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When you meet with your divorce attorney in Broward, it will be explained to you that liabilities incurred during the marriage will most likely be equally divided amongst you and your spouse as part of the equitable distribution. You will be required to fill out a financial affidavit and exchange documentary evidence of your liabilities as of the date of filing and even two to three years before your divorce.

As a divorce attorney in Fort Lauderdale, it is important that a client provide a credit report. A credit report ensures that the party is aware of liabilities in their name. In some cases, a spouse may have incurred debt in the other spouse’s name without any prior knowledge or consent.

Maintaining good credit is an important aspect of everyone’s life. Even those of who are newly separated, or recently divorced credit is very important. There are important credit implications that those individuals going through a dissolution of marriage may not know about.

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Social networks are changing the way that divorce attorneys in Broward conduct discovery in a case. Facebook and Myspace have become platforms where people open their lives, post pictures and have a conversation with one friend which is often read by many people. Individuals write their conversations and often talk about private matters. For lawyers, this has become an excellent source of evidence in a marital and family law case.

Other sources of electronic evidence include videos on YouTube, text messages, dating services, voice mail, cellphones, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and Sun Pass records. Discretion and privacy have been a generous revelation of secrets. While some often restrict who can see their social networking page, others find information by looking through a friends account.

While evidence of wrongdoing is generally unimportant in Florida, one of many no fault states, fault still plays a role in equitable distribution of assets and alimony. However, there are strict limits on what information can be taken, what information is private and what information can only be obtained through legal procedures such as subpoenas, depositions and discovery.

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The Sun Sentinel is reporting that there has been an increase in the number of amicable divorces and divorces without lawyers. While the total number of divorces between 2005-2009 decreased, simplified divorces increased 20% in Broward County and 50% in Palm Beach County. In these simplified cases, parties resolve their case in a more amicable fashion.

The economic downturn has resulted in less assets to divide, concerns about the cost of hiring two lawyers and mediation becoming a more attractive alternative to contested divorce litigation. In South Florida, 60% of marriages end in divorce. A contested divorce can cost $10,000 to $25,000. Conversely, mediation can cost less than $5,000.

Couples who require equitable distribution of their assets and liabilities, a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule should consult with a Broward divorce attorney. Lawyers can assist their client in finding hidden assets and calculating child support.

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On Tuesday, April 27, 2011, Sandy T. Fox, a divorce attorney in Miami and Fort Lauderdale appeared on CNN The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer. After being contacted by CNN news correspondent, Mary Snow, Fox appeared in a segment that also featured famed New York divorce lawyer, Raol Felder. The news segment focused on the increase of divorce filings as a result of the improved economy.

Sandy T. Fox has been a member of The Florida Bar since September, 2004. He focuses his practice in all areas of marital and family law in Miami-Dade and Broward including divorce, paternity, child custody, alimony and child support enforcement and prenuptial agreements.

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The Sun Sentinel is reporting that incidences of domestic violence in Miami and Fort Lauderdale are not restricted to one particular income level. In the past few months, domestic violence has occurred in families with different economic classes.

Last Friday, police arrested the wife of a Miami Dolphin’s player after she stabbed her husband. This past month, a man was arrested in Fort Lauderdale after attacking his wife in front of her Broward divorce lawyer in open court. In April, a Davie man killed his wife and then himself.

The following signs are indicative of the fact that someone may be prone to be an abuser:

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TMZ is reporting that former Miami Heat basketball player, Glen Rice, has filed a paternity action against his ex-girlfriend, Tia Santoro, in South Florida. Through his Miami paternity lawyer, Mr. Rice has requested a DNA test prior to any child support settlement agreement and parenting plan being resolved by the parties or ordered by the Court.

In prior weeks, Ms. Santoro requested law enforcement assistance in order to retrieve her personal belongings from Mr. Rice’s residence. After the breakdown in the relationship, Coral Gables Police Department provided assistance without any altercation from the parties.

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The Sun Sentinel is reporting that a husband attacked his wife in the chambers of Broward Circuit Judge Ronald Rothschild during a final divorce hearing today causing her to have serious injuries which required hospitalization. Paul Henry Gonzalez, 23, committed domestic violence on his wife without any advanced provocation. He hit her numerous times with closed fists causing her to sustain a torn lip and injuries to her head.

When law enforcement officers arrived in the courtroom, the husband was being restrained by a Broward divorce attorney. After refusing to put his hand into handcuffs, Broward Sheriff Officers tasered him two times before taking him to a hospital for examination.

Mr. Gonzalez is being held in the Broward County Jail on pending charges of felony domestic violence and resisting arrest without violence. The Wife, 23 year old Catherine Ann Scott-Gonzalez, is at Holy Cross Hospital. She will be kept overnight to monitor brain trauma, a broken nose and a broken facial bone by her eye.

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The Sun Sentinel is reporting that Caroline Jenne, wife of former broward sheriff, Ken Jenne, has filed for divorce in Broward County. The parties, both 64 years of age, have been married for 35 years. However, over the past 18 months they have both been living separate and apart.

Through her Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney, Ms. Jenne claims that the marriage is irretrievably broken. She has requested alimony, equitable distribution of the marital assets and liabilities and attorney’s fees and costs. Ms. Jenne also wants to be awarded the marital residence and continued payment of her health and life insurance.

After pleading guilty to mail fraud conspiracy and income tax evasion, Ken Jenne served 10 months in federal prison. He lost his Florida state pension and was disbarred by The Florida Bar. He previously worked for Scott Rothstein’s law firm and is now a business consultant.

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The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that an improved economy has more couples feeling freer to end their marriage. Many people who are in troubled marriages have waited until the financial problems have settled to hire a Florida divorce lawyer. Now that individuals are more comfortable with the improved economic outlook, they are deciding to file for divorce. In 2010, a city in Florida in close proximity to Fort Lauderdale saw divorce cases rise 12% after falling 5% in 2008.

While couples have stayed together during the financial crisis, divorce attorneys in Miami-Dade and Broward now see a demand in clients wanting to proceed with a divorce. In fact, this is similar to the type of divorce filing activity that occurred after the Great Depression in the 1930s and during the recession in 1990 and 1991.

For more affluent couples, the decision to file for a divorce is based less on the economy and more on how they perceive their net worth. Now that the stock market has begun to recover, individuals feel free to move ahead and file for divorce

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Many clients never ask their divorce lawyer in Broward about their entitlement to their spouse’s social security retirement benefit. However, your Florida marital and family law attorney should advise you as to your entitlement to your spouse’s Social Security retirmenet benefit as an incident to your divorce since you may be entitled to receive additional money.

If you are divorced, you may be entitled to your former spouse’s Social Security retirement. This would increase your benefit without reducing your former spouse’s benefit. If you were married for 10 years, are at least 62 years old and have not remarried when you apply, Social Security will look at both your benefit and your spouse’s benefit. If 50% of your former spouse’s benefit is more then your benefit, you are entitled to the larger share of the benefit. While you do not have to wait until your former spouse retires, he or she must be 62 years of age.