Florida Divorce * Child Custody * Domestic Violence Law Lawyer | Boynton Beach

In California (although not exclusively), there is widespread dissatisfaction with the workings of the family courts.

Numerous legislators have and continue to propose legislation to address the problems and improve their performance.

Several legislators are also seeking audits of several counties’ family courts, in an effort to account for inconsistent outcomes and difficulties in access for unrepresented and lower income parties.

Special attention has been drawn to cases involving custody disputes. There are dramatic differences across the state in the costs of custody evaluators, which are beyond the means of many, many parties – who nonetheless need their services.

There are many reports of custody being awarded to accused sexual or violent abusers, sometimes due to the use, or abuse, of claims parental alienation syndrome (PAS).

PAS is an increasingly controversial theory that one parent sometimes turns children against the other parent. PAS is not recognized by the legitimate, organized psychological or psychiatric community and some legislators propose barring its use in family court.

Other legislators propose allowing children to testify themselves in family court cases, having the courts absorb the costs of custody evaluations rather than parents, and requiring custody evaluators to have specific training in child sexual abuse.

Read more in this Capitol Weekly article: Several bills seek to reform family courts.

So many people whose marriages fall apart very quickly after the honeymoon simply assume that the marriage can be annulled, voided, as though it had never happened.

They most often prefer that over divorce for religious or other purely personal reasons. Occasionally, for long-term or short-term financial motivations.

The financial consequences of annulment can be quite different from those of divorce.

But, under Florida law, it is the rare marriage that is eligible for annulment. There are two different types of marriages that can be annulled and they each can have different consequences.

It gets pretty technical. But, either way, only rarely does a marriage meet either set of criteria.

So it’s hardly anything but painful to ponder the difference in financial consequences.

But that’s what a recently published article set out to do, just the same.

Unfortunately, it isn’t until you get to nearly the end of the article that the author reveals that it isn’t purely a matter of free choice whether to divorce or annul a marriage.

In a nutshell, when a marriage is annulled, the court strives to put the parties back into the same financial position as they were in immediately before the marriage.

Read more in this Mainstreet.com article – Annulment vs. Divorce: The Financial Differences.

It isn’t just non-Americans who are accused of abducting their children across international borders.

The case below suggests a different scenario entirely.

American Mother and Danish Father live with their two year old baby Daughter in Denmark.

Mother and Father previously agreed in writing to joint custody of Daughter.

When Mother’s father was visiting them in Denmark from the US, he allegedly diverted Father and gave Mother opportunity to get away with Daughter and leave the country.

Father has now brought suit in a federal court in Pennsylvania to have Daughter returned to Denmark under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

A federal judge has enjoined removal of the child from Pennsylvania pending a decision on jurisdiction over Daughter.

Mother’s mother reportedly informed a reporter that Mother was prepared to explain to the judge why she left Denmark as she did.

Read more in this [Northeastern Pennsylvania] Times Leader article: Denmark man: Wife took child.

In Canada, claims of parental alienation are taken extremely seriously.

So much so, that at least one commentator has noted a judicial “fad” of ordering alleged child victims of it to a US clinic for cure.

Parental alienation remains very controversial.

Many organizations of psychologists and psychiatrists reject it, at least as a diagnosis of a disease or psychological condition.

But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t accurately describe certain very real patterns of behavior present in certain family court cases.

Recently, a Canadian judge bucked the reported trend there and overruled an arbitrator’s ruling to send a disabled teenager for treatment.

Even if accepted as applicable to a child victim, parental alienation may not be capable of a “quick fix” – and some therapists believe the very attempt may do more harm than good.

The holding in this recent Canadian case may signal emergence of a new trend in Canada, or it may be limited to the somewhat unusual facts of the particular case before the court in that case.

Only time will tell.

Read more in this Toronto Globe and Mail article: PARENTAL ALIENATION – No quick fix.

Anyone who has a pet knows that the pet is part of the family.

When couples break up, their children typically still spend time with each parent, including time on the parent’s turf.

But what about the family dog or dogs?

Believe it or not, it’s a lot more complicated with a dog.

First, if the couple can’t agree privately, the judge will decide the pet’s fate as though the dog were an item of personal property, based solely on its fair market value. The pet’s best interests will not be a consideration in most cases.

Second, unlike kids, who are pretty resilient and generally able to tolerate regularly bouncing from one parent’s home to the other’s, dogs aren’t. According to one animal consultant, dogs like “routine and predictability” and “structure”.

Read more in this Asheville [NC] Citizen Times article: Dog custody becomes an issue when relationships end.

Most of us associate Niagara Falls with honeymoons.

But that’s not what people who live there are thinking about lately.

Domestic violence is on the rise in the county, both in frequency and severity.

In one recent incident, a mother was allegedly both stabbed and shot by her ex-boyfriend – after she obtained an order of protection from him.

The ex-boyfriend also reportedly shot two police officers who came to her aid.

Ironically, the attack occurred next door to a church.

In other recent incidents, a husband shot his wife in the head.

And a teenaged boy shot and killed a teenaged girl and then himself.

Local shelters, stretched to capacity, emphasize the importance of having a safe exit plan and a support system in place before leaving a relationship with domestic violence.

Read more in this Buffalo [NY] WKBW-TV 7 news article: Spike of Domestic Violence in Niagara County.

Wisconsin Father divorces in 1995. Father ordered to pay child support for his 2 year old.

Father enters plea agreement with prosecutor’s office over his failure to pay support for years. Agreement places Father on probation and defers prosecution.

Father doesn’t comply with agreement. Father convicted of felony failure to support his child.

Father in arrears by more than $25,000 by 2006. Father then sentenced to five years’ incarceration.

Plus a year’s “supervision” and two years’s probation after that. During which Father must work and continue paying child support arrearages.

Not paying timely certainly worked out well for Father…

Read more in this Baraboo [WI] News Republic article: Man gets 5 years for not paying child support.

In the same spirit as that of the unified family court as it is implemented in Florida and certain other states, New Hampshire is on the verge of passing a bill that is on the cusp of criminal and family law.

The proposed legislation would introduce as a consideration for the judge presiding over bail hearings whether a defendant is a single parent whose child or children would have to go into foster care if that parent were confined prior to trial.

A disproportionate number of single mothers are reportedly confined before trial because they have insufficient resources to gain their freedom with bail.

Apparently, this bill could save the state of New Hampshire a nice chunk of change. To illustrate, in New Hampshire, a year’s incarceration and a year’s foster care each cost about $30,000, yielding a savings to the government of at least $60,000 per single mother freed on bail.

If passed, the proposed legislation would also spare some children temporary upheaval which is, ultimately, for nothing.

Read more in this Laconia [NH] Citizen article: Bill aims to cut down on confinement for single parents.

Husband and Wife divorce in 1997.

Husband is ordered to pay child support of $512 per month for Daughter.

Now, a court has ordered Husband to pay about $5,000 more in monthly child support than was previously ordered.

The court has also ordered retroactive support of $160,000 to adjust support for prior years.

Husband characterizes these rulings as “absolutely laughable”.

The judges aren’t laughing though.

It turns out that Husband is an heir to the Dow Jones fortune, with trust funds valued at at least $4 million at the time of his divorce.

The court has found that Husband deliberately concealed his assets.

Husband maintains that he had no knowledge of his trust funds until after the divorce.

It is unclear whether Husband voluntarily came forward on his own to dislose his tremendous trust fund assets when he allegedly discovered them.

Read more in this WAOW TV 9 article: Dow Jones heir: Child support ruling ‘laughable’ and this Dubuque [IA] Telegraph Herald article: Wisconsin: Wealthy heir blasts back child support ruling.

Mother allegedly leaves her 6 year old and 2 year old home alone at night.

To go looking for her boyfriend at a bar.

Mother is arrested.

Mother pleads guilty to child endangerment.

Just two weeks later, Mother allegedly leaves 6 year old and 2 year old home alone at night again.

To go to a liquor store.

Mother is arrested again, for driving under the inflence, traffic offenses and child endangerment.

Mother’s mother (Grandmother) is reportedly seeking an order of protection and trying to have Mother’s two children removed from her custody.

Grandmother reports that Mother is an alcoholic.

Grandmother advises that she will be seeking custody of the older child, whose father is deceased. The younger child’s father will be picking her up.

Mother is already on probation.

Read more in this Northwest [IL] Herald article: Police: Mom left children alone again.

Minnesota is experimenting with a program to reduce litigation over child custody.

Early Case Management and Early Neutral Evaluation are the cornerstones of the pilot program.

In the program, parents begin working with professionals to amicably resolve child issues early in the case.

About 120 cases have participated in the program over three years.

One hundred of those cases were amicably resolved.

None of them have had to go back to court.

The program costs $600 to participate in.

Details were sketchy as to the types of professionals involved, the types of issues in dispute at the outset of those cases and the presence or absence of domestic violence and related behaviors in those cases.

Read more in this [Mankato, MN] Fox 12 TV news article: Program Makes Custody Cases Easier On Kids.

Husband and Wife have two children.

Wife has medical condition which prevents her from working.

Husband takes off on a fishing trip one day in April of 2006 … and appears to disappear from the face of the earth.

Wife seeks financial assistance in court.

Court repeatedly refuses to award Wife child support from Husband’s estate.

Court refuses to allow Wife Husband’s share of proceeds from sale of marital home.

Wife struggles along on food stamps and other public assistance to support her two teenaged sons without child support or a job.

Even though

1. a guardian ad litem for the boys and for Husband recommends that the Court allow support from Husband’s estate assets and
2. a family court made an award of child support prior to Husband’s disappearance.

Wife reportedly says her family is trying to live on $84 per month.

After the third anniversary of Husband’s disappearance, Wife may seek to have him officially declared dead – in the hope that her sons may collect social security benefits as a result.

Read more in this Albany [NY] Times Union article: Woman denied child support funds in missing man case.

Collaborative divorce has been enthusiastically embraced by many attorneys and other professionals serving people going through divorces.

Its primary virtues are touted as:

1. nonadversarial
2. less costly than litigation

Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on the particular case and parties.

One participant in the process in the Toronto Canada area felt moved to comment on a series of articles on collaborative divorce published in the local newspaper.

Her advice is “run as fast as you can in another direction”.

In her case, fees were reportedly estimated at $4,000 to $8,000. At the time of her letter, they exceed $15,000 “with no end in sight”.

Not inexpensive. More than she indicates she was led to believe. More than she bargained for.

But, of course, the only benchmark by which to judge the cost of collaborative divorce is what this woman’s legal fees would have been had she been a participant in a traditional, litigated divorce.

And still, that doesn’t address non-monetary, emotional costs or savings at all.

And her experience may not be typical. But it is worth considering.

Read more in this Toronto Star letter to the editor: Collaborative divorce not cheap.

This case is almost as hard to follow as a sleight of hand trick.

Daughter, an American citizen, is in Mexico, with nonrelatives. That’s been the case for four years of the five year old’s life.

Her Father and Mother are US citizens in the US, although not together.

It all started when Daughter’s Mother married a Mexican man, identified him on Daughter’s birth certificate as Daughter’s father and then moved to Mexico when her new husband was deported.

Father only saw Daughter one time in her life.

But DNA testing confirmed that Father, not Mother’s husband, is Daughter’s biological father.

Mother returned from Mexico to the US for a few days, leaving Daughter behind with her husband.

And there Daughter has stayed ever since.

Mother was arrested and incarcerated.

Father was also incarcerated.

Mother and Father both agreed to give custody of Daughter to Father’s wife.

A Florida court even approved the custody agreement.

And so Father’s wife has been trying ever since to bring Daughter home to Florida.

But she’s gotten nowhere. She can’t even verify that Daughter is alive.

It turns out, Daughter is with Mother’s husband’s sister – who is fighting to keep Daughter there and has identified her as a Mexican citizen.

A hearing was finally held in Mexico.

Mother’s husband’s sister testified that Mexico was all Daughter knows and that her parents are both criminals who shouldn’t have her.

But the Mexican judge has not ruled, either way.

Allegedly because the Court was awaiting papers from the US government.

And Daughter remains in Mexico with nonrelatives.

Read more in this Ft. Myers [FL] News-Press article: Lee couple fight to get little girl back home.

Retired NY police officer (Husband) is on trial for murder … of his former Wife. He allegedly killed her in 2007, while she was waiting to pick up their now 27 year old Daughter from a Park and Ride location.

The couple separated in 1999 and their divorce was finalized in 2003.

Wife was awarded child support, alimony, half the proceeds of sale of the marital home, her jewelry and most of Husband’s police pension. Husband was most recently employed as a manager at a fast foot restaurant in Florida.

Husband tried to negotiate a better settlement through Daughter, with whom he had had no other contact since 2000. He wrote in an unsolicited note that the judge “stole” from him and “I intend to get it back”.

Daughter had disowned Husband and, out of fear, had taken steps to keep information about herself from him. She found the note in her car.

Husband’s co-worker testified that he spoke more than once, over the course of a year, of wanting to kill his ex-Wife for taking his money.

At 63 years of age, Husband faces 25 years’ confinement to life. And his worries over his assets have likely been displaced by others.

Read more in this Staten Island Advance article: Daughter disowns cop who’s on trial for murder and Co-worker says cop joked about killing his ex-wife.

A Montana Indian Reservation is following the lead of reservations in Washington state, Wyoming and Oklahoma and will be implementing their own child support legal systems independent of nontribal legal systems.

All they are waiting for is final comments from the Indian population for federal funding to kick in and then the Tribe will exercise jurisdiction over child support matters involving tribe members.

The state and the tribe are working on interagency cooperation agreements.

The new system will allow the parties to a dispute to opt for resolution in the Traditional Circle, a traditional, tribal forum, rather than in a court.

The Montana tribe is the first to really use the Traditional Circle.

Read more in this Havre [MT] Daily News article: Rocky Boy rolling out child support programs.

Australian Father and Mother battle over custody of their three children.

They are in court two days in a row.

The next day, Father allegedly stands on a bridge and throws 4 year old Daughter over the side of it, into a river.

The couple’s other two children may be in the car during the incident.

Daughter dies.

Father is charged with murder. Father faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the charge.

Father is deemed “psychologically unfit” to appear in the initial criminal proceedings.

There likely won’t be much of a battle over custody over the two surviving children, even if Father is not deemed “psychologically unfit” to appear in family court.

Read more in this [Lake Charles, LA] KPLC 7 NBC TV news article: Man charged with daughter’s death plunge involved in custody battle.

New Jersey Husband and Wife divorce. Husband is ordered to pay alimony, as well as child support for Son.

Wife and teenaged Son argue. Wife is angry and drunk.

Wife allegedly beats Son … to death.

Wife is sentenced to three years’ incarceration for Son’s death.

The trial court suspends Husband’s obligation to pay current alimony, but requires Husband to continue payments of arrearages into Wife’s “prison account”.

An appellate court later suspends Husband’s obligation to make payments on the arrearages, deferring payments of arrearages until Wife’s release from confinement.

The appeals court cannot not find any legal authority authorizing it to terminate Husband’s alimony obligation because of Son’s death.

But the Court invites the state legislature to address the issue by statute.

And address it the legislature eventually does.

A new New Jersey bill terminates alimony to a parent who kills a child intentionally or through abandonment or neglect.

The bill also cuts off a parent’s right of inheritance from a child the parent abandoned, abused, neglected, or endangered.

Read more in this North Jersey Crime Examiner article: No alimony for parent who kills child, panel recommends.

A Wisconsin Father recently won an appeal to the state’s intermediate level appellate court. His victory saved him from having to pay out nearly $4,000 in legal fees.

The case is somewhat noteworthy because the Father represented himself, without an attorney.

The case is much more noteworthy because the musician-Father composed his legal brief all in rap lyrics.

The ruling appellate court made no mention of that fact, but the Father is convinced that this form of expression played a significant role in his prevailing.

The Father had filed a federal court case against county officials who had recommended that his timesharing with his children be less than his former wife’s. This type of matter is not appropriate for a federal court.

Ironically, the Father may now seek costs from the party who sought but was ultimately denied fees from him.

While the case is probably not likely to set a new standard in legal drafting using rap anytime in the near future ….

Read more in this MSNBC TV article: Man Writes Rap for Legal Dispute.

It sounds as though Peoria is discovering the benefits of mediation in appropriate cases.

Although very common in the context of divorce, most divorcing parties are unaware of mediation or unclear as to what it is.

Mediation is not trial or arbitration. The mediator does not decide all or part of a case and cannot tell parties what to do.

A mediator is a neutral third party, a facilitator in regard to the issues in dispute between the parties.

As helpful as it can be in resolving cases, mediation is not appropriate where there is a history of domestic violence by one party, and may not be appropriate where there is a history of drug abuse by one party, one party is very controlling and manipulative, one party has all the economic power in the relationship, etc.

Mediation is becoming increasingly popular, even mandatory, in many types of family cases.

Mediation is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Some issues can be resolved in a case even if others cannot.

Long, contentious mediations, however, can be as costly as many trials are.

Read more in this Peoria [IL] Journal Star article: When custody disputes get dicey, a third party often mediates the split.

Canadian billionaire Father cohabits with much younger immigrant woman, Mother, for 10 years.

They have three children together.

They are not married.

Father pays $35,000 Canadian per month in child support.

Mother wants more.

Challenging Quebec province and other Canadian law that denies property division and alimony to common law partners or mere cohabitants, Mother sues for both.

Florida law also generally precludes a cohabitant from claiming an interest in the other partner’s property or seeking alimony or support other than for children in common.

This case has generated a lot of media attention in Canada.

Read more in this Montreal CJAD NewsTalk Radio article: Quebec multi-millionaire mystery man testifies in alimony case.