Lakeland Family Lawyer

It's that time of year.  The time when I get complaints about my child's parent is not being cooperative about Christmas and I want to take them to court .  It is difficult, because both parents want to spend as much time with their child as possible.  You may want to leave to go out of town earlier than your parenting plan will allow, and maybe the other parent is being unreasonable by not allowing you to do so.  Or maybe your parenting plan has been in place for a few years and now that your child is older, you believe the holiday schedule is just not working anymore.  Now I could be the type of lawyer that sees a money making opportunity and immediately starts typing up a motion for enforcemen t or a petition for modification , but I'm not.  I say let's put the brakes on and talk about this for a minute to see if that is necessary. First and foremost, it is always about the best interests of the child.  The law looks to the best interests of the child, and the pare

I get many calls from parents wanting to change, or modify, their parenting plan .  The problem lies in that their reason for the change may not meet the legal requirements for a change to the parenting plan. In order to modify a parenting plan, there must be a 1) substantial, 2) material, and 3) unanticipated change in circumstances and a showing that the modification is in the best interests of the child.  Parents think that just because a parenting plan is no longer working for them, that is reason enough for a change.  It may be, if you can get the other parent to agree and both of you can come to a joint agreement for an amended parenting plan.  However, if the other parent does not agree, and you are attempting to petition the court for a modification to the parenting plan, the legal standard above must be met.  A remarriage, a new child, a new job, or a new move, are typically not enough, unless there are unusual circumstances.  The courts have usually ruled that these

There are 5 very specific types of injunctions, or restraining orders, that you can apply for in Florida.  It is important that you know the difference between them, because if you apply for the wrong one, the injunction can be denied.  On the other hand, if you are defending against an injunction, that is the first line of defense.  Was the proper injunction applied for?  Below is a listing of the types of Injunctions in Florida: 1.       Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence – This injunction is specifically for persons who have been the victim of domestic violence or who are afraid of imminent domestic violence.  Domestic violence includes assault, battery, sexual battery, stalking, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. A domestic relationship means that the person is either your spouse, former spouse, related to you by blood or marriage, living with you presently, or has lived with you in the past, or the person is the parent of your child(ren) even if you

5. We have already agreed to everything.    You may have sat down and agreed to everything.  You may have even typed it up and signed it.  But all of that may go down the drain, when it actually comes down to the process of the the divorce.  I have seen that happen more times than not.  Divorce somehow has a way of making the ugly come out in even the best people.  They are hurt and and they want their spouse to feel their hurt.  Suddenly those agreements are non-existent. 4. My spouse is not going to hire an attorney.   I had this happen just this past week.  Guess what? The spouse hired an attorney.  And as they should!  You cannot count on the fact that everything is just going to go your way during the divorce process.  You must be willing to compromise on some things. 3. I know my soon-to-be-ex-spouse better than you (attorney).   Therefore, I am not going to listen to my attorney's advice.  You hired your attorney for a reason.  You really should listen to your attorney.

Divorce is a heart wrenching experience.  I am speaking not only as an attorney, but also from personal experience.  It is even harder when you are undergoing it with children involved.  You tend to think that you know what is best for your children and that you are the parent that is doing things the “right way” for them.  It can be hard to remember that your children, in most cases, have another parent that loves them just as much as you do. It is hard to put your own hurt and emotional baggage aside and remember the best in our ex-spouse.  But you need to…for the sake of your children.  If you are just starting the process of divorce, I know this is difficult, but if your children are young, you may have 10 or more years that you are going to have to co-parent with your ex-spouse. You might as well make the best of it.  You would much rather get along with this person, I assure you.  And your children will appreciate and love you that much more for it.  It gets even harder

A divorce is one of the most significant and emotional experiences that a person can go through.  Not only are you going through this life-changing event, but you have concerns about your finances, moving, belongings, and most importantly your children.  It is important not let this process turn you into a person that you don’t want to be—a person that you don’t even recognize.  Be the better person, even if your soon to be ex-spouse is not.  In the long run, you will be a healthier, happier person.  The following list is a compilation of my suggestions of how NOT to act during a divorce. 10. Don’t go pro se …if your spouse has hired an attorney, you have a lot of assets, debt, or income, or if you have children.  Too many things can go wrong.  It is best that you have a skilled attorney that knows the law and can represent your interests and advocate in your behalf. 9. Don’t disparage your spouse or discuss your divorce on social media .  You are hurting and this may seem l

Documenting our lives on social media has become second nature.  When an event occurs, we immediately take a picture and post it to some sort of social media account.  Most people do not consider the legal consequences of what they put on their social media accounts. I recently put a meme on Instagram that read,  “Dance like no one is watching; email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition.”   I would apply this quote to all social media outlets.  If you would not want what you are about to post to be read aloud in a deposition or shown to a jury one day in open court, it is probably best not to post it. The courts have had to rule on privacy issues when it comes to Facebook and other social media outlets.  The trend has been, in federal courts and in Florida, that if you choose to post something on social media, you are  waiving your privacy , even if you have your privacy settings set to the most private.  The courts have rationalized that you are putting it out there f

Sometimes people just sign documents without even reading them.  This practice is a dangerous one, especially when it comes to a power of attorney. Be wary of general power of attorney documents that give broad power and have no expiration date.  I have seen two situations with horrific outcomes: 1), where a person did not even realize he or she was signing a power of attorney document, as it was done by trickery, and 2), where a person just did not thoughtfully choose the proper person to which to give the power of attorney.  In both situations, the people were stripped of their assets by others they thought they could trust. Both situations could have been prevented. First and foremost, read everything you sign.  Do not trust anyone, even loved ones and family members when they put something in front of you and tell you they just need your signature. When money is involved, unfortunately people can become selfish.  People can become quite nasty and unrecognizable when it comes to

I have recently been asked a lot about premarital agreements .  I personally have mixed feelings about them.  My optimistic side, that wants to believe in the happy ending, sees them as setting your marriage up for failure.  But then my lawyer side kicks that version of myself right back to reality. Depending on how you look at the statistics , approximately half of all marriages will end in divorce.  No matter what your hopes and dreams are, you cannot control the marriage or your partner.  It is important to protect yourself and your rights.  I can't help but think of the song by Kanye West, "Gold Digger" as I type.  The lyrics say, "If you ain't no punk holla we want prenup, we want prenup!"  This song happens to be about women, but it is equally applicable to men as well. As a general rule, premarital agreements are enforceable in Florida.  A well drafted agreement can protect your assets, reduce the potential for litigation, and clearly define your

Let me preface by saying I am not a child psychologist--I am just a lawyer. I came across this article in the Huffington Post yesterday and I paused.  In my job, I work with parents who underneath it all, want what is best for their children. But sometimes, because of their own hurt and anger, they get sidetracked and lose sight of that.  This article demonstrates what happens to children when parents lose sight of putting their children first and start nitpicking about material things, such as items of clothing.  Children end up living out of suitcases.     In Florida, the best interest of the child is always the primary standard used when it comes to determining time-sharing .  Judges will also look to other factors such as: 1. The moral fitness of the parents. 2. The mental and physical health of the parents. 3. The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship, to honor the time-sharing s

You may have heard the term "shared parental responsibility" when it comes to child custody. This doctrine means that each parent keeps full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to the child and both parents must communicate with each other so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly. Examples of decisions that are typically subject to shared parental responsibility include decisions concerning the child's daycare, healthcare, school, education, summer camps, and activities.  A Florida family law attorney would explain that many courts take the view that day-to-day decisions, such as bedtimes, diet, exercise, clothing, and choice of friends, are not subject to shared parental responsibility in normal cases.  Extreme circumstances regarding certain day-to-day decisions may justify a court getting involved.  Courts frequently take differing views regarding religion, allowing each parent to expose a child to the pa