Articles Posted in Custody

Thousands of adoptions occur across the United States every year. Most of them proceed very smoothly and without any unexpected surprises. However, there are a handful of adoptions that do occur that involve unsuspecting problems, and result in heart wrenching stories. One recent story involves Sonya, a young child adopted by a Tennessee couple. The…

Incredible as it sounds, the Massachusetts legislature is considering such a bill. The proposal should not be considered in a vacuum however, as it applies only in specific situations, when minor children are involved. The proposal was designed to promote and protect the best interests of the minor children, whose parents are in the midst…

Under Florida law, minor children are not permitted to move more than 50 miles away from their current residence, unless written consent is provided by a parent, or by court order. An interesting situation arises when a minor child wishes to attend a private school in a out-of-state location. The obvious question becomes whether or…

Custody of children in Florida is governed by the standard of the “best interests of the child.” In actuality, the term “custody” is no longer used in Florida. The terminology that is used by the court’s is what is known as “time-sharing.” Time-sharing is established in a parenting plan, which is a written agreement between…

Child custody issues, or extensive litigation in order to “win” the title of primary custodian should become a thing of the past. All of the reasons to litigate these issues have been abolished under Florida law. Instead, Florida has adopted what is now referred to as time sharing with minor children, which is established under…

Under Florida law, terms such as custodian, primary custodian,and any other use of the term custody have been abolished. Florida has now adopted what is known as a parenting plan, the provisions of which can be found in Florida Statute 61.13 (2)(b). A parenting plan must include, at a minimum, certain things, as follows: a…

The effective date of the amendments were on October 1, 2008, and the changes were to have prospective application only. The changes could not be utilized to effectuate any modifications to agreements that were previously entered into by individuals prior to October 1, 2008. See the case of Hahn v. Hahn, (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…

Obviously, the courts won’t hesitate to enter any orders when necessary to protect minor children from harm. This would include orders for supervised visitation against a parent if the circumstances warranted this type of relief. In the divorce proceedings between N.W. and M.W., 41 So.3d 383 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2010), the mother alleged that the…

The issue of vacating temporary injunctions against domestic violence was dealt with in Schock v. Schock, 979 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008). In this case the father had obtained injunctions against his child’s mother, along with another one against her boyfriend. The allegations made included neglect and abuse against his daughter. The duty judge…

Although a dog is viewed as a member of the family, no one in a divorce case is going to end up with custody of the pet. A dog, or any other animal, is considered personal property, and personal property is divided between the parties pursuant to the equitable distribution provisions of Florida law. This…