General information on dissolution of marriage

Video: The Family Law Project – Child Support

In the following dramatization from Aspen Publishing, child support guidelines are reviewed:

You should note that Florida utilizes the “Income Shares” approach (the second guidelines approach discussed) to determine a child support amount.  However, in addition to including the pro rata share of income from each parent, the Florida child support guidelines also factors in deductions–such as daycare and healthcare expenses–as well as the amount of time children spend with each parent.

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Charlie Sheen Domestic Violence Allegations

I generally shy away from celebrity gossip news, but Charlie Sheen has been plastering the airwaves in a pitched battle with everyone from his former wife, Brooke Mueller, to the president of CBS.  Not surprisingly, his former spouse filed a petition for injunction against domestic violence against Sheen.  The Smoking Gun has published the text of Mueller’s declaration in support of her petition.

Video: The Family Law Project – Paternity

The following video from Aspen Publishing dramatizes a consultation where a young man is seeking information regarding paternity:

Please note that, in Florida, if the state files a petition to establish paternity and child support on behalf of a mother, the issue of a father’s custody rights will not necessarily be addressed.  A father has to independently file a petition or counter-petition to establish paternity and a parenting plan.  Only then will a court enter an order which (i) lays out the father’s level of parental responsibility towards the child and (ii) creates a schedule which spells out the days when a father is entitled to spend time with the child.

To contact a Florida family law attorney regarding your paternity issue, visit the website of The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., or call us at (813) 443-0615.

Kristen Houghton’s “Happiness May Be A Prenuptial Agreement”

Author Kristen Houghton brings up some interesting points in her article, Happiness May Be A Prenuptial Agreement (from the Huffington Post):

[A] pre-nup isn’t just for royals or the wealthy, anyway. Though much more common in the case of a second marriage (especially if children from a previous one are involved), a prenuptial agreement is not such a bad idea for a “first” marriage either. And you don’t have to be Donald Trump to request a pre-nup. Many young couples are either toying with the idea or have actually seriously talked about it.

The classic pre-nup is a legal contract which operates by ensuring that if a couple divorces, any possessions each had before marrying would remain their own and not be divided as part of the marital pool. You can make a pre-nup very individual, but traditionally, both sides are entitled to 50 percent of any income earned during the marriage period. If one of the partners earned little or nothing throughout the marriage, they’d be allowed to be given a percentage of their partner’s earnings and possibly part of a future pension.

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Video: The Intelligent Divorce

When a client comes into my office with a divorce matter involving minor children, I always tell him or her that, even after divorce, he or she will still be in a relationship with an ex-spouse until–at the very earliest–all of their children have turned eighteen.  Dr. Mark Banschick, a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, discusses this and other issues in the following video from The Intelligent Divorce:

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Video: The Family Law Project – Domestic Violence

The following video from Aspen Publishers provides a general overview of issues discussed in domestic violence proceedings.  To clarify, the “protective orders” and “restraining orders” described in the video are referred to as “injunctions” under Florida law:

Please keep in mind that domestic violence statutes vary from state to state.

Filing Fees in Pasco County

I previous wrote about filing fees in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County.  In this post I review current filing fees in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pasco County, for common family law matters.  A person who initiates a family law case (the “Petitioner”) will pay the following:

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Many Local Courts Will Be Closed In Observance of Presidents’ Day

Most of the local courthouses will be closed on February 21, 2011, in observance of Presidents’ Day.  Closed courthouses include those located in the following judicial circuits:

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Filing Fees in Pinellas County

I previous wrote about filing fees in Hillsborough County.  In this post I review current filing fees in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, for common family law matters.  A person who initiates a family law case (the “Petitioner”) will pay the following:

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Filing Fees in Hillsborough County

For most types of family law actions, a party needs to pay a fee to the clerk of the court when he or she files a petition.  Current filing fees for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County) for common family law matters are as follows:

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