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
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
You can find the client testimonial, originally entered on Avvo.com, below the jump.
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.
Despite Kentucky Clerk of the Court Kim Davis’ argument that issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates her constitutional rights, a federal judge has ruled that the clerk must obey the law, do her job, and issue the marriage licenses.
In his order, the federal judge wrote, “It does not seem unreasonable for Plaintiffs, as Rowan County voters, to expect their elected official to perform her statutorily assigned duties. And yet, that is precisely what Davis is refusing to do.”
A video from USA Today on the news can be found after the jump.
A fact of Florida family law is that if children are involved, there almost certainly will be child support. Even in cases where parents have a 50/50 time-sharing schedule, child support is oftentimes warranted.
Florida Statutes section 61.30 sets out a formula to calculate child support that takes into account the incomes of each party, the amount of time the child spends with each parent, health insurance costs, and other costs.
And Family Law Software as created an iPhone and Android App which can give you an idea of how much child support you should expect to pay or receive.
