Video: What Do You Call A Transgender Person?

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Caitlyn Jenner’s transition and reality TV show has raised awareness about transgender issues.  However, for many Floridians, there are still a lot of questions.  Some basic questions are: What do you call a transgender person? Which pronouns do you use?

PrideHealth, which is an organization out of Canada that “provides safe and accessible primary health care services for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ),” has produced a video to help answer these questions.

Though the video is directed to healthcare providers, it is helpful for legal services providers and anyone who does not want to alienate potential trans clientele.

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Research: Collaborative Divorce By The Numbers (2010)

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A few years ago, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals released the results of a survey of 933 collaborative divorce and family law cases.  Collaborative divorce is a process by which parties, instead of going to court to litigate, agree to a private framework that lends itself to developing more creative options for financial, child custody, and other family issues.  In Florida, oftentimes a neutral facilitator/communication coach and a neutral financial professional are engaged to facilitate and lend their expertise to the process.

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The survey was conducted from October  2006 through July 2010, and these results were compiled in the Spring 2012 edition of The Collaborative Review: The Journal of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“IACP Research Regarding Collaborative Practice (Basic Findings)” by Linda Wray, J.D.):

  • 58% of husbands and 59% of wives were between 40 and 54 years old;
  • Over three-quarters of all clients had a 4-year college education or higher;

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Cordover Receives 2015 Avvo Clients’ Choice Award

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Adam B. Cordover of Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm is now a recipient of Avvo.com’s 2015 Clients’ Choice Award.

Lawyer Adam Cordover | Lawyer Divorce

The Clients’ Choice Award is for those attorneys who receive at least five client reviews that each rate the attorney at 4 out of 5 stars or better.  In 2015, Adam B. Cordover has been rated on Avvo.com nine times, with each former client choosing 5 out of 5 stars.

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Polyamorous “Divorce” in Tampa Bay

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More and more people in the Tampa Bay area and beyond are finding themselves in relationships that do not quite fit the traditional mold.  Many are in long-term romantic relationships with more than one partner, where the other partners are also in romantic relationships with each other.

These relationships are oftentimes referred to as “polyamorous,” or love involving more than 2 people.  Polyamory is not about sex, just as traditional marriage is not about sex, but about the relationship between the partners.

And just as many traditional marriages end in separation, polyamorous relationships can also end in separation.  The problem is that the laws and the court system are not built with polyamorists in mind.

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Client Review: Adult Adoption in Florida

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Floridians know about child adoption, but many do not realize that adults may be adopted as well.  Whether you have an adult step child, adult foster child, adult relative, or other person, Florida courts generally will grant adult adoptions so long the adoptee is younger than the prospective adoptive parent.  Florida courts have even granted adult adoptions that were explicitly for tax planning and estate planning purposes.

A former client of mine whom I recently helped in an adult adoption wrote a review of her experience on Avvo.com.  FLORIDA BAR DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results.

You can see the review after the jump:

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Florida to Make Marriage Certificates Gender Neutral. What About Birth Certificates?

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According to a recent report in the Tampa edition of Creative Loafing, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision and issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Florida’s Office of Vital Statistics is making the state’s marriage certificates gender neutral.  From Creative Loafing:

Friday marked the anniversary of the anniversary of District Judge Robert Hinkle’s ruling that struck down the state’s gay marriage ban.

On the eve of that anniversary, LGBT equality advocates saw another small but symbolic victory, according to Equality Florida.marriagecertificateweb.jpg

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How to Change Your Legal Name in Florida

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Some states are very restrictive in their requirements to change a person’s legal name.  Fortunately, Florida is relatively permissive, and Family Diplomacy has successfully represented dozens of clients to help get their name legally changed.

What follows is a step-by-step guide on how someone can request a change of name in Florida.

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Video: Collaborative Law – Managing Disputes Differently

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The Association Romande de Droit Collaboratif (the Association of the French speaking part of Switzerland on Collaborative Law), has put together a fantastic whiteboard video that explains in simple terms collaborative law.  The video is sponsored by Esprit d’entente and has been translated by collaborative guru Pauline Tesler.  You can find the video below the jump.

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Client Testimonial: Collaborative Divorce

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Family Diplomacy recently received a client testimonial on a case in which the parties used the collaborative divorce process.  FLORIDA BAR DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results.

Lawyer Adam Cordover | Top Attorney Divorce

You can find the client testimonial, originally entered on Avvo.com, below the jump.

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Video: What is Collaborative Divorce? by Cypress Collaborative

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Collaborative divorce starts out with a pledge by both spouses: We will not fight one another in court. Each spouse hires his and her own attorney, and the two attorneys and two clients sign a participation agreement formalizing the pledge not to fight one another. The attorneys are then barred from filing any contested legal pleadings or appearing in any contested hearings on behalf of the clients.

In the most common collaborative divorce model that we use in Tampa Bay, a neutral facilitator, who generally has a mental health background, is retained to help the clients focus on the future and the issues (such as parenting) that are most important to them rather than the arguments of the past. Additionally, a financial professional is retained to cost-effectively ensure that each has retained sufficient financial disclosure (i.e., trust but verify) and to help them development financial options that are tailored to their family.

Cypress collaborative, a group of experienced collaborative professionals in Washington State, have put together a fantastic video that further explains the collaborative process. You can see the video after the jump.

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