Family Law

The traditional divorce model pits husband versus wife, mother versus father. Collaborative Law is a refreshing team-oriented alternative. Each client retains a separate attorney whose job is to counsel the client and help resolve disputes. The attorneys work together to help both clients meet their needs. Open communication is advanced by a trained facilitator, while support and property options are developed by a neutral financial professional. The clients, attorneys, and other team members agree beforehand that the matter will not be brought into the court system until a full agreement is reached.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO FAMILY MATTERS

The Collaborative Process allows for flexible, creative solutions to a family law matter. The team explores options that look beyond a legal framework by incorporating the skills and expertise of the facilitator and financial professional. Clients are encouraged to focus on the best interests of their family, rather than rigid negotiation positions, to reach their goals. In the unlikely event that a settlement is not reached, the Collaborative attorneys withdraw and litigation lawyers may be retained. The knowledge that the Collaborative attorneys cannot bring the case in front of a judge further permits the parties to speak openly about potential settlement options (and frees attorneys from conducting exhaustive, costly opposition research).

Tampa Tribune: Florida Gay Marriage and Gay Divorce Cases

/2 Comments/in , , , , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by

As I wrote in a previous post, a Florida Circuit Court judge in Monroe County (in the Florida Keys) declared that Florida’s ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional.  Though that ruling was stayed (not put into effect) pending appeal, a Miami-Dade judge made a similar ruling this past week, which was also stayed.

A few days before the Miami ruling came out, I was interviewed by Elaine Silvestrini of the Tampa Tribune about my Tampa same sex divorce case now under appeal in the Second District Court of Appeals and how the Florida Keys ruling may or may not affect the divorce case.  Below are some excerpts of the Tampa Tribune article:

Although the decision [to permit same sex marriages] has no force of law in the rest of the state, lawyers [in the same sex divorce case] say it may help their case for divorce equality.

“It’s not authoritative, but it provides a little bit more persuasion,” said Adam Cordover, who represents [one of the divorcing spouses]. “It shows that yet another court has ruled in favor of marriage equality. The currents of history are in favor of marriage and divorce equality.”

Read more →

BREAKING NEWS – Florida Judge Permits Same Sex Marriage Licenses in Florida Keys

/1 Comment/in , , , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by

Yet another judge has declared a ban on same sex marriages to be unconstitutional, and this one occurred right here in Florida.  The Honorable Luis M. Garcia found the law preventing the Clerk of Monroe County from issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples invokes a fundamental right and has no rational basis and, accordingly,  violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The order reads, in part, as follows:

Due Process Clause

***

There is no dispute by the parties that the right to marry is a fundamental right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.  The parting-of-the-ways occurs on whether the right to marry belongs to the individual and that individual’s choice of spouse or whether the state has the authority to dictate one’s choice in spouse to the opposite sex.

***

This court concludes that a citizen’s right to marry is a fundamental right that belongs to the individual.  The right these plaintiffs seek is not a new right, but a right that these individuals have always been guaranteed by the United States Constitution.  Societal norms and traditions have kept same-sex couples from marrying, like it kept women from voting until 1920 and forbid interracial marriage until 1967.

Read more →

BREAKING NEWS: Tampa Same Sex Divorce Dismissed by Trial Judge; Parties to Appeal

/3 Comments/in , , , , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by

Many people have been following a matter that I am involved in, the same sex divorce case in Tampa, Florida.  Well, the judge just issued her ruling, and she dismissed the amended petition for dissolution of the parties’ marriage.

In her order, Judge Lee writes the following:

The Petitioner filed her initial Petition for Dissolution of Marriage on January 15, 2014.  Thereafter, the parties entered into the collaborative divorce process and successfully completed that process.  As a result, the parties voluntarily entered into a Collaborative Marital Settlement Agreement on March 14, 2014.  Subsequently, on March 17, 2014, the Petitioner filed her Amended Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and asked the court to accept jurisdiction of the subject matter, dissolve the marriage of the parties, and adopt and incorporate the Collaborative Marital Settlement Agreement into a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

RELATED: Tampa Same Sex Divorce and Collaborative Practice

As alleged in the Amended Petition, the parties married …in the State of Massachusetts.  The parties are a same-sex couple. While the State of Massachusetts authorizes and recognizes same-sex marriages, by current law the State of Florida does not authorize or recognize such unions.

Specifically, in 2008, Florida citizens amended Article I of the Florida Constitution by voter initiate to provide as follows:

Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.  Art. I, s. 27, Fla. Const.

Read more →

Tampa Same Sex Divorce and Collaborative Practice

/2 Comments/in , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by
Same Sex Couple Seeks Divorce in Florida

Same Sex Couple Seeks Divorce in Florida

I have recently been involved in a Tampa family law matter that has made a couple of headlines lately. I represent a client who married her wife in Massachusetts, they moved to Florida, and ultimately they decided that their same sex marriage was irretrievably broken. The women reached a full settlement on all their marital issues, and, as the media has reported, now they are asking the court to grant them a divorce.

Related: In a Florida Child Custody Case, Does It Matter that I am Gay?

Related: Five Legal Steps Florida LGBT Parents Should Take

What has gotten far less attention is the fact that the women reached a full settlement agreement and formed a united front using the private collaborative family law process.

Unlike the more familiar divorce proceedings where parties hire gunslinger lawyers and have their dirty laundry aired in public courthouses, these women each retained a collaboratively-trained attorney (Ellen Ware and myself) who are experienced in respectful and interest-based negotiations. We attorneys were hired specifically to focus on reaching an amicable settlement in private offices; we both agreed that we would not inflame the situation by “building a case” against the other party and bringing arguments between the clients into the public courtroom.

Read more →

Bay News 9 Video: Collaborative Divorce in Tampa Bay

/0 Comments/in , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by

NGD-baynews9

I strongly believe that the traditional adversarial courtroom divorce is destructive to families, and so I am a strong proponent of the private, respectful collaborative divorce process.  I am also president of a local collaborative practice group known as Next Generation Divorce which is comprised of over 90 collaboratively-trained attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals dedicated to helping families in Hillsborough, Sarasota, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee Counties.

As a representative of collaborative professionals, I oftentimes get the opportunity to speak to mental health, religious, and other organizations about collaborative family law.  Last year, I was also interviewed, along with my colleague, Joryn Jenkins, by Bay News 9 on the practice of collaborative divorce in Tampa Bay.

You can view the entire interview here.

If you have questions on how the collaborative process can save your family from the devastating effects of courtroom divorce, schedule a consultation with The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or fill out our contact form.

BREAKING NEWS: Florida Same Sex Couples Sue to Overturn State DOMA

/0 Comments/in //Tags: , , , , , , , , , by

According to the Tampa Bay Times, six same sex couples in Florida are suing to overturn Florida’s Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”).  The couples claim that DOMA, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman and establishes that Florida will not recognize same sex marriages performed in other states or territories, violates their equal rights under the Constitution of the United States.

This suit comes on the heals of successful lawsuits in Utah and Oklahoma which overturned those states’ same sex marriage bans.  This also comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Windsor, which struck down portions of the Federal DOMA but left state DOMAs intact.

Related:  Five Legal Steps Florida LGBT Parents Should Take

Florida’s DOMA, contained in Florida Statutes section 741.212, reads as follows:

(1) Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, or relationships between persons of the same sex which are treated as marriages in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, are not recognized for any purpose in this state.

Collaborative Divorce Comes To Sarasota & Manatee Counties

/0 Comments/in , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by

From Brian Pope, MBA, CDFA, and Cindy Barry, Esq.:

I am extremely pleased to announce that there is a new group in town!  The “Next Generation Divorce” group for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit has been formed as an expansion of “Next Generation Divorce” of Tampa Bay.

Next Generation Divorce

As the President of the Twelfth Judicial branch of the Next Generation Divorce group (Cindy Barry, not me), it is my sincere pleasure to extend an invitation to the bench and Bar of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit to attend a free presentation on collaborative law on February 6, 2014, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  in the Palm Room at the Sarabay Country Club located at 7011 Willow Street, Sarasota, Florida, 34243.  There will be a variety of complimentary Hors d’Ouerves and a cash bar available for libations.

Our guest speaker is the President of the Tampa Bay area “Next Generation Divorce”, Mr. Adam Cordover, Esq.   He will be sharing the successes of the collaborative law practices in the greater Tampa Bay area and answering questions on how to incorporate collaborative law into your practice.   Of course, there will be a social hour immediately following the presentation.

It is an exciting time as “Next Generation Divorce” is an active and professional group of Attorneys, Mental Health Professionals and Financial Professionals that have been collaboratively trained to help remove court cases from the traditional Court system.  You can visit our website at www.nextgenerationdivorce.com.

Read more →

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

/0 Comments/in , //Tags: , , , , , , , , , by

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.

Read more →

PRESS RELEASE: Tampa’s Chief Judge Signs Administrative Order on Collaborative Divorce

/2 Comments/in , , //Tags: , , , , , , , , by

“They call it Collaborative Divorce.  It’s apparently all the rage right now.”  Jason Bateman’s character spoke these lines in the 2007 hit Juno, and now the practice has come to Tampa.

On July 31, 2012, Chief Judge Manuel Menendez, Jr., of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida signed an administrative order regulating collaborative family law practice in Hillsborough County.  The administrative order is just the fourth such order in the State of Florida.  The other circuits regulated by a collaborative family law administrative order are the Ninth Circuit (Orlando and Osceola Counties), the Eleventh Circuit (Miami-Dade County), and the Eighteenth Circuit (Brevard County).

According to Attorney Adam B. Cordover, “Hillsborough County’s collaborative law administrative order will bring more public awareness and certainty to this new and revolutionary form of family law practice.” Adam is a member of the task force that drafted and proposed the order and is also on the Executive Board of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay, which promotes collaborative practice for divorce and all other types of family law matters.

Collaborative practice (which is variously referred to as collaborative divorce, collaborative law, collaborative model, or collaborative process) is a relatively new form of alternative dispute resolution which takes divorce and other family law cases out of the public courtroom and into a private office.

Each party hires a collaboratively trained attorney and agrees from the very beginning to resolve personal and financial disputes without having a judge decide the outcome.

A neutral facilitator (who is often a trained mediator, psychologist, or other licensed mental health professional) is brought on board to ensure that discussions focus on the future of the family unit rather than the arguments of the past.  Additionally, the facilitator will ensure that discussions center around the interests of the parties (for example, “our child should go to a good school”) rather than on positions of the parties (for example, “our child must go to this particular school, or else…”).

A neutral accountant or other financial advisor may be brought on board when there are homes, businesses, mutual funds, or other assets that need to be divided.  The financial advisor will also come up with creative solutions for debt division, child support, and ongoing needs of the spouses.

According to financial professional David Harper, CPA, ABV, PFS, CFF, CBA, “Studies show that financial disputes are consistently the number one reason for divorce.  The collaborative divorce process promotes the honest exchange of all pertinent financial information so that each spouse has a comprehensive understanding of the financial aspects involved.  Because of this, the collaborative process often results in a settlement involving less money, less time, and less of an emotional toll on the spouses and their children than the traditional litigation process.”  Harper is an Executive Board member of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and devotes nearly his entire practice to providing sound financial advice to families in the midst of divorce.

Collaborative practice has been gaining steam as a more sensible approach to divorce, and even celebrities are catching on.  Famous individuals who have utilized the collaborative process include Madonna, Robin Williams, and Cameron Crowe.

One of the lynchpins of collaborative practice is that, if the parties are unable to settle their differences and insist on going to court, their attorneys must withdraw, and new counsel may be retained.  Attorney Beth Reineke believes “This means divorcing parties are more committed to the settlement process and less likely to choose litigation if the road gets bumpy during negotiations.”  Reineke is a board certified emeritus family lawyer who has chosen not to litigate.  As president of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay, she either mediates with couples pre-suit or collaborates with the clients she represents.

More information on collaborative family law practice can be obtained from the Collaborative Divorce Institute’s website at http://www.CollaborativeDivorceTampaBay.com.

Chief Judge of Hillsborough County Endorses Collaborative Model in Administrative Order

/0 Comments/in , , //Tags: , , , , , , , , by

Tampa’s Chief Judge Manuel Menendez has signed Administrative Order S-2012-041 endorsing the collaborative model of alternative dispute resolution for divorce and other family law cases in Hillsborough County.  From the administrative order:

The Florida Supreme Court recognized that family cases needed “a system that provided nonadversarial alternatives and flexibility of alternatives; a system that preserved rather than destroyed family relationships;…and a system that facilitated the process chosen by the parties.”  In re Report of the Family Law Steering Committee, 749 So. 2d 518, 523 (Fla. 2001).

The Florida Supreme Court’s acceptance of recommendations for a model family court is consistent with the principles of the collaborative practice model because the collaborative process empowers parties to make their own decisions guided and assisted by counsel in a setting outside of court.  The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit supports the philosophy that the interdisciplinary collaborative model may be a suitable alternative to full scale adversarial litigation in family law cases if the parties agree to such a model.

Read more →