While most of my previous articles describe how Florida law is applied in a divorce case. It is very difficult to describe accurately how the law is applied and when. Below, I outline the entire Florida divorce court process in summary. The actual Florida Family Law Rules Of Civil Procedure are 175 pages long and presume…
Many divorces share two things in common: 1) they parties agree that they should divorce, 2) The parties agree as to what should happen after their divorce. Agreeing to a divorce is the easy part. Unpacking an entire marriage in a way that’s fair and satisfying to each party is the difficult part. When the…
What Are Text Messages? At the time of this writing, 2019, everyone communicates via text message. Text messages are electronic messages transmitted over SMS (short message service) or Internet connection. Text messages are almost always transmitted via smartphone. Text messages stay on your phone until you delete them…or do they? Text messages are like any other form of…
The Florida estimated child support amounts per the guidelines lists out a number for each total income of the parents. It’s as though the state of Florida is saying, “This is what it costs to raise a child at your income.” Anyone who has actually had children will look at that number and say, “kids…
Whether you are in the midst of divorce or were never married, Florida state law controls how child support works in Naples, Florida. Florida Statute Section 61.13(1) allows the court to enter child support orders and provides some guidelines of what child support orders must include. The statue immediately instructs that the courts have the power…
After an order for alimony is entered by the court, it is enforceable by Florida courts. It does not matter whether the order was temporary or final. If an order was entered by the court with due notice given to the obligor, it must be followed pursuant to the details contained within the order. There…
Temporary alimony is an award of alimony that is made before the end of a divorce and and after the filing of the petition of dissolution. Temporary alimony can always be modified for whatever reason the court decides. Temporary alimony is extinguished however when the alimony award is made in the final judgment for divorce.…
In the old days of Florida’s past, proof of adultery both allowed for a divorce and barred the adulterer from ever requesting alimony. Presumably, the courts exercised broad discretion back then and punished adulterers by denying them marital assets and custody of their children (they just didn’t write it into the statute) Today, Florida is…
Your divorce starts in whatever county court the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. If you and your spouse live in Naples, Florida, you will almost always be filing in the Collier County Courthouse. Where you got married does not effect where you file for divorce. If you’ve filed your divorce in Collier County or any…
When calculating alimony the courts first test is to compare the party’s need with the other party’s ability to pay. Both of these amounts are largely determined by the parties’ incomes. When one of the parties has a drastic change in income during the divorce proceedings (and this happens all the time) the other party will…
