Tag Archive for: Hernando County

Lie in Hernando County Family Law Court Leads to Jail Time

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According to a report in the Tampa Bay Times, a woman in a Hernando County Family Law Court was seeking to get a domestic violence restraining order against her mother when she made some odd statements.  When asked about her extensive criminal background, the woman claimed that she was a DEA agent.

Hernando County Judge Stephen E. Toner gave the woman several opportunities to change her testimony, but she did not.  The family law judge then requested that the Sheriff’s Office check on the woman’s claim, which turned out to be bogus, and the woman was found to be in contempt of court and sentenced to 5 months and 29 days in jail.

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Tampa Bay Clerks of Court Return to Regular Service Hours

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Thanks to a 7% increase in the budget for Florida clerks of the court, Tampa area clerks will increase their hours beginning October 1, 2012.  According to the Tampa Bay Times, the seven percent increase restores the amount that was cut from the statewide clerk budget in the spring, when office hour were reduced.

These extended office hours will allow Tampa Bay clerks to tackle the current backlog and hopefully help family law cases to be processed faster.

The local clerks’ new office hours (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) are listed below:

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Where In Tampa Bay Can I Get Fingerprinted For My Legal Name Change?

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If you want to get your legal name changed in Florida, and you are not getting married or divorced, you will probably need to submit fingerprints for a state and national background check.  Pursuant to Florida Statute section 68.07, the fingerprints must be submitted electronically, and they will be reviewed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

So where do you submit fingerprints electronically?

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Tampa Bay Clerks of the Court Slow to Implement e-Filing

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You may have heard of the term “paperless office,” where documents are stored on networks and hard drives rather than in physical drawers and filing cabinets.  The advantages of the paperless office over traditional means of storing documents include the following: money is saved on paper and postage; space is saved from bulky file cabinets; trees are saved from being cut down; and time is saved by quick transmittal of documents via e-mail.  This usually also translates to savings for the customer or client.

Well, the Florida Courts have set their sights on a paperless court system.  This starts out with e-filing (the filing of documents via the internet rather than dropping off paper copies).  e-Filing began through Florida’s e-Filing Portal in January 2012, and the clerks of the Court have set a goal to have all counties accepting e-filing for their civil (non-criminal) divisions through the Portal by July 1, 2012.

Many counties have been quick to implement e-filing through the Portal.  In fact, according to a presentation provided at the February 1, 2012, e-Filing Authority Board Meeting, 41 counties now accept at least some filing electronically through the portal.  Polk County is included in these counties, though it does not yet accept e-filing for family law cases.

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Hillsborough County Intends to Implement e-Filing by March 2012

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Members of the Florida Bar have long been making the case for e-filing, or the ability to file documents through the internet rather than filing a physical copy with the clerk of the court.  E-filing holds the promise of reducing the time and costs associated with interacting with the clerk.  The Florida Supreme Court authorized e-filing through the Florida Court’s e-filing portal, which became active for some counties on January 1, 2011.

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Family Law Filing Fees in Hernando County

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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:

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

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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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General Rules Governing Mediation

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The Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida (which includes Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter Counties) offers the following general rules for mediation:*

  1. Mediation is a supervised settlement conference presided over by a neutral mediator who suggests alternatives, analyzes issues, questions perceptions, uses logic, conducts private meetings with attorneys and their clients, stimulates negotiations between opposing sides, and keeps order. The mediator does NOT hear any testimony, review any evidence or make a decision. The only result of the Mediation Conference is the agreement, or non-agreement, of the parties. This is not an arbitration procedure.
  2. The appearance of counsel who will try the case, and their clients (a management representative if a corporate party) with full authority to enter into a full and complete compromise and settlement is mandatory. An insured party must have a fully authorized representative (not the attorney) of the insurance company attend the mediation conference. Read more →

Enforcement: Support Awards From Different Florida Counties

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If a circuit court in Miami-Dade county ordered a parent to pay child support, that order may be enforced in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Hernando, Manatee, or any other county in Florida (so long as one party lives in that county). Along the same lines, alimony awards entered in one Florida county may be enforced in another Florida county.

Section 61.17, Florida Statutes, provides the basis for such enforcement.