Category: Marital and Family Law

The third spousal right for discussion is “elective share.” Absent a valid waiver of spousal rights, the elective share serves as a floor for inheritance. It presents a surviving husband or wife with the opportunity to make sure they receive at least thirty percent of the deceased spouse’s “augmented estate” or “elective estate.” A keen reader may notice the absence of the phrase “probate estate.” This is because the elective share applies to more than just assets that pass-through probate and which are controlled by a Last Will and Testament. The augmented estate includes a large swath of assets, including property held in a revocable trust, jointly held property, property with a right of survivorship, and certain property transferred prior to death.

We are in the midst of the 2023 legislative session, and both the Florida House and the Florida Senate are working on a variety of new proposed legislation in Tallahassee. One such proposed law change would give fathers, whose child or children are born out of wedlock, one step closer to gaining equal parental rights.

Florida Statute 61.30 dictates the terms and requirements surrounding retroactive child support. Retroactive, or otherwise known as “back-owed,” child support, can be ordered relative to a certain period of time.

The second of several rights enjoyed by a surviving spouse (absent a proper, formal waiver) is that of “family allowance.” Family allowance is the concept that the surviving spouse and certain “lineal heirs” of the decedent the are entitled to money during probate administration. The policy behind family allowance is to private ongoing financial support, for those who need it, while a decedent’s assets are tied up in probate.

Clients and their children are often shocked to learn that a surviving spouse has certain minimum rights to the deceased spouse’s property under Florida law. These rights exist by virtue of marriage and can only be waived in a very particular manner. They include the right to inheritance as a “pretermitted spouse, family allowance, elective share, homestead, and preference in appointment as personal representative. For part one of this multi-part blog, I will address the concept of a pretermitted spouse and family allowance.

Chapter 61 of Florida Statutes covers an array of topics that surround parenting issues, to include parental decision making for minor children. Every family and every case has a different set of circumstances but the consistent factor throughout the court’s consideration in a parenting plan is the best interests of the children. When it comes to parental responsibility, the best interests of the child vary from case to case.

I consult on a regular and consistent basis with parents that want to try and go back to modify or change their parenting plan that usually involve aspects of requests to modify parental responsibility and timesharing of their minor child(ren). What I am listening to and trying to determine is if the set of facts and circumstances that I am told about in these consults rise to the legal level for a modification.

Contemporary divorced or never married parents are expected to communicate frequently regarding the children. That said, even the best two households can get complicated.