Appropriate division of property and assets in Florida divorce proceedings was recently explained by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Jackson v. Blazer. In reaching its decision in this division of property and assets matter, the Court turned to the statutory definitions of marital and nonmarital property in the State of Florida. In Florida, marital property includes: (i) assets obtained and liabilities incurred during the course of the marriage; (ii) the increase in the value of nonmarital assets that result from either party's efforts during the course of the marriage or from the use of marital funds; (iii) the reduction in the principal of any mortgages secured by real property that are nonmarital, and part of any passive appreciation in properties if the mortgages are reduced with marital funds; (iv) gifts that the parties give to each other during the marriage; (v) retirement benefits, annuities, insurance, deferred compensation, and pension and profit-sharing rights obtained during the course of the marriage; and (iv) property held by the husband and wife as tenants by the entireties is presumed to be a marital. This presumption is rebuttable.
Child Relocation in Florida
A child relocation case was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned C.G. v. MM. In this case, the mother appealed the trial court's decision concerning custody and visitation. The parents were unmarried and separated in 2010. They had one child. The parties did not enter into a formal parenting plan, however, they divided their timesharing equally. Eventually, the mother entered into a new relationship and had a second child with her boyfriend. The mother lived in Pinellas County. She decided that she was going to move to Hillsborough County at some time in the future.
