult on a need basis. In a typical divorce, a party will hire an attorney to litigate the case from the petition of dissolution to the final judgment dissolving the marriage. On the other hand, a pro se litigant hires a divorce coach to teach him how to take legal action on his own, and to assist him his legal questions and concerns.

A do it yourself divorce is not for everyone. Where there are complex legal issues involved and the parties are extremely contentious, it is probably best to stick with the traditional route and hire an attorney. But on the other hand, where the divorce is a straight forward financial transaction then this process might work.

Published on: | by

A prenuptial agreement can decrease the potential for a messy divorce in Fort Lauderdale by spelling out you and your spouses rights to assets brought into the marriage and assets acquired during the marriage and other economic issues that arise. Your marital and family law attorney in Broward can draft a prenuptial agreement for you since about 40 percent of marriages can end in divorce. Whether you reside in Pembroke Pines, Cooper City or Weston, a prenuptial agreement may be a good idea if you are thinking of getting married in Florida.

Prenuptial agreements are not just for the rich and famous. They can protect people at all different income and wealth levels. A prenuptial agreement protects children from a prior marriage since a portion of assets automatically go to a spouse upon death. However, this can be waived in your prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement is also important when there is a significant disparity in earnings and wealth or if you or your spouse own a business to ensure that a divorce will be less contested.

Having a prenuptial agreement drafted by a lawyer is not cheap. A lawyer may charge $1,500.00 to $5,000.00 to draw up and negotiate the prenuptial agreement, either at a flat rate or at an hourly rate. For more complicated estates, a prenuptial agreement can cost as much as $10,000.00, if not more. Both parties should have separate attorneys to avoid a conflict of interest. You may also want to consider having a court reporter and videographer present when you and your spouse sign the agreement in the event that the prenuptial agreement is challenged in the future.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

Yes. The question then becomes how much? This depends on how much of the spouse’s pension fund the Broward County divorce court judge deems marital property. Florida statutory and case law is clear that all marital property is subject to equitable distribution during a Fort Lauderdale divorce. In a dissolution proceeding, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court will request a list of both parties’ assets, along with details describing when those assets were obtained. Assets that were acquired during the marriage as well as assets that gained value during the marriage – due to marital funds or marital efforts – are considered marital property.

A retirement fund, or pension plan, is money set aside for an employee after he or she is no longer working. Both the employer and the employee contribute to the retirement fund during the course of employment. By definition, a pension plan is deferred compensation. A spouse’s income during the marriage is subject to equitable distribution; so therefore, a spouse’s pension plan is subject to equitable distribution as well. As a general rule, the spouse is entitled to the portion of the pension fund that accumulated during the marriage.

Recently, nine Continental Airlines pilots “faked” their divorces to cash in early on their pension funds. Under a provision of the federal pension law, an ex-spouse who is a named beneficiary is entitled to receive all or a portion of the funds after a divorce. Under the law, the pilots divorced their spouses, however, told neither their children, nor their family members or their friends. The spouses cashed in and after receiving the funds the parties remarried. Continental Airlines found out about the couples’ remarriage and filed suit against them.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

Children who are caught in the middle of a nasty divorce in Fort Lauderdale will soon have legal advocates to look out for their best interests. Governor Charlie Crist made a law that will allow the Broward County divorce court to appoint certified Guardian Ad Litem volunteers to represent minor children in a divorce even when there are no allegations of abuse or neglect. When time-sharing, a parenting plan or parental responsibility is contested in your case, your divorce lawyer may file a motion in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court and ask the family law judge to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem to be your child’s voice during court proceedings.

In a contested divorce, parents hate each other more than it seems like they love their children. Governor Christ’s legislation will improve the quality of life for Florida children whose parents are getting divorced by having an advocate who will focus on the child’s best interest.

Children of Florida should have the opportunity to achieve their dreams and reach their full potential by growing up safe and healthy. Allowing your child to be heard through a guardian ad litem during your divorce or paternity case will benefit most families during this difficult time.