Temporary Custody by an Extended Family Member

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If you have a nephew, niece, or grandchild living with you, you may have run into a roadblock when attempting to acquire his or her birth records or passport.  Further, you may have gotten the run around when attempting to make decisions concerning the child’s education or healthcare.  Fortunately, this state has a solution in chapter 751 of the Florida Statutes.

Chapter 751 permits an extended family member to take temporary custody of a minor child, access state and other records, and make major decisions concerning a child’s upbringing.  But, keep in mind, temporary custody must be granted by a Florida court (and cannot simply be signed away by a parent), and there are strict procedural requirements that must be met.

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Judge Daniel H. Sleet Joins Hillsborough County Family Law Bench

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Judge Daniel H. Sleet

Beginning November 14, 2011, Judge Daniel H. Sleet will be assigned to Division D of the Domestic Relations section of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, Florida.  Judge Sleet comes from the criminal division, where he has served since being appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006.

Judge Sleet graduated from Furman University in 1984 with a B.A. in History and received his law degree at Cumberland School of Law in 1987.  He served as an Assistant State Attorney from 1987 to 1991 and was in private practice from 1991-2006.

Judge Sleet has been active in various local and national organizations, including the American Board of Trial Advocates, Hillsborough County Bar Association, and Furman Football Players Association.  Judge Sleet is also involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, South Tampa Fellowship Church, and Mitchell Elementary Dad’s Club.

Judge Sleet’s assignment to the family law division was announced in Hillsborough County Administrative Order 2011-053, signed by Chief Judge Manuel Menendez, Jr., on November 2, 2011.

What is Collaborative Divorce About?

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You may have heard of collaborative divorce, which is a new, innovative form of family law that puts people above process.  Courtesy of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, below you will find “Collaborative Practice at a Glance”:

  • Encourages mutual respect.
  • Emphasizes the needs of children.
  • Avoids going to court.

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Video: Confidential Information In Your Court File

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The Florida Association of Court Clerks provides the following video regarding confidential information in court files:

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Child Custody and “Best Interests”

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When a Florida family law judge makes a custody determination, the judge’s main concern is establishing a parenting plan that is in the best interests of a child.  The parenting plan will outline, among other things, parental responsibility (the authority to for a parent to make decisions regarding a child’s welfare) and a time-sharing (visitation) schedule.

A whole host of factors go into an analysis of where a child’s best interests lie.  The factors are laid out in section 61.13(3)(a)-(t), Florida Statutes:

(a) The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship, to honor the time-sharing schedule, and to be reasonable when changes are required.
(b) The anticipated division of parental responsibilities after the litigation, including the extent to which parental responsibilities will be delegated to third parties.
(c) The demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to determine, consider, and act upon the needs of the child as opposed to the needs or desires of the parent.

Parenting Coordination: By the Numbers

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Section 61.125, Florida Statutes, establishes an alternative form of dispute resolution, known as parenting coordination, for parents attempting to establish or implement a parenting plan.  This process involves a facilitator (referred to as a parenting coordinator) who is usually appointed by a judge to (i) teach techniques in co-parenting and (ii) make recommendations so that the parents are able to better work together in furthering the best interests of their children.  I find that parenting coordination is most often useful in high-conflict child custody situations.

In the most recent edition of Commentator magazine, psychologist Debra K. Carter reveals the results of a study conducted by the Florida Chapter of the Association of Family & Conciliation Court as well as the University of South Florida regarding parenting coordination:

[E]ighty-two percent of Survey respondents use a formal parenting coordination contract with their clients.  Sixty percent charge their clients by the hour with standard fees ranging from $90.00 to $220.00 per hour.  Seventy-eight percent reported that fees were always split 50/50 between the parties.

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What Is Your Former Spouse Thinking?

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Over at the Huffington Post, Allison Pescosolido, M.A., and Andra Bosh, Ph.D., discuss why you may be a mistaken when you attempt to read into your former spouse’s actions.  Here is an example:

Fiction: Your Ex has a new partner already, so he has “moved on” and forgotten about you.

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Family Law News: U.S. Congressman in Court over Back Child Support

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that U.S. Representative Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) will be in a family court because he has failed to pay ordered child support.  His former wife claims that the congressman is in arrears of $117,000.00, including interest, for the parties’ three children.  The Sun-Times also reports that Representative Walsh admits not paying the ordered child support, but did so based on an agreement with his former wife:

Walsh said he had a “verbal agreement” with his ex-wife allowing him to stop paying child support because his income had fallen, hers had gone up, and the children were living with him as much as with her.

[Ms. Laura Walsh’s attorney] Coladarci said [Rep.] Walsh should have gone to court to modify the judge’s order regarding child support if he felt he couldn’t afford the payments because the court order is an obligation to the couple’s children, not to his ex-wife.

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Divorce and “No Fault”

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Since last year, New York, like Florida, has become a “no fault” divorce state.  Generally, this means that spouses don’t have to allege wrongdoing to have their marriage dissolved.  A petitioner simply has to allege that the marriage is broken beyond repair, and maybe give a few facts (such as a statement that the parties no longer are in love). But, according to attorney Doug Kepanis, at least one New York judge requires more:

In the case of Strack v. Strack, a wife sought to divorce her husband based on the New York “no fault” divorce statute. She alleged, in accordance with the statute, that “the relationship between husband and wife has broken down such that it is irretrievable and has been for a period of at least six months.” This is basically a paraphrase of the actual law.

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Video: Kansas Capital Decriminalizes Domestic Violence

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In a move that has unleashed outrage throughout the country, the Kansas’ capital city has repealed municipal criminal laws against domestic violence, resulting in suspects in domestic violence cases avoiding prosecution.

In Florida, victims of domestic violence may file for restraining orders, also known as injunctions, in civil court.  Section 741.28, Florida Statutes, broadly defines domestic violence as “any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.”    You may file a petition for injunction for protection against domestic violence if you have been the victim of an act of domestic violence or have reasonable cause to believe that you are in imminent danger of becoming of victim.

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