Tag Archive for: collaborative divorce

Child Support Image - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

Divorce 101 Video: How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?

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At a Glance

Florida calculates child support using a guideline formula inFlorida Statutes § 61.30 that looks mainly at both parents’ income, the number of overnights each parent has with the children, and specific expenses like health insurance and daycare.

  • The formula combines both parents’ income, overnights, and certain expenses to set a presumptive support amount.
  • Florida’s default time-sharing starting point is fifty percent with each parent, though parents can agree to something different.
  • Child support is considered the right of the child, so parents generally cannot agree to waive it entirely.
  • Families can still build flexibility into their plan, including how expenses like college or extracurriculars are shared.

Whether you are a physician, business owner, or executive facing a divorce, the child support formula can feel like a black box, especially when your income is not a simple paycheck. Understanding how the numbers actually work is the first step toward a private, informed resolution rather than a public fight over a spreadsheet.

In the video below, Adam B. Cordover, a leading Florida Collaborative Divorce attorney, walks through how Florida calculates child support and where families have room to make their own decisions.

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High Asset 3 - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

How to Keep a High Asset Divorce Private in Florida

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At a Glance

A high asset divorce in Florida can often stay far more private through Collaborative Divorce, since sensitive financial information can be handled outside the public court file instead of becoming part of it.

  • Traditional divorce litigation often places financial affidavits, business records as part of evidence, and other sensitive documents into the public court file.
  • In a high asset divorce, protecting personal and financial information can be crucial.
  • Collaborative Divorce resolves disputes through private negotiation instead of courtroom litigation.
  • Collaborative Divorce offers other privacy tools, such as being able to file in a distant county and keeping agreements away from the public.
  • A neutral financial professional works with both spouses together, replacing the need for separate competing experts.
  • A trained facilitator helps keep communication productive so negotiations do not stall.

If you are a physician, business owner, executive, attorney, or public figure, divorce raises three questions at once: Who will see your finances? How much of what you built will you keep? And will you walk away from this chapter with your dignity intact, or will it become a public spectacle?

Most people do not learn until they are already in the middle of a divorce how much of this is within their control. Florida court records are open to the public by default, which means your income, value of business interests, amounts in investment accounts, and even your spending habits can become part of a file that employees, competitors, neighbors, or a curious reporter can read. Fortunately, there is a way to resolve a high asset divorce without putting your financial life, or your family, on public display.

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Florida Records Public - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

Are Florida Divorce Records Public? How Your Divorce Lawyer Could Be Exposing Your Financial Information to Competitors.

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Key Takeaways

  • Yes. Generally speaking, divorce records and financial information filed in a traditional Florida Divorce, including financial affidavits, become part of the public court file.
  • Business owners, physicians, executives, lawyers, and other professionals should carefully consider whether public financial disclosures could expose sensitive business information to competitors, clients, employees, vendors, or investors.
  • Done correctly, Collaborative Divorce is designed to maximize privacy by keeping negotiations confidential and minimizing what gets filed in the public record while promoting complete financial transparency between the spouses.
  • In a Collaborative Divorce, spouses generally still have to exchange financial affidavits, but they can choose to keep it out of the public court file.
  • Other ways that Collaborative Divorce helps maintain financial discretion include filing far away from where the spouses live or work and choosing the county with the best privacy options.

Can Your Competitors See Your Financial Information During a Florida Divorce?

If you are an executive or own a business, a medical practice, a law firm, or another successful company, one of the biggest risks in a traditional Florida Divorce may have nothing to do with who gets what. It may be that your lawyer is preparing your case for trial instead of preparing it for resolution, and in the process, your private financial information could end up in the public divorce records.

Most people assume that divorce is a private matter. They are often surprised to learn that, in almost every Florida Divorce, each spouse must complete a financial affidavit listing their income, expenses, assets, and debts. Generally, in traditional divorce cases, that affidavit is filed with the court, where your divorce records become available to anyone who wants to read it.

If you have spent years building your business and your reputation, that should concern you.

Imagine a competitor learning how much income your business generates. Imagine a prospective client finding details about your personal finances. Imagine employees, vendors, or future business partners accessing information that was never intended for public view.

For entrepreneurs, executives, physicians, lawyers, and other professionals, privacy is not just a personal preference. It is part of protecting the business you worked so hard to build.

Quick Answer

Yes, in most Florida Divorce cases, sensitive financial information becomes part of your public divorce records through the filing of financial affidavit and other documents. If privacy matters to you, choosing the right divorce lawyer and divorce process from the very beginning can make a significant difference.

Collaborative Divorce takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than preparing every case for the possibility of litigation, the process is designed to help spouses reach an informed agreement outside of court while protecting confidentiality and sensitive information whenever possible.

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Do My Business Bank Accounts Get Divided In A Florida Divorce 1 - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

What is Equitable Distribution in Florida?

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If you are going through divorce in Florida, one of the first financial questions is simple but important: What happens to your assets and debts?

In Florida, this is called equitable distribution. It is the process of dividing marital assets and marital debts in divorce. For many professionals, business owners, executives, and high-net-worth families, this can include real estate, retirement accounts, business interests, investments, credit cards, mortgages, and other financial obligations.

The video below gives a brief explanation of how equitable distribution works in Florida and how Collaborative Divorce can help keep financial information more private.

Quick Answer: What Is Equitable Distribution in Florida?

Equitable distribution in Florida means how you and your spouse divide your assets and debts in divorce.

Florida has default rules that courts follow, but you and your spouse can reach your own agreement. In Collaborative Divorce, you can make these financial decisions outside of court, with privacy, professional guidance, and more control over the outcome.

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Florida Divorce: Preventing Identity Theft Through Collaborative Divorce

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Florida divorce proceedings can unintentionally expose sensitive financial and personal information to the public, increasing identity theft and privacy risks for professionals, executives, business owners, physicians, lawyers, and other high-net-worth individuals. Collaborative Divorce can help you keep more of your financial and family information private by reducing unnecessary public court filings and avoiding public courtroom litigation whenever possible.

If you are going through divorce in Florida, one of the most important questions you should ask is not just how your divorce will end, but how public the process will become along the way.

Many people are surprised to learn that even amicable divorces resolved through mediation or direct negotiation often still result in sensitive documents being placed in the public court file.

That may include:

  • Financial Affidavits
  • Parenting Plans
  • Marital Settlement Agreements
  • Responses to Requests for Production of Documents

For many families in Tampa Bay and statewide throughout Florida, this level of exposure feels unnecessary and risky.

Quick Answer

Collaborative Divorce can help reduce potential exposure to identity theft and privacy risks by allowing many sensitive financial and parenting documents to remain outside the public court file whenever possible. Unlike traditional divorce litigation and many standard mediated divorces, Collaborative Divorce can be intentionally structured around privacy, discretion, and confidential problem-solving.

Definition: Private Divorce in Florida

A private divorce process in Florida generally refers to resolving divorce issues outside of public courtroom litigation and keeping your private information out of the public court file whenever possible. Collaborative Divorce is the preeminant example because it emphasizes confidential negotiations, private financial disclosure, and reduced public filings.  A judge is still required to grant the divorce and your final judgment of divorce is of public record, but the amount of personal and sensitive information is stripped down to bare bones.

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Collaborative Divorce Timeline In Florida Showing Most Cases Resolve Within 3 To 12 Months

How Long Does Collaborative Divorce Take in Florida?

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If you are considering a Collaborative Divorce, one of your first questions is likely about timing. “How long does collaborative divorce take?” You want clarity, but you also want privacy, control, and a process that protects your family and your financial future in a timely manner.

Quick Answer: How Long Does Collaborative Divorce Take?

According to a recent study of nearly 300 Collaborative Family Law matters in Florida, approximately 30% concluded in 3 months or less, 60% in 6 months or less, and 90% in 12 months or less

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Income Withholdings - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

Why Cordover Advises Divorce Clients to Avoid Income Withholding Orders

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Florida Income Withholding Orders (“IWOs”) are the default method for paying child support and alimony.  However, if you are a doctor, lawyer, executive, business owner, or other professional reaching an agreement through Collaborative Divorce or another method, you may be better off avoiding IWOs.

If you have helped build your family’s wealth in Tampa Bay or anywhere in Florida, you likely value privacy, joint control of outcome with your spouse (rather than a judge), and efficiency. The last thing you want is unnecessary government involvement in your financial life when you and your spouse have already reached a thoughtful agreement.

Let’s talk about why.

Quick Answer

In Florida, Income Withholding Orders are required by default for child support and often used for alimony, but when you reach a voluntary agreement through a private process like Collaborative Divorce, you can usually choose to exchange payments directly and avoid unnecessary employer involvement and bureaucratic complications.

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Cordover Cp Canada Collaborative Divorce Statistics Florida - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

Cordover Presents to CP Canada on Practical Use of Collaborative Divorce Statistics

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On February 5, 2026, Adam B. Cordover presented to CP Canada, Canada’s national Collaborative Practice organization, on the topic “Going Beyond Statistics: What Florida’s Collaborative Practice Survey Outcomes Mean and How to Replicate It.” The presentation was part of a broader conversation about how Collaborative Practice can strengthen its credibility and long-term sustainability through thoughtful use of real-world data.

Cordover co-presented with Dr. Randy Heller of Nova Southeastern University. Together, they co-authored the article “Statistics on Collaborative Divorce in Florida,” published in Volume LV, Issue 1 (2025) of the Florida Bar Family Law Section Commentator Magazine. Their work reflects a decade-long effort conducted by the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals to better understand how Collaborative Matters actually resolve in practice.

Why Florida Invested in Long-Term Data Collection

The presentation began by explaining why Florida undertook sustained data collection in the first place. For many years, conversations about Collaborative Practice relied heavily on anecdotes. At the same time, judges often only heard about Collaborative cases when they failed, not when they quietly and discreetly resolved. Florida’s survey was designed to help fill that gap by providing credible information that supports informed decision-making by clients, professionals, and institutions.

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Do My Business Bank Accounts Get Divided In A Florida Divorce - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

Families Don’t Belong In Court

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Families don’t belong in court, especially when privacy, dignity, and the best interests of children matter to you. Yet for decades, lawyers have treated the courtroom as the default place to resolve divorce.

Court is built to impose an outcome after pitting parties against each other. Divorce is about navigating a family transition. Those are not the same thing, and when we confuse them, families often pay the price.

Quick Answer

Families don’t belong in court because the adversarial system escalates conflict, makes private matters public, and allows a judge to impose life-shaping decisions.  It is a terrible forum if you want to protect privacy, preserve dignity, or support children during a family transition.

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Free Florida CLE for Lawyers: Learn When to Refer Clients to Collaborative Divorce

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Collaborative Divorce offers Florida lawyers, regardless of practice area or professional setting, a private and discreet referral option for clients facing divorce, and you can earn free Florida Bar CLE credit while learning how to determine when that referral makes sense.

As a lawyer, you are often the first professional a client turns to when divorce becomes unavoidable. When that client is a lawyer, physician, executive, business owner, LGBTQ+ professional, public figure, the stakes are higher. Courtroom exposure, public filings, and escalated conflict can affect careers, reputations, businesses, and families in lasting ways.

Many lawyers want a referral option that aligns with those realities but understandably want to learn more before recommending a process they do not practice themselves. This free, on-demand Florida CLE (approved by the Florida Bar through July 31, 2027) was created specifically for lawyers who want to understand Collaborative Divorce well enough to confidently discuss it with the right clients, while earning CLE credit at the same time.

Quick Answer

You can earn 1.0 hour of Florida Bar–approved CLE credit for free by watching an on-demand program that explains how Collaborative Divorce works in Florida and when it may be an appropriate referral option for your clients.  Instantly access the CLE by filling out the form below.

Key Takeaways

  • Free registration and on-demand access
  • Florida Bar–approved CLE credit (1.0 hour)
  • Designed for lawyers considering referral options
  • Focused on privacy, confidentiality, and dignified resolution

Why This CLE Matters for Your Clients

Litigation is not wrong, but it is not right for every family. For clients whose lives or livelihoods could be impacted by public divorce proceedings, the process itself can be as damaging as the outcome.

Collaborative Divorce offers a way to resolve divorce privately, outside of court, with a structured team approach focused on resolution rather than escalation. This CLE gives you a clear framework for understanding when Collaborative Divorce may be a good fit and when it may not, so your referral decisions are informed rather than theoretical.

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