Ocala Divorce Lawyer Blog

As a divorce attorney I see this scenerio play out repeatedly in the context of what religion are the children going to be raised:

A custody battle between parents has erupted in a firestorm over religion and the boundaries of faith and the law. The couple live in the Chicago area and was reported by CBS and the Sun-Times.

It's the story of Joseph Reyes and Rebecca Shapiro; he's Catholic, she's Jewish. They married in 2004. Because Rebecca came from a deeply religious family, Joseph agreed to convert to Judaism but, according to him, he continued to practice Catholicism.

Both said they were open-minded about religion, but the story begins to diverge there. According to Joseph, because Rebecca came from a deeply religious family, her parents wouldn't accept their daughter marrying a gentile. Rebecca denies that, and said that she was OK with his religion as long as he agreed to build a Jewish home.

Their wedding was a traditional Jewish affair. They signed a ketubah, a Hebrew marriage contract, and held the wedding ceremony under a huppa, a ceremonial canopy that symbolizes the creation of a Jewish household.

They broke a glass, danced the hora --these are customary in Jewish weddings, and began their lives together. But the marriage began to go south --the reasons why are not the issue, but the long and the short of it was as Rebecca said, "we just didn't see the world the same. We had different expectations for what two people in love should act like."

But by this time, they'd had a daughter, Ela, born in November 2006. On this front, both parents agree that she is a perfect little angel. But she also became the center of a bitter custody battle over what religion to raise her in. By Rebecca's account, the couple agreed to raise her Jewish, which meant frequent trips to the synagogue, sending Ela to a Jewish preschool, and celebrating Jewish holidays.

Continue reading "What Religion Are We Going to Raise Our Child: A Legal and Religious Dilemma" »

Dear Star Banner:

I believe that the editorial, "Nothing but food stamps..." in the Star Banner dated February 28, 2010, regarding Fathers not paying support deserves a response. I am a family law attorney in Ocala and I cover the areas of all around our circuit. The sentence I found most disturbing was, "if a woman does not want the man around her or her children the support may help to pay a sitter while she is seeking employment." With the mentality that dad is just a "paycheck" it's not surprising that the support will be sporadic or non-existent. Why in the world would you want or decide to have children with a man you don't want around the kids? The courts and I find it ironic that the mother had no problem being around this man when they were making the baby, only to decide that he is too dangerous to be around the baby after birth.

I am a firm believer that the legal doctrines of "best interests of children," "shared parental responsibility," and "equal parenting time" are not mutually exclusive. Most people do not like paying for something and getting nothing in return. If a parent wants to get timely and continuous support the best thing to do is keep the paying parent connected with the child. I hear man after man saying that they are tired of dealing with moms who are constantly interfering in their parenting time. This is a call to the ladies out there who "hook up" with a guy they don't really know very well, are not married to, and then have a baby with them - why in the world are you doing that? Find a mate, get married, and raise a family. We don't usually see "dead-beat dads" in this scenario. The heart of this larger problem is evidenced weekly in the birth announcements published in the Star Banner where 50% to 60% of the births appear to be to unmarried parents.

The surest way to get the other person to pay support on a regular basis is to equalize parenting time between divorcing spouses or unmarried parents, making sure children have the chance to be with both Fathers and Mothers as much as possible. Being a Father is arguably one of the MOST important and special roles a man will have in his lifetime. Fathers deserve a chance to continue being a parent and to teach their child about the world around them. Fathers need to be there for their children, and not be relegated to being "weekend parents." Too many times I hear the dad say," I'm not on the school records, not on the medical records, and not on the activities records."

For decades it was presumed that custody of children of "tender years" was best with mothers because it was wrongly believed that Fathers are inept as parents. Fortunately, our Florida Statutes have moved towards gender-neutrality. The "tender years doctrine" is really dead. And though fathers seeking child custody have gained ground in recent years, they are still burdened by old stereotypes. And for those able to see behind smoke screens, custody fights are not always about the children. Many times custody is just about the money. I've seen many cases where custody fights, even to the exclusion of visitation, are strategic maneuvers to maximize child support, alimony, and equitable distribution. Afterwards, when the battle is won, the barriers to child access mysteriously fall away, only to be raised again if payments are not prompt or if feelings are hurt.

The simplest and most responsible way to solve the problem of the non- payment of child support is clearly not to have multiple babies with multiple baby-daddies (or vice versa). Children are little people that require love, nurturing, guidance, and care-taking by both parents. They are NOT weapons to be used get more money or to get the upper hand in a court of law. Take some time, choose a mate wisely, get married and raise a family together. If for some reason the marriage does not work out, arrange for an equal time-sharing arrangement to keep Dad actively involved in the children's lives.

To talk to us about your case, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation.

I had a prospective client in my office early in the telling me that he didn't know that signing the baby's birth certificate made him the presumptive legal father. He had just been served with papers from Department of Revenue/Child Support Enforcement, and now the baby's mother was seeking child support. Honestly, he was not sure he was the biological father at all. He had heard from friend's of the mother, that she believed that the baby's real biological father was her past boyfriend. Now the question he asks, "what do I do?"

Florida's statute that deals with the Disestablishment of Paternity is Section 742.18. There are certain requirements that must be followed when attempting to disestablish paternity. One of the requirements is that the party attempting to disestablish paternity must file a Petition To Disestablish Paternity with the court and demonstrate some "newly discovered evidence." This evidence may be any number of things, including finding out that the biological mother believed someone else to be the Father. Also, a DNA test must be performed and submitted to the court as evidence that the person trying to disestablish paternity is really not the biological father. This DNA test must be performed within 90 days of the filing of the petition, but if the man attempting to disestablish paternity does not have to the child for testing, then he may file a motion with the court to request the court to order the mother to provide the child for a DNA test.

Lastly, the statute is clear that the Petitioner attempting to disestablish paternity must be current on all child support obligations or that he has substantially complied with the child support payment obligation. Although this legal process is not that common, we have successfully helped men disestablish paternity and terminate child support for children that were not theirs.

If you believe that you are not the biological father for a child for which you are currently paying support, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation.

If you are interested in pursuing an Uncontested Divorce, please call the Law Office of Anne E. Raduns, PA to find out how we can help. Even with an Uncontested Divorce, there are risks involved if you decide to do it yourself. We can help you with the process quickly and inexpensively.

We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation.

The Department of Revenue was originally an offshoot of the Department of Health and Human Services, created in 1975 to "ensure that children have the financial support of both their parents, to foster responsible behavior towards children, to emphasize that children need to have both parents involved in their lives, and to reduce welfare costs." DOR/Child Support Enforcement has the task of either determining, modifying, or enforcing child support in all of Florida's 67 counties.

The Florida Department of Revenue has the authority to enforce your child support requirements. Once your child support payment amount is established, as determined by Florida's child support guidelines, the payment requirement is enforceable not only in Marion County and throughout Florida, but also anywhere in the country.

If this is an initial determination, you were probably served with a Petition to Establish Child Support. This may have been in connection with a child born out of wedlock or it could have been part of a divorce where child support was not yet established. DOR also handles modifications where the custodial parent is seeking to have an increase in child support. Or lastly, this could be an enforcement action where the non-custodial parent is failing to pay timely support. In any of the above cases, it is important to hire an attorney to make sure that you are treated fairly during the process and your financial interests are protected.

Enforcement of Child Support Orders - The Payee Parent

If you are not receiving the payments you and your child have been awarded, contact us so we can guide you through the difficult process of getting the payments you deserve. We have successfully placed liens on real property, personal property and future income (including Personal Injury awards) to ensure that payment will be received. Additionally, Anne E. Raduns, PA we will work with you to ensure payment getting payments directly from the parent's employers, or suspending a driver's license.

Enforcement of Child Support Orders - Payor Parent

If you have been issued an Enforcement order it is critical that you take this seriously. In the state of Florida the courts have the ability to get you to pay by:

* Suspending your Florida driver licenses
* Intercepting tax refunds
* Ordering employers to take payments directly from your paychecks
* Placing a lien on your property

Contact Anne E. Raduns, PA so we can work with you and the courts to find the fairest way to all parties to bring you into compliance. We will examine your finances and situation and negotiate a method to repay your costs so your child can receive the support needed. This could result in reduced payments, a deferral of payments, and / or a modification of future payments.

Modification of Child Support Orders - Either Parent

All things change, and so to may the ability to pay child support or the need for increased child support. If this is the case, either parent can petition the court for an adjustment to the current payment. If either parent has received a raise, lost their job, if the child has special needs, or for any other payment altering events, may result in a need to modify the original child support order. Our office can work with you and DOR to determine the revised payments that meets Florida's child support guidelines.

We helped hundreds of parents through the maze of DOR Child Support enforcement. Whether you are the payee parent or the payor parent, we will make sure you are treating fairly by the process. To talk to us about your case, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation.

As a divorce attorney, I suppose this is probably the third most common question I get from clients or prospective clients (right behind "how much will this divorce cost" and "how long will this divorce take"), which simply stated is, "do I have to take the credit card debt of my spouse if I didn't run up the bill." The answer to that question generally results in the spouse who did not run up the bills feeling "duped" and the divorce process being "unfair."

Under Florida Statute 61.075, marital debts and liabilities will be equitably between spouses during a divorce. This means that generally any debt or liability acquired during the marriage will be divided between the divorcing spouses, regardless of whose name is on the debt or liability. This means credit cards too. It's important to remember, however, that the Statute requires the division of debts/liabilities be equitable, not necessarily equal. For the court to determine what is an equitable distribution of marital debt, it can consider many statutory factors, including: each person's contribution to the marriage, any contributions one party has made to other person's education or career, whether either party has intentionally depleted or destroyed marital assets and other equitable factors. As an aside, this process generally does not include "pre-marital debt." So if one spouse can show that the debt (or a portion of the debt) existed before the marriage, then it may not be treated as a marital debt for the purposes of equitable distribution.

However, I must point out that credit card companies to not have to and generally won't agree to abide by a Divorce Decree or Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. So while you and your spouse have agreed to divide up the debt a particular way or the Court has ordered it divided a particular way, the credit card company is not obligated to follow that agreement or Order. Instead, the credit company will hold whomever is listed on the account responsible for the debt. This may be problematic if say the Husband has agreed to take a credit card debit listed in the Wife's name. He may fail to pay it and the credit card company will still demand payment from the Wife, regardless of the court order.

But what about credit card debt when one spouse didn't know a thing about? This is the most heartbreaking answer: if it was acquired during the marriage, regardless if you knew about it or not, or it was it your name or not, it is still a marital debt that it going to be divided. I had a client whose Wife had charged up about $30,000 of debt he knew nothing about. He generally handed her his paycheck and let her handle the martial bills and finances. When she filed for divorce, it was only then did he find out about the debt. She had not engaged in any "martial waste," as in spending money on a paramour or anything. So, even though the didn't know about the debt, he was still required to take on half of it. Not knowing about the debt does not relieve the other spouse from being responsible for it. This is a caveat emptor - KNOW, LEARN, BE INVOLVED in what is happening with your finances! Don't let someone else just manage the household finances unchecked.

If you are thinking about Divorce, an experienced divorce lawyer can help you protect yourself as much as possible from the financial hazards involved in credit card debt. For more information on how we can help you, or to talk to us about your case, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation. Call for your consultation today.

As a Divorce Lawyer, I am frequently faced with issues similar to this opinion. Clients want the upper-hand in their litigation, and sometimes take actions they would not normally take under normal circumstances. There was a Paternity case that came out this past week that stands for the proposition that if the information was stolen, illegally obtained, or obtained under very, very suspicious circumstances not only is it not going to be considered by the trial court but also there is a strong possibility that the Attorney/Firm that used the information will likely be removed from the case. This case also applies to any Family Law case, including issues of Divorce, Child Support, Parenting Plans, or any other litigation involving the family. I often get inquiries from prospective or current clients involved in highly contested Divorce cases or Paternity cases wondering if they can snoop around the other side's computer and use what they found. I know the temptation for my client is there, but it's just not with the aggravation or the penalties that could happen.

In the case of CASTELLANO v. WINTHROP, Fla. 5th DCA District. Case No. 5D09-2798 the Mother sought to have the Appeal's Court review of an order of the trial court disqualifying her counsel/Firm. The disqualification was based on the Firm's receipt, review, and use of respondent, the Father's USB flash drive that contained electronic files including, among other things attorney/client communications, client litigation notes, and attorney work product. The Mother contended that the disqualification order represented a departure from the essential requirements of the law because a less drastic civil remedy was sufficient to address any potential wrongdoing.

The Judge and Appeals court found that the disqualification of the Firm was required because "an informational advantage was obtained." The Mother and the Firm were ordered to return the USB drive and any and all copies that were in their possession or control. The Mother and the Firm were also ordered to remove from their computers all of the Father's confidential and privileged information and to make their computers available for third-party inspection to confirm the deletion of this information -- all at the Firm's expense.

For the benefit of other attorneys facing a similar dilemma, the case notes that the Florida Bar Commission on Professional Ethics has opined that when an attorney receives confidential documents he or she knows or reasonably should know were wrongfully obtained by his client, he or she is ethically obligated to advise the client that the materials cannot be retained, reviewed, or used without first informing the opposing party that the attorney and/or client have the documents at issue. If the client refuses to consent to disclosure, the attorney must withdraw from further representation. Fla. Bar Prof'l Ethics Comm., Formal Op. 07-1.

If you are involved in a Divorce or Paternity case, please visit our website or call the office to schedule your initial consultation. We employ a client based approach, which means that we are selective in the cases we take so that we can be available to our clients. We spend time with you to thoroughly understand the facts of your case, so that we can provide you with a comprehensive and realistic legal evaluation. Our process begins with a half-hour low-cost consultation. Call for your consultation today.