Category: Marital and Family Law

Should You Sign a Prenuptial Agreement?

In my practice as a family law attorney, I have seen over the years where children have essentially been raised and their daily needs provided for by family members other than the child’s parents. It happens in a variety of different contexts, and the phrase “It Takes A Village” to raise a child is more and more prevalent in our society.

Bills have been filed in both the Florida House and Senate to again attempt to “reform” Florida’s alimony laws. Florida lawmakers twice sent reform legislation to Governor Rick Scott who vetoed both efforts in 2014 and 2016. The 2014 veto was due to a retroactive provision which the Governor and others felt would have harsh consequences for needy alimony recipients.

In an opinion issued on September 16, 2016, the Fifth District Court of Appeal rejected a husband’s claim that he should not be required to pay alimony due to his wife’s adulterous behavior. The Appellate Court, based in Daytona Beach, Florida, reasoned that while a trial court may consider evidence of adultery, such consideration would depend on the circumstances of a particular case.

The family law courts in our state over the last several years have been seeing a larger number of what is called 'Supportive Relationship' cases. When a spouse in a divorce case is awarded spousal support or alimony, the payment award is usually terminated, by operation of law, upon the remarriage of the former spouse.

In what appears to be a case of first impression, a Florida Appellate Court recently ruled that state law only requires one parent to sign off on surgery for a child. The divorcing parents were separated and had equal custody rights to their children. The mother gave consent for their 3 year old child to have adenoid and ear-tube surgery.

I am often asked when I consult and meet with people regarding a dissolution of marriage if he/she leaves the marital home are they abandoning the home or property, and as a result, will he/she lose their interest in the home? This is followed by the statement that their friend, family, and/or their spouse have indicated this to him/her.

In an opinion released on September 10, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the provisions of a prenuptial agreement were broad enough to waive a wife’s claim to any assets owned by husband at the time of the agreement or acquired in his name thereafter, including any enhancement of property titled in husband’s name that was acquired or enhanced during the marriage with marital labor or earnings.