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What Should I Tell The Kids About Our Divorce?

March 12, 2018/in Tell Kids //Tags: child custody, collaborative attorney, collaborative child specialist, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, dissolution of marriage, divorce, florida divorce, mediation, parental responsibility, parenting plan, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Law, time-sharingby Adam

If you have children and are going through a divorce, your biggest concern is likely how your kids will be affected. When is the best time to tell your children, and how much should you share with them?

Your Children Will Know

Your children will know that something is going on, and leaving them in the dark may cause more apprehension and stress in them than just being upfront. Establish a united front early in the process, and tell your children together that you are separating. Assure them that while things will be different, everything will be okay. Alleviate their fears that your divorce is in any way their faults. Remind them often during the process that everything will fine and it is not their faults.

Custody: What Does The Law Consider?

December 26, 2017/in Custody Law //Tags: child custody, child custody case, child custody determination, custody, Florida child custody, parental responsibility, parenting plan, temporary child custody, time-sharing, time-sharing scheduleby Adam

Florida Statute § 61.13 lists the factors that the law will consider when developing a child custody, also known as time-sharing, schedule. One major factor is whether you will encourage a close and continuing relationship between the children and the other parent. The law considers your histories and personalities. Section 61.13 examines whether you will be reasonable when changes are required. The law also considers your ability to keep each other informed regarding important matters regarding the children. Florida law frowns upon parents who disparage the other in front of the children or bring the children into their disputes.

Parental Responsibility and Child Custody

Section 61.13 also discusses parental responsibilities and whether third parties will have decision-making authority. For example, if you work eighty hours a week, it may not be realistic for you to have custody the majority of the time. Another consideration is whether you will be able to participate in the children’s school and extracurricular activities.

Another factor is whether you have demonstrated the capacity and disposition to determine, consider, and act upon the needs of the children as opposed to your own needs or desires.

It is important to maintain stability as much as possible for the children. Accordingly, the law considers the length of time the children have lived in a stable, satisfactory environment. Often times, if a temporary schedule is going well, the law suggests that it may be best to keep that custody schedule in place, especially if the child is tied to that home, school, and community.

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Walking Dead - Family Diplomacy | A Collaborative Law Firm

The Walking Dead: Who Is Judith’s Legal Father?

October 30, 2017/in Divorce //Tags: case law, child custody, child support, Florida case law, parentage, parental responsibility, parenting plan, paternity, time-sharingby Adam

AMC’s The Walking Dead recently premiered its season 8 debut. For the uninitiated, The Walking Dead follows former deputy sheriff Rick Grimes and others as they navigate a post-apocalyptic world of zombies (which they call “walkers”).

The Human Element of The Walking Dead

Even more interesting than interactions with the walkers, the show focuses in on the interaction between people. Rick and the gang have fought off a host of bad guys. A one-eyed psychotic governor. Bar-B-Que loving cannibals. Most recently, a baseball bat-wielding sadist with a sophomoric sense of humor.

But the most fascinating part of the show may just be its human drama surrounding relationships between Rick and his family. Last season, Rick made a startling admission to Michone. Michone is a samurai sword brandishing badass and Rick’s current love interest. The admission concerned Rick’s daughter, Judith.

When the apocalypse started, Rick had been separated from his wife, Lori. Lori escaped the initial chaos with Rick’s best friend, Shane. Shane and Lori thought Rick had died with the initial wave of walkers, and Shane and Lori became romantically involved.

Lori and Shane’s relationship ended when they learned Rick was still alive. Inevitably, tensions rose between Shane and Rick, which lead to Rick killing Shane. Eventually, Lori gave birth to a child, Judith, though Lori did not survive the birth.

Which brings us back to Rick’s admission to Michone. Rick tells Michone he knows that Shane is Judith’s biological father.

So who is Judith’s legal father?

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Video: Ron Ousky on Hiring A Family-Focused Divorce Lawyer

August 31, 2017/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: child custody, collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, Collaborative Law, dissolution of marriage, divorce, florida divorce, parental responsibility, parenting plan, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Law, time-sharingby Adam

When determining which attorney to hire for your divorce, you may be tempted to believe that your best option is to hire an overly-aggressive lawyer. But is that truly going to benefit you and your family? Do you want to make your spouse “the enemy” and make your children collateral damage? Well, there is another option. Instead, you can hire a family-focused divorce lawyer.

In the video below, Minnesota collaborative attorney Ron Ousky, former president of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, discusses, among other things, why you should consider hiring a family-focused divorce lawyer.

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2016 Collaborative Law Process Act Making Progress in Florida Legislature

February 2, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Divorce, Legislative Update //Tags: alimony, child custody, child support, collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, collaborative practice, divorce, equitable distribution, parental responsibility, parenting plan, postnuptial agreement, prenuptial agreement, property division, relocation, time-sharing, visitationby Adam

Senate Bill 972, the “Collaborative Law Process Act,” is making its way through the Florida Senate and will hopefully become law this summer.

[UPDATE 2: Governor Scott signed the Collaborative Law Process Act on 3/24/16]

[UPDATE: The Collaborative Law Process Act Passed the Florida Legislature on 3/4/16. Learn more about it in the following Article: Collaborative Law Process Act Protects Families’ Privacy]

The Collaborative Law Process Act creates a legal framework for families to resolve disputes outside of court. The bill specifies that family law matters under chapters 61 or 742 of the Florida Statutes may be resolved via the collaborative process. These family law matters include the following:

Divorce;
Alimony and child support;
Marital property and debt distribution;
Child custody and visitation (also known as time-sharing and parental responsibility);
Parental relocation with a child;
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements; and
Paternity.

Families in Tampa Bay, Greater Sarasota, and throughout the state of Florida are already utilizing the collaborative process to resolve divorce and other matters privately and respectfully, but a big improvement with this bill is that there will be a statutory framework to ensure discussions had in the collaborative process can be enforced as confidential. Read more →

What Is A Florida Parenting Plan?

January 22, 2014/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Custody, Kids //Tags: 6th Judicial Circuit, Best Divorce Tampa, child custody, child custody case, child custody determination, co-parenting, collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, divorce, Florida child custody, florida divorce, Next Generation Divorce, parental responsibility, parenting plan, Pasco County, pasco county florida, Pinellas County, shared parental responsibility, sole parental responsibility, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Law, temporary child custody, time-sharing, uncontested divorceby Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

Any Florida parent who is going through a divorce with children or otherwise dealing with child custody issues will need to have a parenting plan. A parenting plan is document that is either agreed upon by the parents or created by a judge that sets out each parents’ rights and responsibilities. The Sixth Judicial Circuit (Pinellas and Pasco Counties) further describes a parenting plan as follows:

It is the public policy of this state to assure that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys, of childrearing. Florida Statutes, section 61.13(2)(c).

A parenting plan is a document developed and agreed to by the parents of a minor child, and approved by the court, or if the parents cannot agree, established by the court, which governs the relationship between the parents regarding the child (encompassing “custody”, “parental responsibility”, and “visitation”). A parenting plan may address issues such as the child’s education, health care, and physical, social, and emotional well-being, and must include a time-sharing schedule. The parenting plan must take into account the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction when addressing jurisdictional issues.

For purposes of establishing or modifying parental responsibility and creating, developing, approving, or modifying a parenting plan, including a time-sharing schedule, which governs each parent’s relationship with his or her minor child and the relationship between each parent with regard to his or her minor child, the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration.

Any parenting plan approved by a court must address the following issues:

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HIV AIDS & Florida Child Custody

November 27, 2013/0 Comments/in Florida Statutes //Tags: child custody, child custody case, Florida child custody, parental responsibility, parental rights, parenting plan, sexual orientation and child custody, shared parental responsibility, sole parental responsibility, time-sharingby Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

May a Florida Family Law Court deny a parent custody rights solely because he or she has HIV or AIDS?

According to section 61.13(6), Florida Statutes, the answer is no, but the court may take some actions.

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Private Child Custody Proceedings: Florida Collaborative Practice

November 14, 2013/1 Comment/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: bisexual parental rights, child custody, child custody case, child custody determination, co-parenting, collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, Florida child custody, gay and lesbian parents, gay parental rights, grandparent rights, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, lesbian parental rights, parent child relationship, parental responsibility, parental rights, parenting plan, same sex couples, sexual orientation and child custody, shared parental responsibility, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Law, temporary child custodyby Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

When people are seeking to gain child custody rights in Florida – whether through divorce, paternity, establishment of parenting plan, grandparent custody, or other proceedings – the first step they usually take is file a petition with the Clerk of the Court.

Generally speaking, this is a mistake.

By filing a petition, they are entering into the public court system which pits mother against father. This is an adversarial system which oftentimes leads parties to engage in emotionally and financially draining court battles, and all dirty laundry gets examined and aired.

But there is another way, a private way of determining parental responsibility and child time-sharing schedules. It is called collaborative practice, also known as collaborative family law.

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Florida Child Custody Reform 2013

April 21, 2013/2 Comments/in Florida Statutes, Legislative Update //Tags: alimony, alimony reform, bridge-the-gap alimony, child custody, child custody case, child custody determination, co-parenting, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, durational alimony, Florida alimony, Florida alimony laws, Florida child custody, Florida Legislature, long term alimony, lump sum alimony, parental responsibility, parenting plan, permanent periodic alimony, rehabilitative alimony, shared parental responsibility, sole parental responsibility, spousal support, supervised time-sharing, temporary alimony, time-sharingby Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

There has been a lot of press lately about efforts to reform Florida’s alimony laws. As discussed on this blog, Senate Bill 718 (which primarily deals with alimony reform) passed the Florida House by a wide margin (85 Yeas versus 31 Nays) and, since it had also passed the Florida Senate, will be going to Governor Rick Scott for his signature.

Update: Governor Scott Vetoes Senate Bill 718

One area that may be even more significant, but has not received as much coverage, is language in Senate Bill 718 that reforms Florida’s child custody laws. Currently, there is no presumption in favor of or against any child custody schedule, including a 50/50 split custody (known as equal time-sharing). Senate Bill 718, however, adds language to section 61.13 of the Florida Statutes that seems to make a strong presumption in favor of equal time-sharing.

The text of the child custody provisions of Senate Bill 718 is reproduced below (deleted language is ~~stricken~~ while new language is underlined):

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Pinellas County’s Standing Notice for Family Law Cases with Minor Children

November 24, 2012/1 Comment/in Administrative Orders //Tags: child custody, child custody case, child custody determination, Clearwater, co-parenting, concurrent custody, divorce, Florida child custody, parental responsibility, Parenting Course, parenting plan, paternity, Pinellas County, relocation, shared parental responsibility, St. Petersburg, temporary child custodyby Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law

When you file a family law case in a Tampa Bay court that involves children (such as divorce, paternity, or modification of a parenting plan), you will get a standing notice or order which prescribes how parents should treat one another and their children.

For the most part, parents that utilize common sense and common courtesy should have no problem sticking to these standing requirements. Below are excerpts of the requirements in Pinellas County:

1. CONTACT WITH BOTH PARENTS; SHARED PARENTING:

1.1. Contact with both parents is generally in the children’s best interests. Children are entitled to “frequent and continuing contact with both parents when the parents separate or divorce” as a matter of law.

1.2 The “primary residential parent” has an “affirmative obligation to encourage and nurture a relationship between the children and the alternate residential parent.” A parent who restricts access of the children to the other parent and who does not encourage a relationship between the children and the other parent, perhaps should not be designated the “primary residential parent, ” as this is not acting in the children’s best interests and is not following the law.

1.3. In nearly all cases, the court orders “shared parental responsibility” of the children, which means co-parenting. The parents must confer with each other and agree on parenting decisions. Both parents must participate in all parenting decisions and work out their time sharing schedules. If the parents cannot agree on any issue, then the court will decide.

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Tag Archive for: parental responsibility

Private Child Custody Proceedings: Florida Collaborative Practice

Pinellas County’s Standing Notice for Family Law Cases with Minor Children

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