Category: Divorce & Family Law

More often than not divorce will put you at odds with a person who knows you well enough to push your buttons. Your spouse knows exactly what upsets you-whether it is forgetting the children's schedule or overspending or ruining your favorite holiday. The anxiety and strain attendant with the process can make communicating more challenging.

Divorce can be acrimonious. Spouses often wrestle over who gets the family home, the timeshare in the Keys or even the big screen TV. But, what about the family dog or cat? If the parties are going to split custody of the kids, then why not share the family pet.

Most people know if a party opposite you in litigation files for bankruptcy it would normally mean the litigation needs to cease at least until the bankruptcy case is over and possibly forever. A divorce proceeding creates some special exceptions to this normally rigid rule.

1. Is my retirement account a marital asset? Answer: Any contributions to a retirement account during marriage together with the increased value of those contributions due to market gains are considered a marital asset. The fact that the account is just in one spouse’s name and further that the contributions were made by the employee spouse or his or her employer does not affect the marital character of this account.

In Florida, the legal term for a divorce is “dissolution of marriage.” The two simple requirements to dissolve a marriage are: 1) one party must be a Florida resident for more than six months prior to filing and 2) one party must allege under oath that the marriage irretrievably broken. Each divorce encompasses a different set of circumstances.

The husband in a Florida divorce action versus Brevard County forged his wife’s name on a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to cover his obligation to invest $100,000.00 in a start up bank, where he sat on the board of directors. The wife later learned of the HELOC when the lender called threatening to foreclose on the home due to non-payment.

Choosing a lawyer these days is much different than it used to be. Back in the day, communities were smaller and there were less lawyers from which to choose. Most people in town knew the names of the best lawyers or knew who to ask to find the names of the best ones. Over the past 20 years, law schools have sprung up all over the state of Florida.

As a divorce attorney with over 30 years of experience, I can tell you first hand that marital infidelity is the number one cause for the breakup of marriages. While a researcher might say my evidence is anecdotal, client after client appears for their initial divorce consultation asking, “Does it matter that my spouse is cheating on me?” The short answer is no.

Equitable distribution is a mouthful that describes the division of the parties' marital assets and liabilities during a divorce. We divorce lawyers aim to protect our clients' assets. We also help divide up what has been accumulated during the marriage- the cars, the boats, the furniture, the bank accounts, the pensions, IRAs, jewelry, collections and electronics!