Parental alienation occurs when one parent takes steps to isolate the child through words and actions meant to damage or destroy the child‘s relationship with the other parent. These steps are often deliberate and malicious on the part of the alienating parent. Alienation often happens when parents are ending their relationship and can be committed […]
Tag: visitation
“I’m the child’s Grandfather/Grandmother, don’t I have rights to see my grandchild?”
This is a difficult reality for most grandparents, but the short answer is probably no. The right of parents to rear their children and to have the privacy to choose with whom they associate is a “Fundamental Right” protected by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A Fundamental Right is a right that is […]
New Florida Custody Law Pending Florida Senate Bill 668
The Florida Senate approved a new timesharing bill on March 8, 2016. A portion of the bill deals with changes to the alimony statute and the other portion changes the current timesharing statute. If passed, the bill would modify Florida Statute 61.13(2)(c)(1) by instructing courts that are establishing an initial parenting plan to start with […]
Update on Timesharing Bill – Florida Senate
The timesharing bill has received a favorable vote in the Senate Rules Committee. This is the bill that will establish a presumption that timesharing plans are to be approximately equal. The presumption may be overcome by consideration of the factors that we are used to, plus two additional factors that have been created. The bill […]
Paternity and Timesharing
It often comes as a surprise to unmarried fathers that when they break up with the mother of their child, they do not have timesharing and decision-making rights automatically. In order to establish a timesharing schedule and to require the child’s mother to include them in major decisions, the father must file a Petition to […]
Legislation Recently Introduced by Florida Legislature
Last week, the Florida Legislature introduced four separate pieces of legislation of note. Three of the bills introduced deal with alimony, and the fourth deals with timesharing/parenting plans. The three bills dealing with alimony (House Bill 455 and Senate bills 250 and 668) have different language, which we have not yet looked into. We do […]
Russell v. Pasik
Russell v Pasik Russell vs. Pasik is a case involving a same-sex (female) couple with children. The parties each had two children from artificial insemination. The children are referred to as biological half-siblings. Each child has a hyphenated last name with both Pasik and Russell (the opinion is silent on which order the names are […]
Lessons Learned in Divorce Litigation
To paraphrase Santayana: those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. Here are a few of the lessons I have learned in almost two and a half decades of divorce litigation: Wait too long to file for divorce/modification/enforcement. The date of filing a divorce has the important distinction of […]
Parenting with a Difficult Ex
There are many reasons that your ex became your ex. Some parents are able to overcome their differences and become cooperative co-parents for their children. Others are not so lucky. No matter how much you want to be able to work together with your ex to parent your child(ren), your ex may be unwilling to […]
Timesharing and Custody Factors
When Florida courts fashion timesharing plans, there are multiple factors which the Court must consider to determine the plan that is in the best interest of the children. The factors considered by the Court can be found in Florida Statute 61.13(3). It is important to understand each factor and to do your best to follow […]