The holiday season is fast approaching. If you are currently in the middle of a divorce or paternity case, you may not have a holiday timesharing schedule in place yet. Holiday timesharing temporarily replaces your everyday schedule. In other words, even if you have a regular timesharing schedule that you follow, if there is not […]
Tag: Legal Blogging
What Is The Significance Of Filing A Petition For Dissolution Of Marriage As It Relates To Assets And Liabilities?
According to FS 61.075(7), the cut-off date for determining marital assets and liabilities is the date of filing, unless there is a written agreement otherwise. So, if you are concerned that your spouse may acquire debt for which you will become liable, filing the petition will establish the date where that cannot happen. All assets […]
Caution Re: Retroactive Child Support
Parties should be aware that the obligation to pay child support begins immediately upon the separation of the parties. F.S. 61.30(17) states: “In an initial determination of child support, whether in a paternity action, dissolution of marriage action, or petition for support during the marriage, the court has discretion to award child support retroactive to […]
The IRS Alimony Recapture Rule
Ordinarily alimony is deductible from the payor’s gross income, and includable in the recipient’s gross income, for income tax purposes. Thus there is some tax advantage to paying alimony. But, that advantage can be eliminated if you don’t pay heed to the IRS’ Alimony Recapture Rule (I.R.C. § 71(f)). If you are caught in the […]
Gifting The Home To Your Spouse
Let’s assume that, prior to the marriage, John solely owned a home with a mortgage that only he was liable for. After John married Nancy, he had a quitclaim deed prepared by an attorney, and signed over the house to himself and Nancy jointly. The mortgage remained unchanged. Ten years later, John seeks a divorce […]
Marital vs. Non-Marital Property And Debt
One of the first things a court is called upon to do in a divorce is to determine what is and what is not part of the marital estate, that is, what things are subject to distribution to the spouses. As a general rule, all property acquired by either or both spouses, and all debt […]
Unmarried Biological Fathers: Preserving Your Parental Rights
A man who has had sexual intercourse with a woman to whom he is not married should understand how to protect his parental rights in the event of a pregnancy. The laws in Florida that apply to such circumstances are found in the Florida adoption statute, Chapter 63, which established the putative father registry. The […]
Dividing Marital Property – Part II
Recently, we spoke of QDROs as a tool used to distribute retirement accounts. Another tool that is less often used is known as an immediate offset. It is less often used because there must be other assets of similar size that one can use to offset the retirement plan. Consider the following example ITEM […]