Florida Divorce * Child Custody * Domestic Violence Law Lawyer | Boca Raton

Husband is celebrated surgeon and professor in Germany.

Then he reportedly pleads guilty to intentionally harming patients and then falsifying medical records.

He is fined approximately $37,000, but is not sentenced to jail.

He does however lose his position and standing.

Husband reportedly receives approximately $3 million in severance pay.

Husband and Wife leave Germany to immigrate to Canada.

Several years later, their marriage breaks down, and they divorce in 2008.

Canadian divorce court orders Husband to pay Wife child support and alimony, and to turn over some assets to Wife.

Husband pleads guilty to two charges of driving while impaired.

Husband is ordered to pay a nominal fine for each charge and his driving privileges are revoked for two years.

But Husband is not sentenced to jail.

Husband seeks to modify the final judgment in his divorce, arguing that his fortunes have reversed … and that Wife has not taken steps to become self-supporting.

Wife responds by noting that Husband has not produced adequate proof of his supposed worsened financial condition, inadequate documentation of his financial picture at all.

Husband reportedly owns real estate … in Germany and Canada … and the US and Switzerland. He reportedly also owns a stake in a Canadian air carrier.

The court has not yet ruled in Husband’s case, but …

Read more in this Kamloops [Canada] Daily News article: Disgraced German doctor wants to pay ex less.

Many states now transmit child support (and spousal support) payments to recipients via debit cards.

Sounds convenient for all.

Unless some of the money that is supposed to be available through the card isn’t.

One state using debit cards is New Jersey.

One child support recipient was allegedly told that she spent her “missing” support money … on jewelry … in Nepal.

And she would have to take her disputes up with the merchant … in Nepal.

This mother in need of support had not been charging jewelry to her card in Nepal.

But the debit card company disagreed with her for two months.

Until the media intervened on the mother’s behalf.

Reportedly, this is not an isolated instance of fraudulent charges that were made the support recipient’s problem to investigate and resolve with the merchant.

Some support recipients who have had to deal with fraudulent charges have opted to switch from debit cards to direct deposit of their child support money into their accounts.

Read more in this New Jersey Star-Ledger article: Another EPPICard user misled on how to fight fraudulent charges.

Ex-Husband and Ex-Wife divorced in the early 1990s.

Ex-Husband is a very, very wealthy man who founded a successful investment company during his divorce from Ex-Wife.

Ex-Wife sues Ex-Husband in a civil lawsuit for claimed racketeering. More specifically, allegedly:

• hiding assets from Ex-Wife and the family court during their divorce
• filing papers with the court that were false
• fraud and
• insider trading.

Ex-Wife’s first lawyer dismissed her suit shortly after it was filed, apparently due to a falling out between him and his client. But Ex-Wife plans to re-file through new counsel.

The original actions reportedly sought $300 million.

Read more in

• this BusinessWeek article: Patricia Cohen to Again Sue Ex-Spouse, SAC’s Founder (Update2) and
• this BusinessWeek article: SAC Capital Founder Cohen’s Ex-Wife Drops Lawsuit (Update3) and
• this Business Insider article: Ex-Wife: Stevie Cohen Confessed To Insider Trading In The 80s.

Michigan Husband and Wife have two children together.

Husband is a podiatrist.

Husband works long hours and travels a good bit.

Wife is in counseling over marriage-related issues.

Wife’s therapist suggest that she do some “digging” on Husband, using the internet and phone records.

Wife agrees.

And is shocked by what she finds.

Husband was already married to another woman in another state when he married Wife. They were never legally divorced before his marriage to Wife.

Wife knows Husband as a Protestant.

Wife discovers Husband has secretly converted to the Muslim faith .. and adopted an Arabic name. Husband has also traveled to the Middle East twice on spiritual journeys.

Oh, and Husband married another woman subsequent to his marriage to her … in an Islamic wedding ceremony in Canada.

Husband’s position is that he thought he was divorced from his first wife when he married Wife, and that his third marriage was not formalized but only enacted to spare the bride from having to go through with an arranged marriage against her will.

Wife seeks an annulment.

And this is one of the relatively unusual grounds that would support an annulment in lieu of a divorce, at least under Florida’s law pertaining to annulment.

Read more in this USA Today article by way of the Detroit Free Press: Michigan woman’s Google search turns up husband’s 2 other wives.

Father allegedly owes $37,000 in child support arrears.

Father has the distinction of owning a motorized bar stool.

Father reportedly drives around town, intoxicated, with the bar stool in his car – and is involved in an accident.

As a result, Father is convicted of DUI.

Father then tries to sell his motorized bar stool on eBay, hoping to cash in on its relative notoriety.

Father receives a bid over $1,000 … but the bidder doesn’t follow through and make the payment.

Child support enforcement doesn’t think an auction is such a bad idea for collection purposes though.

The agency seizes Father’s bar stool with the intention of auctioning it off locally, offline, itself.

But was the Agency premature in giving up on eBay?

Read more in this Columbus Dispatch article: Bidder reneges on motorized bar stool eBay offer.

A New York appellate case illustrates that courts, especially appellate courts, often do not think like ordinary people or, more particularly, share their sensibilities.

In that case, Father doesn’t pay his court-ordered child support (of $50 per month) for Baby, and Father argues and tussles with Mother at her home.

The trial court rules that Father’s behavior constitutes child neglect.

Many ordinary people would agree wholeheartedly.

But, on appeal to the intermediate level appellate court, the higher court reverses.

The appellate court explains that there is no evidence that Baby was harmed by Father’s failure to pay support, and no evidence that the disputes between Father and Mother harmed Baby in any way.

The appellate court does not condone Father’s conduct, of course, but it can’t say Father’s conduct amounted to neglect.

Don’t misunderstand, the Mother and/or Guardian and the child welfare agency do have other legal remedies against Father that they can pursue in court. But an action for neglect is not one of them.

Read more in this West Palm Beach Examiner article: NY state court rules that dad did not neglect child by failing to pay support & by fighting with mom.

Arkansas trial court enters temporary order establishing child support and alimony obligations.

Husband pays via wage garnishment.

Final judgment actually reduces total support obligation by over $600 per month.

Husband does not take steps to have new garnishment order entered and served on his employer. (This would be Husband’s responsibility.)

Husband’s wages continue to be garnished at the higher level of the temporary support order.

Husband apparently does not notice that he is overpaying for a couple of years.

Once Husband notices a couple of years later, Husband seeks to receive credit against future payments equal to the amount of his past overpayments.

Trial court rules against Husband, concluding that it was Husband’s responsibility to pay attention to how much he is paying relative to how much he is required to pay and ruling that the overpayments are voluntary.

It would certainly seem that Husband was able to make the higher temporary support payments without undue hardship motivating him to carefully review the garnishment records.

Moral of Case: wake up and get with it.

Read more in this Mens News Daily editorial: Court Rules Child Support Overpayment = Windfall to Mom and the actual legal opinion

Input of financial planners who work with people who are going through divorce produces the following checklist of financial items worth addressing in the divorce but often overlooked:

1. health insurance expenses after the divorce
2. mental health counseling expenses
3. personal credit (without a joint creditor)
4. expenses for hiring third parties to help with tasks your ex used to do
5. expenses of maintaining the marital residence on your own
6. impact of taxes on property distributed to you
7. expenses of getting yourself equipped to return to the workforce
8. increased children’s expenses later on as they mature
9. legal expenses for your future disputes because this may not be the last of them

Read more in this New York Times article: Financial Decisions to Make as You Divorce.

Noncustodial parent and/or former spouse behind in child support or alimony payments?

Well, Pennsylvania has come up with a proven, working solution.

A county support enforcement agency cooperates with the state’s job-finding and job-training agency.

The state and county each invest some funds into the program.

But the payoff is tens and tens of thousands of dollars and more in collected support payments that would not have been made but for the resulting job placements of noncustodial parents and former spouses.

The pilot program has been around for a few years, but has had wider participation due to the economy.

Read more in this Erie [PA] Times News article: Crawford OKs continuation of jobs program for those who owe support payments.

Father stresses out about meeting his child support obligation of $1,000 per month.

It’s not clear why. He has a job.

Father is determined to pay his child support.

So, to ensure that he has the funds …

Father allegedly steals merchandise from his employer and sells it to others for cash.

Father is arrested for theft.

Perhaps Father should have instead sought a downward modification of child support …

Read more in this [Waco, TX] KXXV News 25 article: Suspect paid child support by selling stolen goods.

Children are taken into protective custody by the state.

In time, biological parents’ (Parents) parental rights are terminated, freeing Children to potentially be adopted.

So, after their parental rights are terminated, are Parents responsible for child support for Children?

Well, Alabama’s Supreme Court has just ruled that they are.

The Court’s rationale is that parents who abandon, abuse or neglect their biological children should not be rewarded by being relieved of their obligation to support their biological children.

Still, the state’s highest court’s ruling seems to defy logical as well as being counterintuitive.

Taking the ruling to its logical conclusion, does the biological parents’ support obligation continue if the biological children are legally adopted by adoptive parents?

Or, for that matter, do the biological children still have the right to inherit from their biological parents (as well as from their adoptive parents)?

Read more in this Auburn [AL] Plainsman editorial: Our View: Ruling on Child Support Creates Questions, Worry.

Spanish-speaking men (and women) in Smith County, Texas take their money orders down to the probation department’s Spanish-speaking child support collections Worker.

The Worker instructs them to leave certain fields blank, such as who the money order is made out to.

The immigrant fathers have made their child support payments.

But the mothers of their children claim not to receive child support.

Worker is suspended on an unrelated allegation of harassment.

Worker’s replacement can’t reconcile Worker’s support collections records.

Investigation leads to the money orders being traced back to Worker.

Worker reportedly alters the money orders so that they read as made out to her personally.

Worker allegedly spends the money herself.

And Worker is arrested on felony theft by a public servant of thousands of dollars, among other charges.

Worker pleads guilty and is sentenced to eight years’ incarceration.

With all due respect to the honest vast majority of child support workers, one has to wonder whether child support enforcement hires have to pass criminal background checks … or any background screening.

Read more in this Tyler [TX] Morning Telegraph article: State Employee Stole Thousands In Child Support.

Colorado has legal gambling casinos in several towns there.

Father (or Mother) goes to a casino to play.

And wins. Pretty big. At least $1,200. Maybe substantially more.

Father (or Mother) gathers up their winning chips and goes to cash out.

There’s a bit of a delay.

Finally, Father (or Mother) is handed their, uh, net proceeds.

Father (or Mother) complains that they’ve been shorted on their winnings.

Wrong.

Under a recent Colorado law, before cashing out any player who wins at least $1,200, the casino is required to check child support computer system records to determine whether the winner owes any back child support.

If the winner does owe back child support, the arrearages are collected by deduction from their winnings.

This new law has resulted in collection of $600,000 in statewide child support arrearages in just the first year. Not bad.

Casinos aren’t thrilled about the new law. Their customers get angry. And following the law is a nuisance.

Worst of all, casinos fear it is already starting to deter deadbeat gamers from turning out at the casinos.

In other words, deadbeat parents are actively avoiding an opportunity to meet their child support obligations with found money won at the casinos.

This casts some doubt on various special interest groups’ vigorous assertions that those who don’t pay child support don’t pay because they can’t afford it.

Colorado was the first state to pass a law like this … although many states require child support enforcement out of lottery winnings.

Other states are watching Colorado’s apparent success and eagerly contemplating trying to duplicate it.

Read more in this Denver Post article: Colorado gambling law garnishes $600,000 from winnings of deadbeat parents.

Preface: In New York State, parents are generally legally responsible for supporting their children until the children are twenty-one years old.

New York State Son, who is under the age of twenty-one, has a full-time retail job.

Despite Son’s employment, Mother currently helps Son pay his bills out of her own earnings and a trust fund.

Mother seeks to be relieved of supporting Son, arguing that Son has emancipated himself by his full-time employment.

Child support obligations typically end when a child becomes emancipated.

An intermediate level appellate court in New York concludes that Son’s job does not constitute emancipation, because Son is not financially independent. Son relies upon additional support from Mother to get by.

Therefore, the New York court holds that Mother cannot terminate her obligation to support Son before he is twenty-one.

Note: In Florida, parents are generally legally responsible for supporting their children only until the children are eighteen years old.

Read more in this West Palm Beach Examiner article: Court says parents in New York cannot contract away obligation to support children until age 21

Husband and Wife are married for sixteen years.

During the marriage, Husband has a vasectomy.

Several years later in 1992, Wife gives birth to another child, Daughter.

Husband treats Daughter as his own child in every way.

During the divorce, Husband enters a settlement agreement with Wife on custody and child support for Daughter.

When Daughter is in her teens, the local child support agency (Agency) petitions to modify Husband’s child support, to increase it.

At that time in 2005, for the first time, Husband denies paternity of Daughter … when Daughter is approximately thirteen years of age.

At trial, the court orders a paternity test. As expected, the result disproves Husband’s biological relationship to Daughter.

Child support is terminated and the Agency appeals.

Maryland’s highest court reverses, holding that the trial court should not have ordered the paternity test. The opinion appears to be based primarily on the appellate court’s view of the best interests of Daughter.

A stronger rationale might have been grounded in Husband’s unreasonable delay in asserting his change of position.

Despite changes in the law in many states now making it easier for a man to challenge paternity and avoid a child support obligation, this child support case would have come out the same way in Florida today.

In Florida as in Maryland, a de facto father does not have a legal right to change his mind about taking on the role of father at any old time he pleases, at his whim. Any paternity challenge must be fairly timely to stand a chance of succeeding at avoiding a child support obligation.

Read more in this Maryland Daily Record article: Court: judge erred in allowing paternity contest after 13 years.

Parent obligated to pay (Obligated Parent) loses their job. Maybe they find another job … but it pays less. Maybe they don’t.

Obligated Parent falls behind on child support. Further and further behind.

Obligated Parent just lets time go by and their obligations mount. They’re looking for a job, or a better one.

Perhaps proceedings to suspend Obligated Parent’s driver’s license are begun. Perhaps the other parent has already filed a Motion for Contempt and Enforcement.

Now Obligated Parent finally consults a family law lawyer and tells family law attorney they want to file to reduce child support (or alimony) … and “wipe out those arrears”.

That’s when the lawyer cringes. Every single time.

Because modifications of child support (or, for that matter, modifications of alimony) are prospective only. That means that the amount of support may be modified from the date of filing forward.

But not retroactively.

Modifications of child support (or modifications of alimony) do not cancel arrearages that have accrued already. And cannot reduce them.

Granted, a holding of contempt may not be in the cards, depending on the circumstances. But an order establishing the arrearages and enforcing payment will be.

Read more in this Boston Herald article: To get child support reduced, go to court now. Note: Massachusetts law and procedure differ from Florida law and procedure in certain important respects.

They’ve been around for a while. But they weren’t universally or wholeheartedly embraced. Parenting coordinators.

But that will likely be changing next month. Due to a new statute.

And the recently imposed requirement that a parenting plan be made in Florida divorces involving children and Florida paternity cases involving children of separating parents who were never married.

A Florida parenting plan is a detailed statement of how parenting responsibilities (decisionmaking, timesharing and support) will be allocated between the parents. More detailed than marital settlement agreements and paternity settlement agreements have commonly been in the past.

Many parents find it difficult to agree on all of the provisions in a complete Florida parenting plan … Leaving it to the court to work out the details of the parenting plan.

Enter the parenting coordinator.

After the parenting plan is entered by the court, many parents find it difficult to live by the plan. Conflict erupts at exchanges.

Again, enter the parenting coordinator.

A parenting coordinator works with parents outside the courtroom to amicably develop or implement a parenting plan without litigation, to arrive at a Florida uncontested divorce or uncontested paternity case.

Depending on the wording of the order of referral to parenting coordination, the parenting coordinator may make recommendations to the court, or may actually have limited authority to rule on and decide certain disputes between the parents.

But parenting coordinators’ primary focus is to help the parents work together to resolve parenting disputes on their own without conflict.

Read more in this press release: National Cooperative Parenting Center Responds to New Florida Legislation.

Ohio Father is a sheriff.

Father admits to spending many of his working hours on pornographic websites.

Father’s employment is terminated.

Father sues the County that employs him for discrimination in terminating him!

Father’s employing County offers Father a $1,000 bone by way of settlement.

Father accepts.

Father is behind in his child support payments to Mother by several thousand dollars.

Now the County’s prosecutor and child support enforcement office are looking to attach the Father’s settlement money to pay Mother toward Father’s child support arrearages.

When the opportunity presents itself, garnishing or attaching monies that a county or the state owes to the obligated parent is an excellent means of Florida child support enforcement or collection too.

Read more in this Dayton [OH] Daily News article: Deputy who admitted surfing porn owes child support

Child support disputes can erupt in the most unexpected places.

Take two members of the Broward County judiciary.

Divorced from each other for fifteen years.

He has presided over many child support enforcement matters as a general magistrate and, well … he doesn’t go easy on deadbeat parents.

She is a criminal court judge presiding over misdemeanors.

Their children are actually both legal adults now.

Under Florida law, parents are not required to contribute to their children’s support beyond the age of eighteen unless the children are still in high school.

She alleges that both parents agreed to share the children’s expenses while they are in college.

He denies that this is properly termed “child support” – and further disputes her calculations.

The chief judge has spoken to both parties but is taking no action pending the outcome.

The case will be heard here in Palm Beach County.

It doesn’t sound like they thought mediation was worth a try, if only to avoid the publicity …

Read more in this South Florida Sun Sentinel article: Broward judge sued by ex-wife who claims he’s not paying his share of their kids’ expenses and this Miami WTVJ NBC TV 6 article: Child Support Judge Sued for Not Supporting His Kids.

Before it draws to a close, it should be noted that August is our national Child Support Enforcement Month.

Local and statewide child support enforcement agencies are celebrating their mission, their increasingly innovative and resourceful efforts to maximize collections of child support, their accomplishments and the contributions of parents.

Some getting tough collections tactics: withholding wages, publishing “most wanted” lists, roundups, liens, freezing assets, collecting lottery winnings, revoking drivers’ licenses and denial of applications for passports.

Read more in this Holyoke [CO] Enterprise article: Celebrating August as Child Support Enforcement Month and this Virginia Department of Social Services 2001 press release: Governor Gilmore proclaims Aug. as Child Support Enforcement Month in Virginia

A financial advisor dispenses some financial advice to guide those going through a divorce:

• get a handle on your finances – hire a professional if cost-effective and necessary
• split assets equitably – take relative degrees of liquidity of various assets into account
• divide and conquer your debts – block incurring further debt on joint accounts
• pay attention to taxes – be aware of tax impacts which can tip seemingly equal divisions of property
• determine alimony and child support before the courts impose a number on both parties and consider the benefit of insurance, and
• plan for your future – with or without a financial professional

Read more in this [Southgate, MI] News Herald article: SHAWN BUMGARDNER: Steps should be taken to preserve one’s self during divorce.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) pulled over a Florida driver recently.

And hit pay dirt for two Massachusetts mothers.

FHP “ran him” and found a Massachusetts warrant out for the man’s arrest.

The man took off from Massachusetts, leaving behind two children from two different relationships, for whom he has allegedly paid no support for six years.

The man reportedly owes $125,000 to one of the mothers and $77,000 to the other one.

A Massachusetts judge recently sentenced the man to six months’ confinement.

And, of course, again ordered him to pay the support he owes the mothers of his children.

Read more in this Taunton [MA] Gazette article: State’s top deadbeat dad to serve six months.

Child support is typically paid from the noncustodial parent’s salary.

In Asheville, North Carolina, that is no longer as true as it used to be.

Increasingly, child support is being funded by the noncustodial parent’s … unemployment benefits.

A noncustodial parent is three times as likely to pay support from unemployment benefits today than he or she was a year ago.

The amount of support funded by unemployment benefits across the state has grown from $2.4 million to $8.6 million over the last year.

Because unemployment benefits are generally lower than salary and, in North Carolina, garnishment of unemployment benefits is legally capped at twenty-five percent of the amount of benefits, the amount of child support received by custodial parents is down.

Many other communities across the country are likely seeing increasing amounts of child support obligations funded by unemployment benefits and severance packages.

Read more in this Asheville [NC] Citizen-Times article: Unemployment garnisheed for child support.

In Detroit, felony non-payment of child support is truly at the noncustodial parent’s peril.

The punishment for criminal non-support includes … court-ordered television.

Really.

A Detroit criminal court judge requires monthly viewing of a daytime television talk show as a condition of probation for felony non-payment of support.

The show reportedly focuses on paternity-related disputes with some frequency, and paints the proverbial “deadbeat dads” unfavorably.

The judge also requires the convicted parent to review and discuss the program with their probation officer.

Since beginning this practice, the judge has been a guest on the television program.

And the show’s host is a fan of the judge.

Presumably, the court-ordered TV is not the only punishment meted out in this judge’s courtroom for criminal non-payment of child support.

Read more in this Detroit [MI] Free Press article: Behind in child support? ‘Maury’ may be in your future.

Seventy year old New Mexico Father is behind on child support, to the tune of $13,500.

Father is held in contempt of court.

As punishment for his contempt, Father is sentenced to up to three months of incarceration.

Who is the insolent Father who appears to have no respect for the Court’s child support order or the law?

None other than a former municipal court judge.

Who was reportedly also previously accused of sexual harassment by three court clerks.

Read more in this [Midland, TX] KWES NewsWest 9 TV news article: Former Santa Fe judge jailed over child support.

Woman alleges that North Carolina Man is father of her child and should pay child support.

Man is certain he is not the father and willingly submits to DNA paternity test.

Test results arrive in Man’s mail.

Cover letter concludes that Man is the father.

Man reads on …

Actual report of test results states that Man is not the father.

Man reports inconsistency to testing company.

Company maintains that this is an unusual clerical mistake, which would have been caught even if Man didn’t catch the error.

In any event, Woman’s case is dismissed and Man can go on with his life, free of years of child support obligations.

Moral: When it comes to legal proceedings, read everything … all the way through.

Read more in this Charlotte [NC] Observer article: Office error could have cost Garner man thousands in child support payments..

Deja vu.

A Maryland man working for the state’s child support enforcement agency collected more than just a paycheck.

He also had child support checks made out to his own wife … and deposited them into his account.

Over a seven year period.

The man pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years’ incarceration and restitution of $49,000.

Read more in this Baltimore Sun article: Man admits stealing child-support checks.

Very commonly, child support is paid to a state agency acting as intermediary between the noncustodial parent and the custodial parent.

This system serves as a buffer between parents and generally works well.

But it is not without its flaws.

An employee of a private company under contract to collect child support for the state has been indicted for identity theft.

The job furnished access to sensitive personal information of many people.

The employee allegedly sold the personal information of about 1,000 of those people, such as social security numbers and bank account numbers, to an undercover law enforcement officer.

The transactions reportedly date back to October 2008.

Read more in this Denver CBS TV 4 article: Child support employee accused of ID theft.

A Michigan man is behind on his child support obligations.

$530,000.

He hasn’t made any payments in six years.

Stopped over a bad taillight on his Mercedes Benz, the man is now in jail.

And there he will remain for 90 days, unless he comes up with almost $28,000.

The man has 14 children by 13 different women.

The man contends that most of the children are not his and that the mothers set him up by claiming to have served him in paternity cases using phony addresses.

The man tried to persuade the arresting officers that he is someone else, with a different social security number.

When arrested in his Mercedes, the man had $5,000 cash in his possession and plane tickets to Florida.

The man is reportedly unemployed.

The man is trying to negotiate his child support debt.

The man is also in violation of his probation.

Read more in this Flint [MI] Journal article: Thomas Frazier, father of 14 children, jailed for owing more than half-million in child support.

I have posted more than once recently about the impact of the recession on noncustodial parents struggling with child support obligations.

Their situations are tough, but parents will not lose custody of or access to their children due to unemployment.

Millions of American grandparents raise their grandchildren, because their children are unable to do so.

If they can’t support their grandchildren, though, they may well lose custody and/or guardianship of them.

In this recession-weakened economy, older workers who lose their jobs are having an especially difficult time replacing them … sometimes eventually giving up.

In addition to the stresses of prolonged unemployment that one might expect, those raising grandchildren bear the additional fear that they will be taken away from them and placed in foster care with strangers.

What assistance there is for grandparent-custodians is rapidly being depleted by those in need because of the weak economy.

Many grandparent caregivers could simply become foster parents to their grandchildren. That would provide them with greater financial assistance from the government for raising their grandchildren.

But it would also put the grandchildren “into the system” and subject them all to monitoring and intrusions.

Read more in this Wall Street Journal article: ‘Grandfamilies’ Come Under Pressure.