Going through a divorce can be challenging for anyone, and it’s easy to let your emotions get the better of you. But a divorce is a complex legal process that requires a level head and proper preparation. While ending a marriage can feel tumultuous, it can also impact your entire future. The legal system is …
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month when we come together to celebrate individuals with Down Syndrome and recognize their unique contributions. It’s also a time to raise awareness about the challenges they and their families face in navigating the future. What is a Special Needs Trust? When there is a special needs child in the …
Having an estate plan in place ensures your and your family’s needs for the future, but it is particularly important if you have a child with special needs. You have spent your life and resources dedicated to caring for your special needs child. However, once your child turns 18, the criteria for getting essential benefits …
You have worked hard to build a nest egg for your future and a legacy for those you love and care about. But without planning how your estate will be administered after you are gone, these assets could be distributed by the courts in ways you would not have chosen and your assets will be …
While divorce is never easy, divorcing a spouse with a disability adds another level of emotional, financial, and legal complexity to the process. It will require a more finely balanced approach that considers your disabled spouse’s needs and future and also your own legal and financial welfare. The court will take extra effort to ensure …
In Virginia, stepparents are not typically liable for child support of their stepchildren after a divorce – unless they have legally adopted them. If you have adopted a stepchild, you are now considered the child’s legal parent and subject to all the rights and obligations of a parent – including paying child support if you …
At its best, successful co-parenting after a divorce is the collaborative and cooperative effort to raise children together to ensure their physical and emotional well-being. If you have been through a divorce, you know that isn’t always easy, especially with the chaos of facing a new school year. The experienced Tampa divorce attorneys at Melone …
According to reports by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, nearly 1 in 8 children in the United States live in a household where one parent has a substance abuse disorder. For parents who are divorcing and trying to gain custody, substance abuse, along with many other issues, can complicate the divorce …
Child custody is typically one of the most challenging aspects of any divorce. While issues like marital property division and spousal support can lead to heated exchanges, custody matters are considered by the court with the utmost importance. Courts are heavily invested in child custody decisions, ensuring they are in the “best interests of the …
Coupled with all the emotional and legal complexities of a divorce in Florida is the financial disentanglement and division of your marital property. And this can significantly impact your taxes and other financial matters. If you are navigating a divorce, you will want to understand how marital property division, child support, and spousal support have …
Divorce isn’t just the emotional and physical end of a marriage. It’s also the dissolution of two deeply intertwined financial lives. You have probably amassed a home, vehicles, a mortgage, credit card bills, retirement accounts, and investments during your marriage. And the law says that before you can settle your divorce, you and your spouse …
Of all the issues you may face in your divorce, alimony, also known as spousal support or maintenance, might be one of the most contentious. The topic of alimony often generates strong emotions, aggravating an already volatile situation. By ensuring that a lower-earning or non-earning spouse receives essential financial support after a divorce, alimony can …
If you are going through divorce, you know it is challenging. When one or both spouses are military service members, there are additional legal complexities. While civilian divorces are regulated by individual state law, federal and international laws often intersect with state law in a military divorce. What are the Hogue Cases? The Hogue cases …
No matter how forward-thinking we’ve become as a society, sometimes the law is slow to catch up. For instance, in Florida, when an unmarried couple parted company after having a child, the courts historically declared the mother the natural guardian. If the father wanted to play a part in the child’s upbringing, he had to …
Historically, parenting duties fell to the mother. Dad would pack off every morning, leaving Mom to navigate heart, home, and parenting. After work, Dad would come home and relax. Mom? She still had dinner to cook, kids to bathe, homework to check, and lunches to pack. Fortunately, those gender-specific roles are being pushed aside for …
Going through a divorce is an emotional process that often leads to regrettable mistakes. These mistakes can make your divorce more expensive and damage your relationship with your children and other family members. With so much at stake—such as asset division, spousal support, and child custody—it’s crucial to avoid common errors. To help, we have …
Learning about a Dissolution of Marriage can be overwhelming. Not only does a person have to deal with the feelings of uncertainty about finances and their future, they’re also trying to understand what to ask the Court to do for them and how to prove their case. Anyone filing for divorce in Florida should consult …
As of July 1, 2023, the passage of SB 130 also known as “Greyson’s Law” created in new statutory language and 61.13(2) that expands upon what the court shall consider when determining whether shared or sole responsibility would be detrimental to a minor child. The bill also expanded the 13th factor to include letter “m,” …
