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The Family Law Practice Group has provided representation to thousands of individuals in Central Florida in a wide variety of family law matters. Click on a topic below to learn more.
Florida is a “no-fault” divorce state, which means that a spouse is not required to prove fault or misconduct by the other spouse. Although commonly referred to as divorce, the terminology in the State of Florida is “dissolution of marriage.” All that is required to obtain a divorce is for the marriage to be “irretrievably broken,” which essentially means that the marriage cannot be salvaged through counseling or other means.
For spouses going through the divorce process, the division of marital assets and liabilities can be both stressful and challenging. Florida law requires that marital assets and debts be divided according to the law of equitable distribution. Simply stated, this means that, when the spouses cannot agree on how to divide their property,
Many divorcing spouses are professionals with thriving practices or individuals with successful family businesses who want to protect their livelihood and retain their businesses or practices. Questions arise in divorce, such as whether one spouse is entitled to part of the other spouse’s business or professional practice and, if so, how that spouse will be compensated.
Retirement accounts, pensions and investment accounts are often among the largest and most significant assets at issue in a divorce proceeding. Generally, all vested and non-vested benefits and funds accumulated during the marriage in retirement, pensions, profit-sharing, annuities, and insurance plans are considered marital property and subject to division during a divorce proceeding.
The family law attorneys at Rice Law Firm have handled all types of divorces, including those involving considerable financial holdings, significant marital assets and substantial pre-marital property. Such high-asset divorces are often very difficult and can involve complicated equitable distribution issues, as well as complex laws of finance and taxation.
Alimony is a support payment made from one spouse to another based on the receiving spouse’s need for support and the paying spouse’s ability of to pay. Alimony is a complex legal issue, over which courts have great discretion. It is available to either spouse, whether husband or wife, but not all cases will involve or result in spousal support.
Prospective spouses often wish to protect themselves and their assets with a prenuptial agreement before marriage. These agreements often enable spouses to protect their assets and avoid a contested divorce. With a prenuptial agreement, a prospective husband and wife can establish their property rights and responsibilities in the event of a separation, divorce, or death.
Collaborative Divorce describes a legal process in which divorcing spouses work with trained professionals to resolve all issues without going to court. In the traditional litigation model, the judge resolves family disputes.
Mediation is a type of settlement conference which the opposing parties and their attorneys attend in an attempt to settle most, if not all, of the disputed issues in the case. The conference is conducted by a certified family law mediator, who is disinterested and neutral.
Paternity is a legal action to identify and judicial determine a child’s biological father. Depending on the circumstances of a particular case, paternity can be established in one of several ways. In Florida, a child born to a married couple is presumed to be that of the husband.
For many years, it was common for one parent in a divorce to be awarded primary custody, while the other parent was granted visitation. In October 2008, there were significant changes in Florida law which led to a new child custody statute. As part of the new law, the state largely did away with such terms as “custody,” “primary parent,” and “visitation.”
Both parents are responsible for the support of their children after a divorce or paternity action. In many cases, the parent with whom the child lives most of the time will receive child support from the other parent. Child support is payment made by one parent to another for support of their children after divorce or separation. In most cases, child support will terminate when the child reaches the age of 18 or graduates high school.
After a divorce or paternity judgment, many parents consider moving for job-related reasons, educational opportunities, to be near extended family or to live with a new significant other. Since Florida law holds that it is in the child’s best interest to maintain a relationship with both parents, the benefits of such a move must be balanced with the child’s needs to spend time with both parents.
Florida law recognizes that needs and circumstances change over time and allows for modifications of time-sharing arrangements, child support and alimony in certain cases. For example, a significant change in income may necessitate a change in child support or alimony. Parenting plans may need to be modified due to changes in an ex-spouse’s residence location or employment.
In the state of Florida, a spouse or family member who is the victim of domestic violence or has been threatened with imminent violence may seek an injunction (commonly referred to as a “restraining order”) prohibiting contact with the person named in the injunction.
A termination of parental rights has been described as the “family law equivalent of the death penalty in a criminal case,” and here at the Rice Law Firm, we believe that your case should be treated as such.
There is no rule that says probate must be difficult, that estate planning has to be uncomfortable, or that an attorney cannot utilize “plain English” to communicate with a family during a difficult time. Click on a topic below to learn more.
No will becomes final until the death of the testator, and it may be changed or added to by the testator by drawing a new will or by a “codicil,” which is simply an addition or amendment executed with the same formalities of a will.
The revocable, or “living,” trust is often promoted as a means of avoiding probate and saving taxes at death. The revocable trust has certain advantages over a traditional will, but there are many factors to consider before you decide if a revocable trust is best suited to your overall estate plan.
Any adult may file with the court a petition to determine another person’s incapacity setting forth the factual information upon which they base their belief that the person is incapacitated. The court then appoints a committee of two professionals, usually physicians, and a lay person to examine the person and report its findings to the court.
Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries. In general, the decedent’s assets are used first to pay the cost of the probate proceeding, then are used to pay the decedent’s outstanding debts, and the remainder is distributed to the decedent’s beneficiaries.
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