Articles Posted in In the News (Divorce)

Published on: | by

A divorce lawyer in Fort Lauderdale will always ask you about your occupation especially if your case may include alimony. A recent study explored a link between divorce and occupation. Have you ever wondered how your career can impact your marriage?

During the 2000 census, 16.35% of individuals listed themselves as separated or divorce. 14.5% of police officer, 43.1% of dancers and choreographer, 38.4% of bartenders and 38.2% of massage therapists were either divorced or separated. Other careers which landed in the top ten percent were casino employees, nurses, home health aids and telephone operators. On the otherhand, engineers, optometrists, clergy and podiatrists had occupations with low divorce rates. While these statistics are only from a limited scope of people, it is interesting to see how a job can impact your marriage.

Published on: | by

Divorce lawyers in Miami have advised the Salt Lake Tribune that former Utah Jazz forward, Carlos Boozer, and his wife, Cindy have reached an amicable settlement. In her Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, the wife had advised that the parties had entered into a marital settlement agreement and parenting plan which includes a time-sharing schedule for their three minor children. A final uncontested hearing is scheduled this month before Judge Leon Firtel.

Boozer recently signed a five year contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Chicago Bulls. His deal is worth $75 million. He had surgery this week to fix a broken finger and is expected to return to playing basketball within two months.

Published on: | by

The Daily Business Review is reporting that William E. Dellow, Jr., a Miami-Dade general magistrate, has resigned from the judicial position that he has held for 22 years. He is accused of making racial slurs to an Assistant State Attorney. Two years ago, Dellow was disciplined due to a sexual harassment claim brought by a colleague and moved from the family division where he heard divorce cases to the child support division. The sudden departure of this general magistrate leaves 400 child support cases up in the air while Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Circuit Judge Sandy Karlan are trying to solve this alarming problem.

Judges appoint members of The Florida Bar as general magistrates. The court is required to enter an order of referral to a general magistrate and obtain the consent of all parties. If your divorce attorney in Ft. Lauderdale objects to a matter being referred to the general magistrate, the matter must be heard by the judge assigned to the case. A general magistrate conducts hearings, hears testimony and reviews evidence. After the hearing, the general magistrate is required to file a report which contains factual findings, conclusions of law and recommendations. Either party may file exceptions to the report of a general magistrate within a specified time period which are ultimately reviewed by the divorce judge assigned to the case. Absent timely exceptions, the report of the general magistrate is generally adopted and ratified by the court.

Published on: | by

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Supreme Court of Florida has issued its opinion in Kaaa v. Kaaa that addresses whether and under what circumstances passive appreciation of a marital home that is a nonmarital asset is subject to equitable distribution.

For 27 years, the parties resided in a home that was purchased by the husband for $36,500 six months before the marriage. During the marriage, marital funds were utilized to pay the mortgage and improve the home. Although the home was refinanced during the marriage, the wife was never placed on the title or deed. At trial, the parties stipulated that the value of the home was $225,000 and the outstanding balance of the mortgage was $12,871.46. The trial court found that the home was nonmarital, that the mortgage balance had been reduced by $22,279 and the renovation to the carport increased the value of the home by $14,400. Accordingly, the trial court ruled that the the enhancement value of the home, $36,679, was subject to equitable distribution and ordered the husband to pay the wife $18,339.50. In affirming the decision of the trial court, the Second District Court of Appeal held that the former wife was not entitled to equitable distribution of the passive appreciation of the real property.

The Supreme Court of Florida quashed the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal and concluded that passive appreciation of a non-marital asset is considered a marital asset when marital funds or the efforts of either party contributed to the appreciation. A nonmarital asset which appreciates during the marriage, only due to inflation or market conditions, becomes in part a marital asset, if it has indebtedness which is reduced by marital funds. Improvements or expenditure of marital monies which results in the enhancenment of the value of a nonmarital asset is an asset subject to equitable distribution. Additionally, the nonowner spouse is also required to have made contributions to the property during the marriage by investing marital funds or the efforts of either party.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

A recent study indicates that women who earn more money than their husband’s are 40% more likely to divorce. Women who earned at least 60% of the total household income are likely to divorce. The study, which took 25 years, also found that it did not matter how affluent the parties were since they were more likely to divorce if the wife was the breadwinner. One reason for the results of this study may be that women are free to leave bad marriages if they are financially independent.

Published on: | by

According to cnn.com, couples who are engaged are doing what they can to fight off the alarming divorce rates. Nowadays, young couples are reluctant to get married. But, experts now believe that premarital counseling may be beneficial. Engaged couples are taught to discuss topics such as finances, religion, children and sexuality.

During your first marriage, there is a 50-50 chance that you may hire a divorce lawyer in Fort Lauderdale. While many couples believe that the highest indicator of a divorce is conflict, the true number 1 indicator is avoidance of conflict. While many married couples accept that marriage is hard work, some engaged couples have decided to attend premarital counseling to prevent future problems before they tie the knot.

Psychotherapists have seen an increase in their premarital counseling practice and the sale of premarital books. Experts believe that this is a result of couples having a darkened view of marriage since they hear about the effects of a divorce all of the time. The benefits of premarital education is that it provides greater knowledge and relationship skills for contemporary marriages to succeed so that couples do not reach the point where they need to hire a divorce attorney in Broward.

Published on: | by

Divorce attorney’s in Miami, Coral Gables, Hallandale, Plantation and other South Florida cities are preparing for a statutory overhaul regarding legislative modifications to the statute governing alimony. One of the most significant changes is the codification of bridge-the-gap alimony.

Bridge-the-gap alimony assists a party in making the transition from being married to being single. It assists a party with identifiable short term financial needs. A marital and family law judge may not award bridge-the-gap alimony for a period in excess of 2 years. Bridge-the-gap alimony terminates upon the death of either party or upon remarriage of the party that receives alimony. Last but not least, bridge-the-gap alimony is non-modifiable in amount or duration.

Another important change to alimony relates to rehabilitative alimony. Rehabilitative alimony assists a party in redeveloping previous skills or credentials. It also helps a spouse acquire education, training or work experience necessary to develop employment skills. In the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, the court must detail a defined rehabilitative plan. A party may modify or terminate rehabilitative based upon a substantial change in circumstances or compliance with the rehabilitative plan.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

The Miami Herald is reporting that Tiger Woods and his wife have many different options if they decide to file for divorce in Florida. Their personal financial information may be kept away from the public eye if agreed to by both parties. In order to pay the least amount of taxes, Mrs. Woods would likely file for divorce in Florida rather than where the parties own additional homes in Sweden and California. In light of the fact that Florida is a no fault divorce state, they would only need to inform the Florida marital and family judge that the marriage is irretrievably broken.

In order to keep their divorce confidential, they could file for their divorce in any county in Florida. It is most likely in the best interest of the children if the court balances the public right to know and the privacy of the Woods family in disclosing details of the case. However, divorce lawyers in Miami believe that it would be difficult to conceal the location of the divorce filing in Florida since a clerk of court could easily divulge this information.

While Tiger Woods and his wife would be required to file a child support guidelines worksheet and financial affidavits listing their income, assets and liabilities, a judge may seal financial aspect of the case to keep it away from the public eye. However, this will really depend upon the judge who is assigned to the case.

Continue reading ›

Published on: | by

Divorce attorneys in Broward are often told by clients that the sex life with their spouse is troubled or virtually non-existent. While many clients first seek marriage counseling instead of alimony, child support and child custody in the Fort Lauderdale marital and family court, some focus on improving their sex life by taking Viagra. However, the Sun Sentinal questions if Viagra can lead to the filing of a divorce petition.

Viagra is an erectile dysfunction drug that has been sold in Florida for a period of 10 years. According to a report from the Harvard School of Medicine, while Viagra can resolve erectile dysfunction it can also cause other problems in a marriage if the man no longer feels a sexual desire for his wife. If the parties are both aware that the man is taking Viagra it may benefit the marriage.

Some women report that the increased sex drive by the man can become problematic. While many men use Viagra, they neglect to talk with their partner about how the medication should be utilized to maximize the sexual benefits of the relationship. Experts believe that Viagra is not the only problem in a marriage if a divorce is caused by sex or if a husband is having and affair.

Published on: | by

When a client meets with their Broward divorce lawyer, nine times out of ten they will ask if they will have to pay alimony or if they will receive alimony. Effective July 1, 2010, there will be significant revisions to Florida law governing alimony. The amendments apply to all initial awards and modifications of these awards entered prior to July 1, 2010. However, the statutory amendments will not serve as a basis to modify alimony awards or change the amount or length of alimony awards entered before July 1, 2010.

The Florida marital and family court will now consider three additional statutory factors when awarding alimony. First, the court will consider each party’s responsibilities for children of the marriage. Next, the court will consider the tax consequence of the alimony award and whether all or a portion of the award should be nontaxable and nondeductible. Finally, your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer will now have the ability of presenting evidence of all sources of income available to either party from investments and assets.

Another significant change to Florida’s alimony law are the statutory presumptions regarding length of marriages which will help the court determine which type of alimony is the most appropriate. A short term marriage is now considered a marriage that is less than 7 years. A moderate term marriage is a marriage greater than seven years but less than 17 years. Last but not least, a long term marriage is a marriage that is in excess of seven years.

Continue reading ›