Tag Archive for: collaborative divorce

The Military, Florida Divorce, and Residency Requirements

Florida Statutes Section 61.021 imposes a residency requirement for divorce cases:  One of the parties must have lived in Florida for at least 6 months prior to the filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage.  This generally means that a spouse will have to be physically present in Florida fort six months and have the intent to remain a permanent resident of Florida.

However, Florida does provide exceptions for members of the military.

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Video: Ellie Izzo Discusses Collaborative Divorce Streamlined Protocols

On March 20-22, 2014, the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce Group are teaming up to sponsor a Basic & Advanced training for attorneys, psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, accountants, financial advisors, and mediators.

The training will provide professionals tools to help their clients go through a private, respectful collaborative divorce process, and to do so in a cost-effective way which creates a budget and roadmap for the process and helps clients move through difficult emotional roadblocks.

Interested professionals can find a registration form at the following link: http://collaborativedivorcetampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/March-2014-CDITB-TBCDG-Streamlined-Protocols-Training-Registration-Form.pdf

Dr. Ellie Izzo, one of the trainers coming to Tampa, discusses the Streamlined Protocols at the following link (from a previous training):

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Florida Divorce, Financial Affidavits, and Privacy

In almost any Florida family law matter that involves financial issues, such as child support, alimony, division of property and debt, or attorney’s fees, parties are required to exchange and file Florida Family Law Financial Affidavits.  Financial Affidavits outline each party’s source(s) of income, as well as expenses, assets, and liabilities.

And, when they are filed, they become part of the public record, accessible by anyone.

Most people, for any number reasons, do not want their financial profile to become public.  And yet, when people go through the traditional litigated divorce, that’s exactly what happens.

But it does not need to be that way.

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A Peaceful Divorce in Tampa Bay?

I recently returned from a conference of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, where approximately 400 attorneys, psychologists, therapists, accountants, and financial planners from all around the world gathered to learn how to help families through collaborative divorce (a process where clients agree to settle their disputes privately and attorneys are contractually barred from bringing contested issues in front of a judge to decide).

During the conference, I was reminded that colleagues in Israel refer to collaborative practice in Hebrew as “L’hitgaresh B’Shalom,” which literally translates as “To Divorce In Peace” or “The Peaceful Divorce.”

This is not to say that collaborative divorce is an easy process.  Another Tampa attorney refers to collaborative divorce as “the tough, but sensible, way to resolve family disputes,” and that’s an apt description.  After all, divorce – no matter how it is resolved – is a difficult and emotional process.

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Does Florida Recognize Legal Separation?

Many jurisdictions require spouses to be legally separated for a certain period of time (oftentimes about 6-12 months) before they can get a divorce.

Florida does not have such a requirement.

However, there are many couples out there who wish to go through a “trial separation” without taking the leap of divorce.  Many want an interim step short of divorce to maintain the possibility that the parties can work things out later and reconcile.  Does Florida have any mechanisms to provide protections to spouses and children during a trial separation?

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Beginning Anew Collaboratively – Florida’s First Pro Bono Collaborative Divorce

Not all divorcing spouses want to engage in nasty court battles.

Such is the case of Tyler Nelson and Pamela Burton, who decided to end their marriage on an amicable basis without consuming years in costly and contentious litigation.  They decided to use a form of private dispute resolution known as collaborative divorce for their child’s sake, under the tutelage of trained professionals, to forge a new and different bond as co-parents for the rest of their lives.

And, on September 20, 2013, they will set a precedent as the first pro bono collaborative divorce ever completed in the state of Florida.

Adam B. Cordover, Esq., Vice President of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay (“CDITB”), represented Tyler.  Joryn Jenkins, Esq., co-chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association Collaborative Law Section Pro Bono Committee and CDITB Executive Board Member represented Pamela.  Jennifer L. Mockler, Ph.D., served as the collaborative team’s neutral facilitator, and Monica Ospina, CPA, served as Pamela and Tyler’s neutral financial professional.

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SAVE THE DATE – 2014 Collaborative Divorce Training in Tampa Bay

SAVE THE DATE: 3-Day Interdisciplinary Collaborative Family Law Training in Tampa Bay, Florida – March 20-22, 2014

Sponsored by the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce Group

For attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals, the training meets the standards for membership in both local practice groups and the IACP standards for Basic & Advanced training.

Streamlined Protocols for Collaborative Divorce

Statistics demonstrate that as a result of the economic recession, families have lost almost 40% of their wealth.

Join the new generation of Collaborative Divorce Practitioners who will train and work together in the new streamlined protocols – preserving the Full Team while making Collaborative Divorce affordable.

More Details to Come…

Florida Divorce and Fathers’ Child Custody Rights

Many people believe that, in Florida divorces, there is a legal presumption that mothers should get majority time-sharing (formerly known as primary custody) with the parties’ children.  This is simply not the case, as judges fashion Florida time-sharing schedules based solely on the best interests of the children, regardless of the gender of the parents.

Florida Statutes Section 61.13(2)(c)1 states specifically that “[t]here is no presumption for or against the father or mother of the child or for or against any specific time-sharing schedule when creating or modifying the parenting plan of the child.”

So what factors do judges look at to determine children’s best interests when shaping time-sharing schedules?

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Drafting an Enforceable Florida Prenuptial Agreement

You probably have heard stories of people who had prenuptial agreements, thought their assets were secure, and yet, at the time of the divorce, had those prenuptial agreements thrown out by a judge for being unfair, overreaching, or being executed without sufficient financial disclosure.

To address the concerns of those who are thinking of getting a prenup, I recently wrote an article for The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine in which I discussed an essential process to utilize if you want an enforceable agreement:

I am seeing more and more clients – especially those who have previously experienced marriage and divorce – come to my office to learn about prenuptial (also known as premarital) agreements. Though they certainly do not go into the marriage planning to divorce, they know the statistics and want a prenuptial agreement to protect them and ensure that they do not get trapped in endless litigation later on.

At the same time, I find fewer and fewer family law attorneys who are willing to draft prenuptial agreements. Lawyers fear that, for whatever reason, the agreement could later be found to be unenforceable. Void prenuptial agreements create, at best, client dissatisfaction with the drafter and, at worst, risk of a malpractice suit.

Nevertheless, the demand for prenuptial agreements is increasing. How does an attorney minimize the risk that the agreement will be invalidated? The answer is close to our hearts, given that the interdisciplinary collaborative family law process is tailor-made for drafting prenuptial agreements.

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New Collaborative Divorce Blog

I have created a collaborative divorce blog in which I intend to showcase articles and media from around the web on the practice of collaborative family law.  The name of the new blog is ABC Collaborative Divorce Blog and you can find it at the following link:  http://ABCDivorceCollaborative.wordpress.com.

If you have questions regarding how a Tampa Bay collaborative divorce process can help your family, schedule a consultation with The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or fill out our contact form.

Adam B. Cordover is Vice President of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.  Adam served on the taskforce that drafted the Hillsborough County collaborative family practice administrative order signed by Chief Judge Manuel Menendez.