Video: The Smart Divorce
Divorce consultant Deborah Moskovitch discusses her high-conflict divorce and the lessons she learned in the following video from Family Matters:
Tag Archive for: divorce
Interfaith Marriage and Divorce
According to USA Today, a 2001 American Religious Identification Survey found that divorce is three times more likely in interfaith marriage than from those marriages where each partner is from the same faith. Here are some other findings from the 2001 survey:
- 22% of U.S. homes had at least two people from two different faiths in the household;
- 28.4 million Americans are living in interfaith households;
What is a Florida Parenting Plan?
For every Florida divorce case in which child custody issues are being decided, the judge must enter a parenting plan.
A parenting plan is a document that sets out parents’ rights and responsibilities towards their children. The parenting plan will explain each parent’s right to make major decisions concerning the children (such as education or medical decisions). The parenting plan will also flesh out each parent’s right to spend time with the children and detail which specific days the children will sleep overnight at each parent’s home.
Hillsborough County Clerk of the Court Cuts Hours
Due to budget cuts, the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Court is reducing the hours it will handle court-related services. Beginning July 1, 2012, the hours were cut to 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This will affect the filing and processing of family law (i.e., adoption, divorce, paternity, child support, child custody, name change, etc.) documents.
If you have a Tampa family law case and you wish to scheduled a consultation with a Florida family law attorney, contact The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or fill out our online form.
Florida Clerks of the Court Face Budget Cuts
Florida clerks of the court, like other government agencies, are facing severe budget cuts. Statewide, Clerks of the Court budgets are being slashed by $31 million. Locally, the Pasco clerk is facing a $825,000 million budge cut, while the Hillsborough clerk is trying to find a way to cope with a haircut in the order of $2 million.
As a result, you can expect a slowdown in the services provided by an already overwhelmed clerk, including the processing of divorce and other family law matters.
The Pasco clerk has published the following notice on its website:
If you have questions regarding Florida divorce and you wish to schedule a consultation with a Tampa Bay family law attorney, contact The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or via our online consultation form.
Disparaging The Other Parent Hurts Your Child And Your Florida Child Custody Case
Rosalind Sedacca, a divorce and parenting coach and author, writes about why parents should not bash one another in front of their children:
When you put down their other parent, your children are likely to interpret it as a put-down of part of them. When both parents are guilty of this behavior, it can create a great confusion along with a sense of unworthiness and low self-esteem. “Something’s wrong with me” becomes the child’s unconscious belief.
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Appellate Judges Discuss Collaborative Divorce in Meeting of Hillsborough and Pinellas Family Law Attorneys and Judges
I recently had the opportunity to attend a joint meeting of the Tampa Bay Family Law Inn of Court and Pinellas County’s Canakaris Inn of Court. The guest speakers were three judges from Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals: Chris Altenbernd, Edward C. LaRose, and Robert Morris. I had the opportunity to discuss collaborative divorce with the appellate judges. The following excerpt of a Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay article describes a portion of the meeting and my discussions:
Judge Chris Altenbernd (who served as chief judge from 2003-2005) observed that, by the time divorce and paternity cases reach the appellate level, both parties have almost invariably already lost:
“You have families that are being torn apart, and the parties are arguing often for the sake of arguing, not putting children’s issues and the families’ financial future first.”
Judges Edward C. LaRose and Robert Morris agreed.
The Second D.C.A.’s Judge Chris Altenbernd and CDITB Membership Chair Adam B. Cordover Discuss Collaborative Divorce (April 4, 2012)
Judge LaRose then asked the attorneys in the audience whether collaborative practice was being utilized in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay membership chair Adam B. Cordover answered their question. “The practice of collaborative family law is growing in Tampa Bay. Last year, the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay provided training to instruct more attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial experts on how to handle collaborative divorce cases in a way that is private, individually-tailored, respectful, and takes into account the best interests of any children involved. In short, we collaborative professionals are carrying out the ideal of ‘therapeutic jurisprudence.’”
Judge Altenbernd later relayed to Mr. Cordover that he supports the collaborative process, especially in divorce cases where issues of child custody and parenting plans are involved. ”I just think more people need to seriously consider the family-focused process of collaborative divorce rather than fight it out in the court system.”
Attorney Adam B. Cordover has completed advanced training in interdisciplinary collaborative family law. He is on the Board of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
If you have questions regarding collaborative divorce and you wish to speak with a Tampa Bay collaborative attorney, contact The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or by completing our online form.
This is Why Florida is a “No Fault” Divorce State
Florida is a “No Fault” divorce state. This means that parties do not have to accuse one another of doing harm to the marriage, such as by committing adultery or domestic violence, for a judge to grant a dissolution of marriage. Rather, a party merely needs to allege that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.”
The usual test that a Tampa Bay judge gives to determine whether the marriage is irretrievably broken is to ask the question, “Would therapy or counseling help repair the marriage?” If either party states that counseling would not help, a final decree of divorce will likely be granted.
As it turns out, England is not a “No Fault” divorce jurisdiction. The New York Times reports that, since English parties must give reasons for seeking divorce, the court record is filled with highly personal, and sometimes downright wacky, divorce allegations. Below are some of those allegations:
- A husband insisted that his wife dress in a Klingon costume and speak to him in Klingon;
- A wife maliciously and repeatedly served her husband the food he least liked: tuna casserole;
- A wife spitefully tampered with her husband’s television antenna and, even worse, threw away his cold cuts; Read more →
Tax Issues for Divorcing Spouses to Look Into
Mandi Woodruff at the Business Insider provides the following tips for divorcing spouses:
Procrastinating. If you’re newly divorced and haven’t filed taxes as you read this article, you might want to get a move on it. First of all, there’s no telling how willing your ex will be to fork over his or her tax records, which could throw a major roadblock in your way. And if you’re relying on a CPA or tax preparer to play mediator, chances are high they’ll be too swamped this late in the season to field your last-minute questions.
Setting yourself up for liability by filing jointly. Every couple has to decide whether to file as married (joint) or married (filing separately) after a divorce. There’s a big difference here, which is that filing jointly means you’re on the hook if your ex winds up in tax trouble. “You’re liable for everything on the tax return even if it’s related to your spouse,” Mindel says.
Does Florida Have A Waiting Period For Divorce?
Oftentimes when potential clients come into my office for a consultation, I get asked the following question: “Does Florida have a waiting period for divorce?”
In fact, Florida does have a waiting period.
