By davidbmitchell | Published August 19, 2020 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on THE COLLABORATIVE FAMILY LAW PROCESS: A NEW WAY TO RESOLVE YOUR CASE
In 2016, the Florida legislature enacted the Collaborative Law Process Act which authorized and detailed the collaborative process as it applies to family law matters. These include dissolution of marriage and related issues, paternity, and prenuptial and marital agreements. The statute added the collaborative process to the available methods of resolving disputes in these areas. Read More
Read MoreA very common question from high net worth individuals, celebrities, business owners and professionals is this: “How can I keep my divorce/paternity case private?” Over the last thirty-plus years of family law practice in South Florida, I have represented or sat across the table from judges, professional athletes, record producers, entrepreneurs and others for whom Read More
Read MoreOne of life’s more difficult challenges is having the responsibility to care for an adult disabled child. Whether the disability is predicated on mental health issues, such as schizophrenia or autism, or on physical issues such as paralysis from a diving accident or multiple sclerosis, the time and cost required to assist the adult child Read More
Read MoreA not-uncommon question arises when a divorce is planned and one spouse is receiving disability payments for a policy that existed either prior to or was acquired during the marriage. The disability policy is now in ‘pay status’. Is the non-disabled spouse entitled to receive any of those disability payments made during the marriage or Read More
Read MoreGETTING MENTAL HEALTH EVIDENCE INTO COURT IN CASES INVOLVING CHILDREN As noted in an earlier blog, mental health issues are quite common today in custody cases (divorce and paternity). Many parties in these matters are quite convinced their partners suffer from one or more psychological or even psychiatric disabilities that should block the partner’s ability Read More
Read MoreRecently, the divorce web site, DivorceForce, published a thoughtful article concerning the effect that the discovery of an affair has on an individual in a (previously) committed marital relationship. It was quite insightful and we wish to share it with you. The article discussed interviews with three experts in the field, Anne Bercht, co-founder of Read More
Read MoreOften, one of the first questions a client in a divorce case raises concerns the treatment of debt. “Am I responsible for my wife’s credit cards?” “The mortgage was on his house before I moved in. Am I responsible?” “It’s her car. Do I have to pay off her auto loan?” “He has a Read More
Read MoreHaving practiced family law for over three decades, the prevalence of mental health issues in our office’s cases is obvious and growing. Alcoholism, drug abuse, serial infidelity have always been common, but the analysis of the disorders present in one or both parties is becoming more clear as science advances. Among the most common disorders Read More
Read MoreUnder Florida’s alimony statue (Chapter 61.08, Florida Statutes), one of the main criteria in determining the amount of alimony to be awarded to requesting spouse is a determination by the court of the ‘standard of living maintained during the marriage.’ This is one of ten criteria to be applied once there is established a quantified Read More
Read MoreThere is no question that the corona virus pandemic has brought large parts of our society to a complete standstill, both locally and throughout the world. A frequent request from clients has been to assess the effect of the response to the virus on pending or anticipated family law cases in South Florida. To begin, Read More
Read More