General information on dissolution of marriage
I previous wrote about filing fees in Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, and Sarasota County. In this post I review current filing fees in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, Hernando County, for common family law matters. A person who initiates a family law case (the “Petitioner”) will pay the following:
The following excerpt from the Instructions for IRS Form 1040 provides information on whether a non-custodial parent (a parent with whom a child resides less than half of the year) qualifies for the Child Tax Credit (after the jump):
In Florida, a family law court is authorized to divide spouses’ marital assets and liabilities as part of a divorce. This is known as equitable distribution.
A dog or cat adopted during the marriage would be considered a “marital asset” to be distributed. A court will either ratify an agreement on the pet, or determine how to distribute the pet based on the factors laid out in section 61.075, Florida Statutes.
Interestingly enough, the legislature of Maryland is considering a bill that would treat animals more like children. From the Washington Examiner:
Essentially, the law gives the court the power to issue a custody agreement for pets. While it may seem a little silly on the surface, to couples who don’t have kids, pets are the next-best thing. And — especially if it’s a bitter divorce — they’ll fight tooth and nail over them.
Here’s what the proposed law would allow the court to do:
Everyone knows that a Florida court can order a parent to pay child support up until the child is 18 years, or even beyond. But can a court order a parent to pay retroactive child support (child support that covers a period of time prior to the filing of a court action)?
Chicago family law attorney Richard Kulerski provides ten techniques that you can use to minimize the negative impact that a divorce can have on children:
An article from Ars Technica discusses a woman who secretly put a recording device in a teddy bear to prove allegations that her estranged spouse was mistreating their daughter. Not only did the family law court rule that the recordings were inadmissible, but the husband (“Duke”) sued the wife (“Dianna”) in federal court for, among other things, violation of the federal Wiretap Act. From the article:
When Duke filed the federal lawsuit against Dianna in 2009, he also rounded up five other plaintiffs whose conversations had been recorded by the bear. One plaintiff, a cousin of Duke’s, at one point had the bear in his van for several days after it was left there accidentally; the cousin, going through his own divorce at the time, was upset that his conversations had been recorded and eventually distributed to people involved with Duke and Dianna’s custody case.
Robert D. Flach of MainStreet.com provides the following advice regarding tax treatment of alimony:
To be deductible, alimony payments must be in cash (or check) and required as a condition of the divorce decree. You and your “ex” must not live together in the same household, and payments must end upon the death of the “ex.”
The following video from Uninterrupted TV provides advice to teens and parents about how to facilitate better intra-family communication:
An article from consumer website WalletPop.com discusses ways to protect your credit score as you go through a divorce. The following issues (from both the article and my experience) should be addressed in any marital settlement agreement and/or final judgment:
The following video from Uninterrupted TV provides advice on relationship building from both a parent and a teenager’s perspective:
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