Practice Areas

Uncontested Divorce

An Uncontested divorce is where both spouses agree on every issue, and the terms of the dissolution. Florida’s uncontested dissolution process is not complex; however, the parties may still require the assistance of an attorney. Depending on the circumstances of the divorce, issues may include property distribution, debts, assets, child custody, time-sharing, and child support. Uncontested divorces are usually less stressful and can be processed more quickly than contested divorces. Unfortunately, many divorces that begin amicably may degenerate into contested divorces, so it is essential that you protect your rights at each stage of the process.

Contested Divorce

Contested divorce is one in which each spouse does not agree on the terms of the dissolution. Even the most reasonable adults, in such an emotionally charged situation, often have difficulty coming to an agreement on major issues such as the value of family assets, business valuations, child custody, timesharing, child support, and alimony. In these cases, it sometimes takes months (or even years) for spouses to come to an agreement on such important, life-changing issues.

Marital Settlement Agreements

Otherwise known as MSA's, marital settlement agreements are written contracts where both parties in a divorce draft a legally binding agreement explaining property rights and support rights. If there are children, the MSA will include visitation, custody and support. If completed correctly, these documents can save time and money.

Property Distribution

Equitable Distribution is the division of the parties’ marital assets and liabilities obtained during or as a result of the marriage and is governed by Florida Statute §61.075.
Equitable Distribution does not mean equal distribution. While under most circumstances the court will equally divide the parties’ marital assets and liabilities, equal division is only a presumption. This presumption can be rebutted by a showing of marital waste. Marital Waste is whereby one spouse uses marital assets for a non-marital purpose, i.e. an affair. However, it is critical to note, it is not the affair in and of itself, which creates the marital waste. It is the usage of marital property to fund the affair.
Generally speaking, marital assets and liabilities include:

• Assets acquired and liabilities incurred during the marriage, individually by either spouse or jointly by them.
• The enhancement in value and appreciation of non-marital assets resulting either from the efforts of either party during the marriage or from the contribution to or expenditure thereon of marital funds or other forms of marital assets, or both.
• Interspousal gifts during the marriage.
• All vested and non-vested benefits, rights, and funds accrued during the marriage in retirement, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance plans and programs.

Child Support

Child Support in Florida is governed by Florida Statute §61.30. Child Support is calculated using the Florida State Statutory Guidelines. While the term guideline is used, except under exceptional circumstances, the amount calculated pursuant to the Florida Guidelines is the amount most often paid. I am often asked can my partner and I agree upon the amount of child support to be paid. Generally speaking, the answer is no, however, there are circumstances where that is appropriate, but they are few and far between. Child Support is a right of the child(ren), and as such, the parties do not generally have the right to bargain regarding the amount paid in child support.
Child Support is calculated using the parties’ net incomes, which are plugged into the child support formula. The formula used to calculate child support takes into consideration, the minor child(ren)’s daycare costs, healthcare costs and overnights spent with each parent to arrive at a child support figure.

Child Custody/Time Sharing

Child Custody in the State of Florida is governed by Florida Statute §61.13. There are two types of custodial arrangements in Florida: Sole Parental Responsibility and Shared Parental Responsibility.
Sole Parental Responsibility can be either with or without time-sharing, depending on the best interests of the minor child. Sole Parental Responsibility is only granted when Shared Parental Responsibility would be detrimental to the child(ren). Sole Parental Responsibility conveys sole decision making authority to the parent receiving same.
In direct contrast to Sole Parental Responsibility, Shared Parental Responsibility grants both parents’ equal rights about decision making power. Additionally, under Shared Parental Responsibility, both parents share on a timely basis, all important information they may receive regarding the child(ren)’s education, medical situations, and extracurricular activities.
Under Shared Parental Responsibility the Court will usually designate one parent the Majority time-sharing parent and the other parent the Minority time-sharing parent. What does this mean? Only that one parent spends most of the time-sharing with the minor child and the other parent a minority of the time-sharing. It does not, and I repeat does not confer any additional authority regarding the minor child(ren), to the Majority time-sharing parent.
What if both parties have equal time-sharing? This type of time-sharing arrangment is defined as rotating custody (sometimes referred to in street language as joint custody). This time-sharing arrangement is not generally used as it is disfavored by most courts. Rotating Custody is generally only ordered if both parties agree to it, have a good parenting relationship and live near each other.
Give us a call today and we will help put together a child custody plan that makes sense. I am Alan Rosenthal, and this is Divorce for Men.

Paternity Actions

A Paternity Action is primarily used for unwed parents who are in the process of separating. A Petition to Determine Paternity and Related Relief is an important part of the process. If paternity goes unproven, the custody of the child automatically goes to the unwed mother. However, under Florida Statute 744.301, "The mother of a child born out of wedlock and a father who established paternity under Florida Statute 742.011 or Florida Statute 742.10 are the natural guardians of the child and are entitled and subject to rights and responsibilities of parents. In other words, paternity may be established and the Father would have equal rights to the minor child if paternity is established by the Court, or by a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity that is witnessed by two individuals and signed under the penalty of perjury as provided for in s. 382.013 (signing of the Brith Certificate) or s. 382.016 (amending the birth certificate) and is executed by both parties. Additionally, paternity may be established through an administrative proceeding commenced by the Department of Revenue. Contact us today to learn more.

Alimony

Alimony in Florida is governed by Florida Statute §61.08. The purpose of this statute is to enumerate what factors a court should consider when determining whether or not an award of alimony is appropriate, for what time period, and in what amount.
Currently there are five different types of alimony which can be awarded in the State of Florida. In determining whether or not to award alimony, the court shall first make a specific factual determination as to whether either party has an actual need for alimony and whether either party has the ability to pay alimony.
The five different types of alimony in Florida are as follows: Temporary, Bridge-the-Gap, Rehabilitative, Durational, and Lump Sum.
A major factor considered by the court in determining which of the above stated alimonies may be applicable in your case is the length of your marriage. The current alimony statute divides marriages into three categories with regard to length; Short-term, moderate term and long-term. A short term marriage is defined by the statute as a marriage having a duration of less than 10 years, a moderate-term marriage is defined as a marriage having a duration of greater than 10 years but less than 20 years, and a long-term marriage is defined as a marriage having a duration of 20 years or greater. The length of a marriage is the period of time from the date of marriage until the date of filing of an action for dissolution of marriage.
Additionally, the court is required to consider the below stated factors, prior to an award of alimony:

• The standard of living established during the marriage and the anticipated needs and necessities of life for each party after the entry of the final judgment.
• The duration of the marriage.
• The age, physical, mental, and emotional condition of each party, including whether either party is physically or mentally disabled and the resulting impact on either the obligee’s ability to provide for his or her own needs or the obligor’s ability to pay alimony and whether such conditions are expected to be temporary or permanent.
• The financial resources and income of each party, including the income generated from both non-marital and marital assets.
• The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties, including the ability of either party to obtain the necessary skills or education to become self-supporting or to contribute to his or her self-support prior to the termination of the support, maintenance, or alimony award.
• The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party.
• The responsibilities each party will have with regard to any minor children whom the parties have in common, with special consideration given to the need to care for a child with a mental or physical disability.
• Any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties, which shall be specifically identified in the written findings of fact. This may include a finding of a supportive relationship as provided for in s. 61.14(1)(b) or a reasonable retirement as provided for in s. 61.14(1)(c)1.

Modification Proceedings

Modifications can be made to child support, parenting plans, visitations, custody and more. Our office will draw up the needed documents to file for Family Law modifications. There are details that need to be discussed in the case of any modification. Contact our offices to discuss your situation.

Contempt Proceedings

Even with a judgement in your favor, there is no guarantee the other party will comply. Any number of court orders such as alimony, child support, or parenting agreements could be ignored by one party. The court uses contempt as a means of gaining the offending party's compliance. Contact our law offices to discuss your situation.

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence in Florida refers to the following: assault or battery, aggravated assault or battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death, committed by a family or household member against another family or household member.
These proceedings are very serious and we urge you to contact Alan Rosenthal for advice.

Premarital Agreements

A sad fact of modern American life is that not all marriages last. In fact, about forty to fifty percent of marriages now end in divorce. It may not be pleasant to think about this possibility.

However, before a person gets married, he or she should consider taking certain precautions in case a divorce does happen. One such precaution is entering into a premarital agreement.

Premarital agreements are sometimes referred to as prenuptial agreements or antenuptial agreements. A premarital agreement is a legal contract that a couple enters into before getting married. In short, premarital agreements are made to establish the rights and obligations of the parties in the event the marriage were to suddenly end. This could include if the marriage were to end with one of the spouse’s death. However, more often, a premarital agreement is made to guard against the possibility of divorce.

A premarital agreement could, for example, stipulate that a spouse is only entitled to a predetermined amount of support and assets as part of a divorce settlement.

Premarital agreements can cover other scenarios as well. For example, a premarital agreement may include certain financial penalties for a spouse if that spouse was discovered to have been committing adultery during the marriage.

Couples make such agreements so they are not bound by the Florida Statutes as to division of their assets and debts, or as to alimony and the like. Premarital Agreements do have certain limitations though. For example, agreements by the parties concerning the amount of child support that should be paid or time-sharing with a minor child can be changed by the court.

Be aware a premarital agreement may be challenged on two separate grounds. The first deals with fraud, duress, coercion, misrepresentation or over reaching. The second deals with "unfairness" or as it is sometimes called the "fair and reasonable test." However, if the challenging party cannot prove to the Court either of the above stated grounds, more likely than not a court will generally uphold an agreement between the party, so long as same was entered into freely and voluntarily by the parties and with adequate financial disclosure.

Due to these facts, there are many very good reasons for a person to enter into a premarital agreement with his or her spouse before marriage. This is especially the case for spouses that come into a marriage with a large amount of assets compared to the other spouse. Another common reason is that the other spouse may have a high amount of debt. A person may not want to have to use his or her assets to pay off this debt in the event of a divorce.

For these reasons, obtaining such an agreement is a form of insurance to protect a person’s assets in the event the marriage does not go as planned. Without such an agreement, it is likely that a person may lose a lot more of their money and property after a divorce settlement.