Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog

A recent study showed that a total of $35 billion in child support is owed all across the US, but only 41% is actually paid. This is down from about 60% in 2009, largely due to the economic downturn over the past several years.

One thing many parents behind on child support don't realize is that the court can, and will, alter your child support requirements if you legitimately cannot pay them. If you had a well-paying job when the court first established the numbers, it is not fair that you have to pay that same amount if you lost your job and cannot find another one.

The key is speaking with a Jacksonville Florida Family Law Attorney as soon as you can to help negotiate your payments. The court often will only lower your payments, but not reduce any outstanding amount you already owe. If your income drop is only temporary, this might not be an issue; however, if you cannot find new work, you are simply adding more and more money to what you will eventually have to pay.

Courts consider other factors when determining the level of support to pay. For example, the court may consider how often you have custody of the child -- more time means you likely have higher expenses. But the court needs help in making this calculation, and a Jacksonville Florida Family Law Attorney can help you in that court proceeding. If you have a custodial issue and would like to speak with an attorney, contact a Florida Family Law Attorney here in Jacksonville.

Because the beneficiary designation was never updated post divorce finalization, the Supreme Court of Florida has ruled a former spouse still entitled to death benefits payable from a retirement plan. Unambiguous language in the Marital Settlement Agreement can avoid a beneficiary designation even where a spouse has neglected to remove their now ex-spouse.

However, some designations can be revised prior to a divorce, but Federal law does not allow the changing of a beneficiary designation on some financial plans without written spousal consent, which is difficult to get when something like a 401(k) is in dispute. This spousal consent rule can create a small hurdle; most beneficiary designations can be changed and should be as soon as possible after a divorce.

An experienced Jacksonville Family Law Attorney should be sure to ask you about beneficiary designations before finalizing a divorce. Be sure to ask the attorney working on your divorce if you are unsure about certain designations. If you are not currently working with an attorney, the most advisable practice is to secure an experienced Jacksonville Family Law Attorney as soon as possible.

Many parents in the Jacksonville, Florida area are under the impression that child support is paid throughout a child's college eduction or until a child reaches the age of 21. Although this is true in other states across the country, it is simple not the case in Florida. In Florida, child support terminates when a child reaches the legal age of majority, 18. There is no statute or case law in Florida stating that a Parent has a duty to pay child support or help with a child's college expenses.

However, there are always exceptions to any rule. For example, in Florida if a child becomes incapacitated or otherwise disabled and thus remains a dependent child, child support will more than likely continue. Conversely, if a child becomes emancipated through court proceedings or joins the military child support will terminate.

Whether child support was determined via a divorce action or a paternity action the termination date should be set out in the final judgment. If there is no termination date specified the law will dictate and the child support will terminate upon the child's eighteenth birthday, unless, of course, the above mentioned exceptions apply.

However, it is important to take into consideration that parents can agree to a different termination date. Parents can agree to what ever terms they desire in a contract as long as it is legal.

To learn more about child support termination, child support guidelines and child support in general contact a Jacksonville Family Lawyer today!

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 an Orange Park Child Custody Attorney, I often see cases involving child abuse and child neglect. I run into these issues primarily in cases involving termination of parental rights or simply child custody disputes.

Florida defines abuse as "any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual injury or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. Abuse of a child includes acts or omissions. Corporal discipline of a child by a parent or legal custodian for disciplinary purposes does not in itself constitute abuse when it does not result in harm to the child.

When I run into cases involving allegations of child abuse I always tell my clients of the importance of reporting such abuse. Florida Statute § 39.201 defines when it is required to report child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

To learn more about what Florida considers as child abuse and what you are required by law to do if you're aware of incidents of child abuse contact an Orange Park Child Custody Attorney but if you ever find that you are being accused of these crimes or suspect that you will be charged, you should contact an Orange Park Criminal Defense Attorney as soon as possible to help prepare your statements and/ or defend yourself. Sometimes we see charged like this that result from actions which are intended to change the child custody situation and may not be based on events that actually happened or can be substantiated.

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.

Newly married or divorced individuals can simply have their name changed through their marriage certificate or their divorce decree. However, if someone wants to change to a new name for other reasons, such as they simply don't like their birth name, a court order is required.

The process to have an adult name change in Jacksonville involves; filing a Petition with the court, having a criminal background check done, having fingerprints taken, and appearing before a judge at a final hearing.

Should you be a divorcee and did not have your maiden name restored in the divorce decree you still need to file a Name Change Petition with the court but you will not need to do a criminal background check.

Should you want to change your name contact a Jacksonville Name Change Lawyer today for assistance with the process.

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.

Common law marriage, often referred to as sui juris marriage, is only recognized in twelve states; Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Texas, and Utah. The District of Columbia also recognizes common law marriages. However, you will notice, Florida is not among those states.

Florida Statute 741.211 reads as follows, "No common-law marriage entered into after January 1, 1968, shall be valid, except that nothing contained in this section shall affect any marriage which, though otherwise defective, was entered into by the party asserting such marriage in good faith and in substantial compliance with this chapter."

Although Florida does not have common law marriage, there are instances when Florida will recognize common law marriages that occurred out of state. Contact an Orange Park Family Law Attorney with Apple Law Firm for more information on this and other family law issues.