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On Sunday, September 25, 2011, ten days after being arraigned on two counts of misdemeanor battery/domestic violence against his wife and his wife’s Mother, Marcus Nathaniel Trotman shot his wife, her mother and himself in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

Prior to the incident, Trotman had been working as an audio engineer with popular South Florida Power 96 radio personality Lazaro Mendez (A.K.A. “D.J. Laz”). Shockingly, Sunrise police confirmed that the gun recovered from the scene-a Walther PPK .380 caliber handgun-was the same make and model as one reported missing by Mendez the evening of the shooting. However, police have yet to confirm whether the gun used by Trotman actually belonged to Mendez.

Mendez’ publicist issued a statement to the media saying he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the shooting. According to police reports, Trotman and Mendez were friends. In fact, Trotman had been living with Mendez since Sunrise police arrested Trotman for battery on August 21, 2011 and a judge ordered him to stay away from his Wife and her Mother.

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A federal judge has ruled in favor a Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James in a paternity lawsuit brought by a lawyer who alleged that he was the biological father of the NBA superstar. In June, 2010, Leicester Bryce Stovell filed a paternity lawsuit which claimed that in 1984 he had a relationship with the mother, Gloria James.

Stovell, a former lawyer for the United States Securities and Exchange Comission, requested a new paternity test and millions of dollars in damages. He alleged that both James and his mother defamed his character and comitted fraud in concealing that he was the biological father.

In an opinion filed on September 16, 2011, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted a motion to dismiss the case. She found that the lawsuit failed to show that he had incurred actual damages. The court believed that the damages which were requested were speculative in nature. Stovell also sought damages for loss of love and affection. The court found that this was not a recognizable form of damages for common law fraud.

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A legislator in Florida, Representative Ritch Workman, is attempting to repeal a state law which makes it illegal to cohabit with a party who is not a spouse. Specifically, “if any man or woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together..they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree”. This crime is currently punishable by 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Approximately 544,907 Floridians live in a relationship in violation of Florida law. This law is now viewed as both unenforceable and unrealistic. One advocate believes that there is a role for government to promote marriage instead of cohabitation. The rationale is that greater marriage rates have a lower likelihood of crime, less domestic violence and better educational results for children.

Individuals believe that there are governmental limitations in promoting marriage. Arresting individuals who live together is not realistic or fair. Many Floridians do not want to marry due to a prior Broward divorce which they experienced or lived through with their own parents.

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Divorce lawyers in Miami have been advised that rapper Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Perez, recently resolved a paternity case which was pending before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr.

Prior to the filing of the Miami paternity action, Pitbull was voluntarily paying $3,000 per month in child support to the mother of his child, Barbara Alba. In her petition, Alba requested child support, shared parental responsibility, a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule. The mother also requested housing in a secured and gated community and child support based upon the rapper’s lifestyle.

On July 18, 2011, the Court entered a Final Judgment of Paternity. The settlement agreement entered into by the parties has not been filed with the court in order to respect each party’s privacy.

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In 1981, John Ferenc bought a home in Florida with his wife. Several years later, he began to serve a prison sentence for burglary, grand theft and some other crimes. While in prison for 26 years, his wife paid off the entire mortgage.

In 2009, Ferenc was released from prison after 26 years. Shortly after, he filed for divorce. His wife, Loretta Jean, is 72 years of age. She is disabled, uses a walker and is not very mobile. She is not prepared to move and does not want to move largely in part of the depressed real estate market.

A order issued by a Florida marital and family law divorce judge requires the wife to vacate her home, a place where she has lived in for 30 years. Effective September 1, 2011, the husband will receive temporary and exclusive use and occupancy of the marital residence.

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Recently, I posted a blog titled “Stay-At-Home Dads Are More Likely To Divorce In Miami.” However, Al Watts, President of Daddyshome, Inc., the national At-Home Dad Network and home to the 16th Annual At-Home Dads Convention in Washington DC on October 8, 201, does not believe it is accurate that stay-at-home dads are more likely to divorce.

Time’s Healthland was the first to report that “stay-at-home dads are more likely to divorce.” There report was based on a study led by Dr. Liana Sayer of Ohio State University. Published in the American Journal of Sociology, the study found that married men who are unemployed are more likely to divorce than men who are working.

After reading the summary of the study, Watts found it strange that the study did not mention stay-at-home dads or even whether any of the men were fathers. He decided to contact Dr. Sayer.

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A Broward divorce lawyer and his client received promising news last week which may help him regain custody of his child. Christopher Dahm was advised by the United States Department of State that his former wife, Leslie Delbecq, was detained at the Abu Dhabi airport when she attempted to depart the United Arab Emirates.

Dahm has been engaged in a global search for his two year old child for approximately one year. The United States Federal government has indicted his former wife with the crime of parental kidnapping, a violation of the laws of the United States of America.

The court in Abu Dhabi has requested information and documentation about the federal charges which are pending against Ms. Debeq who, along with her mother and father, were recently indicted by a federal grand jury.

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Today, Broward marital and family law Circuit Judge Susan Greenhawt appointed a guardian ad litem for two girls and ordered an expedited study to determine if a relative is capable of having temporary child custody of the minor children. While the court waits to learn whether or not the young girls, ages 6 months and 5 years old, have a relative who they can reside with they have been placed in foster care. The court also ordered supervised time-sharing between the mother and the minor children when she is released from jail.

On Tuesday, an anonymous tip led Broward Sherrif’s officers to a home where they discovered roaches in three rooms, trash and mold in the living room, foul odors in the kitchen and piles of garbage on the floor. The two minor children were sleeping in a roach infested bedroom without sheets on their bed. An animal control officer also discovered filthy and malnourished pitbulls in the back yard.

When child protective services investigators arrived at the home, they were unable to locate any responsible adults to watch the two children. The children were immediately placed in protective child custody.

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Fifty-seven percent of Florida families go through a divorce. Divorce rates in Florida tend to exceed national averages. While the statistics show that many couples are getting married in Florida, just as many are retaining a Broward divorce attorney to end their marriage.

Many people move to Florida and leave their families. Some blame the economy for the recent increase in divorce filings. While financial pressure is often a cause of divorce, the cost of divorce can make unhappy couples continue to remain married.

When you hire a Miami divorce lawyer, he or she will often require a retainer of $4,000 to $7,500. The clerk of court requires a $409 filing fee and a $10 summons fee. In the event that a couple cannot resolve their case at mediation, they are also required to pay their lawyer a trial retainer which can often be between $5,000 to $10,000.

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Congratulations to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ivan Fernandez for being elevated to the Third District Court of Appeal. The Third District Court of Appeal and Daily Business Review are reporting that Judge Fernandez was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David Gersten.

After the military, Judge Fernandez became a City of Miami police officer. He was a member of the K-9 unit, handled homicide cases, worked in narcotics and eventually was promoted to the rank of a major.

While working as a police officer, Judge Fernandez enrolled in the University of Miami School of Law. He graduated law school in 1992 but remained a law enforcement officer with the City of Miami Police Department until 1995. In 1995, he retired and opened his own law office.

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