Palm Beach Florida Divorce & Family Law Blog

Child Relocation in Boca Raton, Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Child Relocation on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

A Child Relocation case was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Castleman v. Bicaldo. In this case, the mother emigrated from the Philippines to the United States in order to marry the Father. As a result of the marriage, she was able to obtain a Green Card. After 26 months of marriage, the Father filed for divorce. The trial judge issued a Final Judgment in which the Court ruled that if Wife's citizenship application was denied, she would be allowed to move to the Philippines with her child. The trial court found that the relocation statute did not apply to persons who are deported. The Court of Appeals reversed this judgment.

The Court of Appeal held that the Florida Parental Relocation Statute applies to persons wishing to relocate voluntarily as well as to those who are forced to relocate by the government after their marital status is changed. The Florida Child Relocation Statute contains ten specific factors that trial courts are required to apply in making determinations regarding child custody relocation. These ten factors are to be applied in cases involving involuntary as well as voluntary relocations.

Child Custody and Visitation - Private School for Children

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Child Custody and Visitation on Monday, December 24, 2018.

A Child Custody and Visitation case involving private schooling was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal. The father sought to enroll the children in a private Christian school. The final judgment of dissolution of marriage awarded the parents shared parental responsibility for the children. In 2017, the children attended public school at Palmetto Middle School and Palmetto Elementary School. The parents could not agree on which middle school the children should attend. The mother preferred Palmetto Middle School and the father wanted the children to attend a private Christian school. The father stated that he was willing to pay for the cost for the children to attend the private school.

The mother filed a motion for contempt of court against the father for taking one of the children to be tested to determine his eligibility to attend the private school. The father filed a motion in which he requested that court order the children to attend private school. The father alleged that the mother refused to even discuss the children's enrollment in the private school. The father argued that the private school was in the children's best interests and that it was a better fit for the children. The trial court ruled in favor of the father and permitted the children to attend private school. The court required the mother to cooperate with its decision and denied the mother's motion for contempt.

Modification of Child Custody and Visitation in Palm Beach County, Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Modification of Child Custody & Visitation on Monday, December 17, 2018.

A Modification of Child Custody and Visitation case was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal. In a case captioned Puhl v. Puhl the Florida Court of Appeal held that the failure to keep other parent informed of issues concerning a child was an insufficient basis, in and of itself, to modify the parties' timesharing schedule. In Puhl v. Puhl the trial court entered a Final Judgment of Dissolution which incorporated the parties agreed upon parenting plan. The parenting plan provided for shared parental responsibility and also provided that if the parties were unable to agree upon the child's healthcare, education or religious upbringing, the mother's decision would prevail. A year after the divorce was granted, the Father moved to modify the parties' parenting plan. The Father alleged that the Mother was deciding healthcare issues pertaining to the child without consulting him and that the child was receiving unnecessary medical treatment.

Residency Requirements to Obtain a Divorce in Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Divorce on Thursday, September 27, 2018.

To obtain a divorce in Florida, either the Husband or the Wife must reside in Florida for six (6) months prior to the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. A court does not have jurisdiction to decide a divorce case unless jurisdiction is appropriately allege in the Petition for Dissolution and proved at the Final Hearing.

Alimony in Florida - Paying Spouse to Purchase Life Insurance

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Alimony on Monday, September 17, 2018.

In an alimony case, a trial court may require a paying spouse to maintain life insurance under certain circumstances. In order for a court to require a paying spouse to maintain life insurance, the trial court must find that the insurance is available, it must state the cost of the policy, and it must determine the that paying spouse has the ability to pay for the cost of the insurance. The amount of the insurance required must be commensurate with the amount of the support obligation. Finally, in order to require a paying spouse to maintain life insurance to secure an alimony obligation, there must be "special circumstances" that justify this requirement. These special circumstances include situations where the recipient spouse would be left in severe financial condition after the death of the paying spouse due to his or her poor health, age, or lack of employment potential.

Division of Property and Assets - Division of Pensions in a Florida Divorce

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Division of Property and Assets on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.

A division of property and assets case involving a husband's pension was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal. In this case, the husband and wife were married for thirteen years. When the divorce was filed, the husband had been working for the City of Delray Beach as a firefighter for 16 years. The Husband's pension accrued at a rate of 2.5% per year. Once the husband had served for 25 years, his retirement benefits increased to 3% per year. When the divorce was filed, the husband was eligible for the 2.5% multiplier. The Florida Court of Appeal pointed out that there are two methods to distribute pensions. The first method is the immediate offset method. Under this method, spouses receive the present value of their interest in the other spouse's pension either in cash or as a share of marital distribution. The second method is the deferred distribution method. Under this method, the judge determines the amount of the employee's benefit as of the date of the final hearing (without any early retirement penalty).

Modification of Child Custody & Visitation in West Palm Beach

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Modification of Child Custody & Visitation on Friday, June 29, 2018.

Modification of child custody & visitation in Florida was recently discussed in a case captioned Lewis v. Juliano. In this case, the Mother appealed an order that required her to provide the Father with her physical address as a precondition to exercising timesharing. The trial court modified the parties' timesharing schedule as a result of the Mothers' failure to provide the Father with her physical address.

The Mother and Father were divorced in 2014. In 2016, the lower court modified the parties' Final Judgment of Dissolution due to the Mother's relocation to another state. The Court's order required both parents to provide each other with their residential and mailing addresses. The Father filed a Motion for Contempt of Court as a result of the Mother's failure to provide him with her residential and mailing addresses and for failure of the Mother to permit the child to have appropriate communication with the Father.

In July 2016, the lower court found Mother in Contempt of Court as a result of her failure to provide the Father with her address. In May 2017, the Father filed a Motion to determine the status of the child's summer visitation since the Mother had not provided him with her address. The Father argued that the child should not travel to an undisclosed address.

The trial court granted the Father's motion and required the Mother to disclose her address as a precondition to her exercise of summer timesharing with the child.

Child Custody and Visitation in West Palm Beach, Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Child Custody and Visitation on Thursday, June 7, 2018.

A child custody and visitation issue was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Preudhomme v. Preudhomme. In this case, the Mother challenged the trial court's timesharing determination. The Mother lived in Pensacola and the Father lived in Mobile, Alabama. During the pendency of the divorce proceeding, the parents met midway between the two cities for timesharing. The parents arranged for the child to attend preschools in both cities. The Mother asked the trial court to create a parenting plan in which she had majority timesharing and the Father was given alternating weekends and holidays and weekly rotating custody during the summer. The Father asked the trial court to continue the current timesharing schedule until the child began kindergarten. The child was scheduled to begin kindergarten approximately twenty months later. After the child started kindergarten, the Father requested that he be awarded majority timesharing when the child was in school. The Father proposed that the Mother should have timesharing during alternating holidays and weekends, and for most of the summer. The court adopted the Father's proposed parenting plan.

Permanent Alimony in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Alimony on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

In Florida, permanent alimony is rebuttably presumed to be appropriate in a marriage that exceeds seventeen years. In a case captioned Hedden v. Hedden, the wife appealed a judgment terminating her marriage of thirty-seven years. The parties have two children. The wife was a stay-at-home mother for a majority of the marriage. The wife was last employed twelve years prior to date of the trial. The wife also had a medical condition. The trial court found that the wife had a need for support and that the husband had the ability to pay. The trial court awarded the Wife both permanent and durational alimony. The durational alimony was scheduled to end when the wife reached age 62. At age 62, the wife was eligible to receive Social Security benefits.

Division of Property and Assets in a Boca Raton, Florida

By Matthew Lane of Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. posted in Division of Property and Assets on Friday, April 27, 2018.

The division of property and assets in a divorce proceeding cannot include property that was previously conveyed to the parties' children. In a recently decided case captioned Perez v. Perez, the parties were married for twenty-three years. The husband and wife owned several pieces of real estate. During the course of the marriage, they conveyed four pieces of real estate to their sons. As part of the final judgment in the divorce proceeding, the trial court awarded some of the real estate that was conveyed to the children to the husband and some of this real estate to the wife.

During the course of this divorce proceeding, the wife sued her sons as third party defendants claiming that her husband and sons had engaged in a scheme to defraud her. The husband contended that the wife agreed to the transfer at the time that it was made. In point of fact, the wife signed the deeds conveying the property to her sons. In making its equitable distribution award, the trial court included the properties that the parties had conveyed to the children.