Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog

Whether or not an asset is "marital" or "nonmarital" is often a key issue in a divorce. Marital assets are generally considered jointly owned by both husband and wife, and it is usually up to the court to decide how those assets will be distributed. Nonmarital assets, however, are considered owned by only one of the spouses and are generally free from distribution in a divorce. You should be aware that liabilities --debts-- are treated the same way as assets.

Florida Statute 61.075 addresses this issue and defines marital and nonmarital assets. Marital assets include assets acquired during the marriage, the increase in value of nonmarital assets (if the increase is the result of contribution from both spouses), interspousal gifts during the marriage, and all benefits accrued during the marriage, such as retirement funds, pension, profit sharing, and insurance plans.

Nonmarital assets include assets acquired prior to the marriage, assets acquired during the marriage by gift or inheritance, assets excluded from being considered marital by written agreement (such as a prenuptial agreement), and income derived from nonmarital assets, unless the income was "treated, used, or relied upon by the parties as a marital asset."

This last nonmarital asset is often the case of litigation. As an example, let's say prior to your marriage, you had $200,000 in the bank. That would be considered "nonmarital" and therefore would likely not go to your spouse in the event of a divorce. Of course, real world situations are not so simple. In reality, your spouse would likely claim that the income was "treated, used, or relied upon by the parties as a marital asset." If you are the spouse claiming the $200,000 is nonmarital, you will bear the burden in court of proving that it is, in fact, not a marital asset. Alternatively, you might split up the money; i.e., you could agree that $50,000 is marital, but argue that the remaining $150,000 is not.

A disagreement over assets is only one part of an already complicated and draining divorce proceeding. You should contact an Orange Park Divorce Lawyer to ensure you are aware of all your rights and options during your divorce.

When a family is going through a divorce it can be one of the toughest times in a person's life. Concerns range from child support, alimony, and distribution of assets and liabilities. Many people find themselves so caught up in the emotion of their case that they can overlook very important considerations. That being said, let's look at a specific example of oversight that could potentially cost a person thousands of dollars.

Say husband and wife are getting a divorce, and at issue is the support due wife after the dissolution. Wife, in her settlement agreement, gets husband to agree to give her a portion of his 401(k), let's say $50,000, and in turn waives her right to any alimony that she could potentially qualify for. Unfortunately, wife's attorney forgets to account for taxes inherent in 401(k)'s, and instead of negotiating the taxes into the agreement, the wife ends up paying nearly 30% in tax on the settlement, $15,000. With careful negotiation the husband might have agreed to account for those taxes, thus giving the wife the full value of her settlement.

Issues like the one seen above can be avoided by carefully choosing a Yulee Divorce Attorney who will represent you. An experienced Yulee Divorce Attorney is sure to take the important tax implications into consideration before presenting a proposed final agreement. Contact a Yulee Divorce Attorney to discuss the facts surrounding your case today.

News outlets are reporting comedian turned actor, Martin Lawrence, has filed for divorce from his wife, Shamicka Lawrence. Although the parties have only been married since 2010 they were a couple for roughly 15 years prior to tying the knot. They have two daughters together Iyana 9 and Amara 11.

Lawrence reportedly filed for divorce last Wednesday, April 25th, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The celeb is said to have cited irreconcilable differences in his petition. Not surprisingly the parties are believed to have a prenuptial agreement.

Have family law issues but live in the Ponte Vedra area? Contact a Ponte Vedra Divorce Attorney today for answers to your questions.

Jacksonville Divorce, custody and family disputes are highly emotional and important matters that we at Apple Law Firm take special pride in handling. Regardless of the circumstances, the break up of any marriage involves many legal issues that cannot be overlooked and must be thoroughly researched and evaluated so that our clients obtain a fair and equitable result upon the termination of their marriage.

Our Jacksonville Florida Divorce and Family Law Attorneys recognize that a divorce or child custody issue can create stress and cause individuals to take unrealistic positions on various topics. We strive to open lines of communication and help families work through this difficult process while creating an environment that allows children to enjoy a normal and healthy lifestyle. Whether you need an uncontested divorce or just enforcement of a previous agreement we are able to help preserve and enforce your rights in Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns County.


If you are considering divorce or have just been served with divorce papers contact a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer at (904) 685-1200 to schedule a free consultation.

As an experienced Jacksonville Beach Divorce Lawyer, I often see couples at their worst. Many times, when a relationship is breaking up, the civility between the parties is also lost, and the harassing begins. This harassment can go from simply bothersome to criminal.

Florida law requires that if you feel that you are becoming the victim of harassment, you must first put the offender on notice to stop calling you or your family members or to cease the harassing act. You should keep a log of each call with the time, date, and number from where the call came and from whom. If the offender continues to harass you after being placed on notice to stop, then the act becomes criminal and you may seek the protection of the police or the Office of the State Attorney.

Also harassment may rise to the level of domestic violence if the harassment includes a threat or threats of violence. If physical threats have been made and there is a history of domestic violence an injunction (aka restraining order) may be an option.

It is important to have a Jacksonville Beach Divorce Lawyer on your side to help you address the issue and to file the appropriate documents in your divorce. Taking these steps can help stop the harassment while the divorce process is pending.

In Jacksonville all divorces where there are minor children (under the age of 18 in most cases) require a "parenting plan." This is also true in paternity cases.

In a Jacksonville Divorce, a parenting plan is created to establish the roles of each parent in regards to important decisions about a child's education, health care, physical, social, and emotional well-being and must include:

A description of who will be responsible for health care, school-related matters, and other activities.

A time-sharing schedule for the parents and child which describes the methods and technologies that the parents will use to communicate with the child.

In creating the plan, the parents' relationship, any history of domestic violence, and other relevant factors must be taken into consideration. A parenting plan can be developed and agreed to by the parents and approved by the Jacksonville Family Law Judge. However if the parties cannot come to an agreement on their own the Jacksonville Family Law Judge can and will order a parenting plan after a trial. Or the Jacksonville Family Law Judge can take different courses of action, such as, appointing a third party (often times a guardian ad litem or psychologist) to make a parenting plan recommendation or appointing a third party to conduct a social investigation.

Ideally, a well drafted parenting plan is not a fixed document etched in stone - but rather a flexible agreement about how best to share timesharing of the minor children. It is meant to be an agreement that will help facilitate proper co parenting that is in the best interest of the children.

For further information on parenting plans or to review your circumstances for changes to your current plan contact a Jacksonville Florida Divorce Attorney today.

As a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer the majority of my clients tend to be concerned about what will happen to their marital finances during their divorce proceedings. These clients are rightfully concerned because many individuals going through a divorce take the opportunity to start dissipating marital assets, by either selling items that would likely be equally distributed during the divorce or charging large amounts on credit cards.
However, as I tell all my divorcing clients, with every divorce proceeding in Duval County a Standing Family Law Court Order in entered. Among other things, this Order includes the following provisions:

"Neither party shall sell, transfer, encumber, conceal, assign, remove or in any way dispose of, without the consent of the other party in writing, or without an order of the court, any property, individually or jointly held by parties, except in the usual course of business or for customary and usual household expenses or for reasonable attorney's fees in connection with this action."

"Neither party shall incur any unreasonable debts, including but not limited to, further borrowing against any credit line secured by the family residence, further encumbrancing any assets, or unreasonably using credit cards or cash advances against credit or bank cards."

If you have recently filed for divorce or are thinking about divorce and are concerned about your spouse dissipating marital assets call a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer today. Night and weekend appointments available.

As a Ponte Vedra Beach Divorce Attorney I continuously come across the issue of social media and how it can and does play a part in divorces. I see social media play a role in nearly half of all of my cases. I have blogged on this topic on several occasions as well. Ten years ago this was not an issue, but now I advise all of my clients to be aware of what they put out there on the internet for everyone to see. This is because all to often pictures, status updates and videos are used against clients in trials. This is especially true in child custody battles.

Not surprisingly there have been numerous articles published on this topic. One of which can be found on The Huffington Post and is titled, "Don't Let Social Media Sabotage Your Divorce." The author of this article, Bari Zell Weinberger, Esq., lists three important steps that a divorcing party should take in order to avoid self sabotage. One, "Think before you post." Don't post any pictures or comments that you know could come back to haunt you as evidence at a trial. This should be quite apparent. Two, "Keep your social networking circles separate from your ex's." Keep your ex or soon to be ex off of your personal site. You don't want your ex or soon to be ex to have the ability to gather any evidence that can be used against you. And finally, three, "Don't reveal your location." If you're not where you are supposed to be do not announce to the internet world where you actually are at all times.

Should you live in the Ponte Vedra Beach area and are contemplating divorce contact a Ponte Vedra Beach Divorce Attorney today. A Ponte Vedra Beach Divorce Attorney can assist you with tailoring your personal social media sites to insure they cannot potentially harm your case.

The short answer to this question is, unfortunately, yes. A mortgage contract cannot be negated by a divorce. If, in a divorce, one party is granted sole exclusive use and possession of the former marital home the other party could still be held responsible in the event that the other spouse defaults on the mortgage.

Thus, even if the former marital home is deeded to one party the other party's name is still on the mortgage and can still be held responsible. If the party with possession of the home fails to pay the mortgage, the bank has the option to come after the other party.

During the divorce proceedings the party without the home can ask for their name to be removed but this is likely not to occur. Also, the Court can order the party with possession of the home to try and refinance to get the other party's name off the mortgage, but in todays market this is not a likely solution.

As a St. Augustine Divorce Lawyer, I run into this and similar issues all the time. I know there are ways around this issue that can put my clients in the best position possible after a divorce.

Questions on this topic? Contact a St. Augustine Divorce Lawyer or a St. Augustine Foreclosure Defense Attorney with Apple Law Firm or call us at (904) 685-1200 to schedule a free consultation. Night and weekend appointments available.

Unfortunately, we see all to often in news headlines our favorite sports stars getting caught cheating on their spouse. Just recently Arkansas's head coach, Bobby Petirno, was released from his position for being caught with his mistress and fellow school employee, Jessica Dorrell. Thus, it's not surprising that bleacherreport.com posted an article listing the 30 Most Infamous Mistresses in Sports. Some of the players/mistresses on the lineup include:

• Rachel Uchitel: Tiger Wood's No. 1 mistress
• Traci Lynn Johnson: Tiki Barber's mistress at the center of the running back's divorce
• Mindy McCready: Country Singer and mistress to retired Yankee's pitcher Roger Clemens

To see the the entire list click the bleacherreport.com link above.

You may not be a famous sports figure or a spouse of one but you may be wondering how adultery could affect a divorce in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Well, Florida is a "no fault" divorce state. This means that either spouse may seek a divorce without showing cause for the desired separation. The petitioning spouse does not have to claim that the other spouse was the cause of the failed marriage.

The spouse seeking a divorce has the option to simply claim the marriage is "irretrievably broken." Generally, Florida courts and courts in the Jacksonville area are not concerned with which party played the greater role in causing the divorce. Jacksonville Judges do not need to know why the marriage is ending, they simply need to know that it is irretrievably broken and counseling would not help salvage it.

As a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney, I am often asked how a cheating spouse factors into a divorce in the Jacksonville area. While adulterous conduct does not factor into the court's decision to grant a divorce, it can impact other important issues raised in a divorce. What other issues?

In child custody battles, a Jacksonville court considers the "moral fitness" of a parent seeking custody. Evidence of adulterous conduct can lower a party's level of "moral fitness," and decrease his or her chances of receiving custody. However, it is not an absolute bar to child custody. Often times, a larger impact will be whether the adultery had an adverse impact on the child.

Additionally, Florida Law stipulates that adultery is a factor to be considered in determining the amount of alimony awarded. In short, a higher frequency of adulterous conduct by a cheating spouse can lead to a larger amount of alimony he or she will have to pay. However, this really only comes in to play if the cheating spouse used large amounts of marital funds to further the affair.

If you are contemplating a divorce in the Jacksonville, Florida area or have concerns about the impact of adulterous behavior on your divorce, contact a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney today!

Imagine you are offered a credit card with fantastic terms: zero percent interest for the first 12 months and no foreseeable strings attached. You need a line of credit, so you sign up and promptly fall behind on your payments. After the first year, you have a fair amount yet to be paid. The credit card company informs you that your first year interest rate is expiring; the new rate is 23%. That's higher than a lot of other cards but, if you're like many people, you simply stay with the card because getting a new one with a lower limit is just too much work. You've made the commitment; you're stuck with it.

This is the analogy being drawn by experts studying what they refer to as the "sliding, not deciding" effect of relationship development. Many young couples are now moving in with each other to sort of "test the waters" before marriage. Many of them find out, however, that their cohabitation becomes something very difficult to get out of -- more difficult than they realized -- and marriage just sort of happens based on their mutual desire to keep things the way they are. Instead of actually committing to the marriage, these couples simply slide right into it.

Unfortunately, many of these couples do not communicate their full intent prior to cohabitating. As we've blogged about in the past, lack of communication is never a good thing. While dating, these couples spend more and more time with each other until they simply get married. What might've been a relationship that would've otherwise lasted only a few months turns into marriage simply because both parties are too invested in their living situation to try anything else.

Nevertheless, cohabitation has increased by 1500% since 1960, when about 450,000 couples lived together. That number is now more than 7.5 million. It's unclear how many of those live in Florida--cohabitation between unmarried couples is technically still illegal here (though not many, if any, people are actually charged with this "crime," and new legislation has been proposed to overturn the law). Though many of these couples view cohabitation as a step toward marriage, these couples tend to be less satisfied with their marriages and more likely to divorce.

As a Ponte Vedra Beach Family Law Attorney, seeing couples going through a divorce is often a difficult process. Making the decision to get married in the first place is an important one and should not be a decision made simply out of convenience. Nevertheless, if you are going through a divorce, contact a Ponte Vedra Beach Family Law Attorney to discuss your options. It's important to surround yourself by a good support circle, and a qualified Ponte Vedra Beach Family Law Attorney can help you get through the process.

As an Orange Park Divorce Attorney I've noticed one of the first questions new clients ask me is, "how long is it going to take for my divorce to become finalized." Unfortunately, there is no one answer to that question.

A divorce can last as long as the parties want it to last. It truly depends on the issues of the case and how willing the parties are to compromise and communicate openly with their respective attorneys.

As an Orange Park Divorce Attorney, I have had all of the required paperwork and signatures completed within a week for simple divorces that do not involve children. However, Florida Statute 61.19 requires a period of 20 days to elapse from the time the Petition is filed to the time a Final Judgment can be entered.

If you are considering filing for divorce in Orange Park, Florida and are concerned about how long it will take before it will be finalized, contact an Orange Park Divorce Attorney today.

Divorces themselves are obviously messy situations, but a divorce can become infinitely more difficult when a minor child is involved. You want to see your kids all of the time, but so does your former spouse. Hopefully you and the other parent of your child can work out an arrangement agreeable to the both of you. Unfortunately, it is not always so easy. If you cannot work out an arrangement, the court will likely step in. A Jacksonville Beach Divorce Attorney in Jacksonville Beach can help, but here are some other steps you should take that can help obtain a more favorable ruling.

Be Civil. In front of your children, with your friends, and just in general, do not talk poorly about your spouse. Remember that your friends are often your spouse's friends, too, or they have other mutual friends, and so on. Word gets around; offensive statements often get back to the other spouse. The court may view this as a petty attempt to isolate the other parent. This doesn't look good for your character. More importantly, don't talk bad directly to your former spouse, especially if the children are around. The other spouse may claim you are abusive, even if you aren't -- courts take these claims very seriously.

Communicate. Don't take your kids for a 6-day trip to Disney without first at least informing the other parent. Similarly, allow your kids to communicate with their other parent while they're with you. It's tougher to prevent communication these days with the popularity of cell phones and the like, so this may not be an issue. But remember: your kids are going through a tough transition right now, too. If you're frustrated by their behavior, talk with them. Further, to help with their transition, don't move in with a new significant other if you have one. Doing this sends difficult messages to the kids, and may prejudice the court against you in any custody proceedings.

Of course, each divorce is different and each divorce therefore requires different advice. A qualified Jacksonville Beach Divorce Attorney can meet with you to discuss the specifics of your case. If you are going through a divorce or custody proceedings, contact a Jacksonville Beach Divorce Attorney today.

Recently, I have had several clients ask, in their consultation, whether signed and executed Marital Settlement Agreements and Parenting Plans can be modified or set aside. In typical divorce proceedings and under normal circumstances the answer to that question is going to be no. Generally, one party does not have the right to revoke a valid divorce agreement merely because they realize it is a bad deal after they have already signed it.

Under Florida law, once a divorce agreement is signed, the parties must abide by the terms of the agreement absent a showing of "substantial change of circumstances" or other defenses to contract formation such as fraud or duress in the execution of the contract. In most instances the best course of action is to have a Mandarin Divorce Lawyer review any divorce agreement before you sign it to ensure that you are not signing something that is not in your best interests.

If you are considering a Manadrin Divorce, contact a Mandarin Divorce Lawyer today to review any divorce documents you may encounter. It is important to remember not to sign anything without first consulting with a Mandarin Divorce Lawyer as, absent a substantial change in circumstances, any signed and executed agreement cannot be changed.

Yulee Divorce, custody and family disputes are highly emotional and important matters that we at Apple Law Firm take special pride in handling. Regardless of the circumstances, the break up of any marriage involves many legal issues that cannot be overlooked and must be thoroughly researched and evaluated so that our clients obtain a fair and equitable result upon the termination of their marriage.

Our Yulee Divorce Lawyers recognize that a divorce or child custody issue can create stress and cause individuals to take unrealistic positions on various topics. We strive to open lines of communication and help families work through this difficult process while creating an environment that allows children to enjoy a normal and healthy lifestyle. Whether you need an uncontested divorce or just enforcement of a previous agreement we are able to help preserve and enforce your rights in Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns County.

If you are considering divorce or have just been served with divorce papers and live in the Jacksonville, Florida area contact a Yulee Divorce Lawyer at (904) 685-1200 to schedule a free consultation. Weekend and night appointments are available. 
Got a question and it is after regular business hours? Call Attorney Charles E. Fyler II on our after hours line at (904) 701-8702.