Jacksonville Divorce Attorney Blog

November 14, 2011

Can You Avoid a Guardianship

At times in life, people experience highs and people experience lows. Bouts of depression can bring on drinking or drug use, or a sudden illness or accident can occur. When this happens there is the potential that someone will become incapacitated and hospitalized without the ability to make important life decisions.

A Florida Durable Power of Attorney gives the family a way to help a potentially disabled person in handling his or her legal, business and property affairs. The durable power of attorney might effectively sidestep the time and expense it could cost to establish a guardianship. One should also consider designating a Florida Health Care Surrogate so that he or she can make medical decisions in the event of incapacitation. Consulting with a Jacksonville Guardianship Lawyer with an office in Atlantic Beach, will give you the advice you need about the legal documents available to one who currently has the legal capacity to sign a legal document giving future authority to another.

A situation I recently heard of was of a young man whose older brother had just been divorced. The older brother fell into such a depression that his drug use increased two-fold, and he even told his family that it would kill him. Being a savvy younger brother and knowing his older brother was in the middle of a divorce, the younger brother started talking to the older brother about a durable power of attorney in case he ended up in the hospital and unable to handle his financial affairs in the divorce. Sure enough, the older brother ended up in the hospital, unable to express his desires without the help of his younger brother as his agent.

November 14, 2011

Social Media and Divorce

by David M. Goldman

The popularity of Facebook and other “second lives” people lead on the internet has given rise to social media playing an increasingly prevalent role in the courts. Earlier this month, a judge in New Jersey ruled that a woman could be prosecuted for identity theft after apparently creating a fake Facebook account for her ex-boyfriend. She used the account to insinuate that he had herpes, visited prostitutes, and was “high” all the time. The man was a narcotics detective, so the claims were especially problematic for him.

Similarly, a Michigan case recently saw a judge order both parties in a divorce to exchange passwords to their Facebook accounts. The parties are fighting over custody of their children, and the father claims his ex-wife’s social networking history will show that she is incapable of taking care of the children. The judge ordered the two of them to exchange passwords and also told them they must refrain from posting messages in the other party’s name.

It’s only a matter of time before these issues start popping up in Florida. It’s very important to remember that anything you post on line can be accessed by someone else. Nothing you post is completely anonymous and it will remain on the Internet forever. Be professional and think before saying things, especially if you are involved in a dispute.

November 11, 2011

Sexual Assault Victim Ordered to Pay Her Attacker Alimony

by David M. Goldman

News stations out of San Diego, California are reporting on an interesting case that caught my attention. Crystal Harris, a Carlsbad, California resident was raped by Shawn Harris, her now ex-husband, yet the Judge in their divorce case awarded Shawn $1,000 a month in spousal support (Alimony). So when Shawn gets out of prison for the felony he committed against Crystal, Crystal will have to pay him $1,000 a month!

How could this have happened? Well, under California law, “there is only one way Crystal Harris could have avoided paying her ex-husband: if he had tried to kill her”. After presiding over the parties’ divorce, Family Law Court Judge Gregory Pollock stated, “I can’t look at a 12-year marriage where one side is making $400 a month, the other side is making over $11,000 and say no spousal support, that would be an abuse of discretion.”

San Diego County District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis is currently petitioning California lawmakers to address and change this loophole so something like this doesn’t happen again.

November 10, 2011

Divorce, Seperation, and Restraining Orders

by David M. Goldman

In Jacksonville, Florida injunctions (commonly known as restraining orders) can be very beneficial and are often times necessary for victims of domestic violence. However, as a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, I know with injunctions come obstacles.

For example, lets say Husband and Wife with two children decide to get a divorce. The Husband has been both emotionally and physically abusive to Wife. Wife secures an injunction for protection against Husband. Due to the physical and emotional abuse the Family Law Judge in the divorce grants Husband temporary supervised timesharing (visitation) with the children. How are the children going to be exchanged for Husband’s timesharing?

In Jacksonville we have the Family Nurturing Center (FNC). The FNC serves as a meet up point for supervised exchanges. Precautions are taken to ensure that the Husband and Wife have no contact with each other.

November 9, 2011

Texas Judge Beating Disabled Daughter Caught on Tape.

by David M. Goldman

The other day I stumbled upon a disturbing article titled, “Revenge of the disabled daughter: Video of ‘family law judge brutally beating girl’ sweeps web after she posts it on YouTube”.

Apparently, 23 year old Hilary Adams recently posted a video on YouTube which showed her father and mother ruthlessly beating her with a belt when she was 16 years old. The beating was prompted when Ms. Adams was caught downloading music onto her computer. Evidently, beatings like this must have occurred previously as Ms. Adams intentionally set her webcam up in order to catch the abuse.

Sound bad enough? Regrettably, not only does Ms. Adams suffer from cerebral palsy, her father is the Honorable William Adams of Aransas County, Texas. A Family Law JUDGE!!!

November 8, 2011

Child Obesity and Custody Issues

by David M. Goldman

According to a recent news report, parents are increasingly arguing the issue of child obesity in child custody cases. In many states, including Florida, family courts are often burdened with deciding the rights of parents following a divorce. Couples should figure these terms out on their own, but the court may, in some instances, have to make the decision for them. In Jacksonville the court makes this decision based on the best interest of the child standard and considers arguments from both sides as to which parent should get which rights.

Parents are generally free to offer any sort of evidence (provided it complies with the rules of evidence) for the court to consider, and some parents are beginning to argue that the other parent has contributed to the child’s obesity. They can show this in any number of ways; for example, by referencing the child’s weight, by showing the sort of diet the other parent provides the child, or showing the other parent lets the child sit inside to play video games all day. For example, one case from Oregon saw a judge limit rights of a parent who was providing fast-food meals to the child for nearly every single meal.

It is important to note that a child’s obesity is just one factor the court might consider. But if a child’s parent is encouraging unhealthy behavior, there are likely other issues to consider as well. If you are going through a child custody case or a divorce, contact a Florida Family Law Attorney to discuss your case.

November 7, 2011

Who Gets to Keep the Engagement Ring?

by David M. Goldman

There are two situations where you might like to get back the rather expensive ring you bought your bride before your relationship ended: a broken-off engagement or a divorce. The answer to “who gets the ring?” is different in each situation.

Broken-Off Engagement: engagement rings are considered “conditional gifts.” In other words, the gift becomes final upon the condition that your bride eventually marries you. Prior to the vows, however, that condition has not been completed, so you can still revoke the gift. So, if the engagement is called off, you should legally be able to get back the ring.

Divorce: after the vows are said and the marriage license is signed, the condition of that conditional gift has been fulfilled. The ring is now considered a gift. Further, because it is a gift, it is a nonmarital asset for distribution purposes if the two of you ever get divorced. That means that the ring’s value will likely not be split between the two of you during a divorce. Instead, it belongs to your spouse. This was true even in a case (Randall v. Randall) where the ring was the former husband’s family heirloom.

November 4, 2011

Will My Divorce Automatically Eliminate a Former Spouse as Beneficiary of a Life Insurance and Retirement Plan?

by David M. Goldman

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 Florida 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.

November 3, 2011

Modification of Past Due Child Support

by David M. Goldman

During a Jacksonville divorce, many facets of a couple’s life are controlled by an order of the court. Things like time-sharing for the kids, alimony for a spouse, and distribution of assets. Something the court cannot control is the way a father chooses to live his life, even if he is making choices that sacrifice the life of you and your child after the divorce is finalized. Take the following as an example.

Wife gets pregnant and shortly after goes through a dissolution of marriage with her husband. Wife has been raising her child for the last 2 years with her child’s father paying support. Lately, husband has been missing his payments and is about $5,000 behind in child support payments. He has been out of rehab and spent some time in jail, for which he also lost his job. Since that is the case, husband is petitioning the court to lower or reduce the amount of child support he owes.

A situation like this raises a few questions: will the court not enforce the arrearages of $5,000 because he can’t pay? The answer most likely not. A court will not usually reduce past due support payments unless the husband is able to show he is entitled to a reduction for a compelling reason, such as lack of capacity to enter the marital settlement agreement, which prevented him from filing a motion prior to the support payments due date.

November 2, 2011

Reports Suggest Terrell Owens Is Not Paying Child Support

by David M. Goldman

New reports suggest football and reality tv star Terrell Owens has not been making court ordered child support payments. Apparently, the mother of Mr. Owen’s child filed a contempt action against him in a Georgia Court.

Many reports have been quick to label Mr. Owens as a dead beat dad, however; it is important to remember there are always two sides to a story.

Mr. Owens publicist sent out a press release which stated the following: