Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure In order for a party to be held in contempt in a Florida family law case, the terms of an order that is alleged to have been violated must be clear and unambiguous. A party cannot be held in contempt of terms of an order that do not exist. This was an issue in the case Prieto v. Rossi, 4D2022-3045 (Fla. 4th DCA April, 17, 2024) in which an attorney representing a party to a divorce was held in contempt of terms of a marital settlement agreement. The parties to this divorce case entered a marital settlement agreement in whic ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce Once a marital settlement agreement is entered and ratified by a final judgment in a Florida divorce, there are limited circumstances under which the agreement can be set aside. The standard is different from an agreement that is entered outside of litigation, such as a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. A challenge to a marital settlement agreement entered over a decade prior was an issue in the case O’Hair v. O’Hair, 6D23-2424 (Fla. 6th DCA April 4, 2024). The parties entered a marital settlement agreement which required the former ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure How much notice must be given to a defaulted party for a final hearing in a Florida family law case? The rules of procedure give specific guidance on this, and this was an issue in the case Korman v. Shapiro, 3D21-2182 (Fla. 3d DCA April 10, 2024). A default was entered against the mother in this post-judgment child custody matter. The mother did not have a lawyer and she argued she did not have proper notice of the motion for default because it was e-mailed to her even though she did not designate an e-mail address for ser ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody An emergency suspension of timesharing in a Florida child custody case may occur in certain cases. But regard must be given to due process considerations. Emergency suspension of time-sharing was an issue in the case Ramirez v. Marzano, 4D2023-1170 (Fla. 4th DCA April 3, 2024). The father filed a motion for contempt alleging the mother was violating an order compelling the mother to take the child to school on her time-sharing days unless the child was sick or there was an emergency. At a hearing on the motion, the father raised e ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure What is a 57.105 motion in a Florida family law case? This is a motion which asks the court for sanctions against a party and/or the party’s attorney for raising unsupported claims in a proceeding. 57.105 refers to the Florida Statute section which authorizes this fee. That section of the statute requires that specific steps be taken before this motion can be filed. This was an issue in the case Fantauzzi v. Fleck, 2D23-1390 (Fla. 2d DCA April 3, 2024). The underlying case to this appeal was not a family law case, but the i ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce Can someone named as a creditor in a Florida marital settlement agreement sue as a third-party beneficiary to the agreement? For example, if an agreement states one spouse will pay a debt owed to a family member, can the family member sue the spouse for non-payment of the debt? This was an issue in the case Helmick v. Taylor, 2D22-3658 (Fla. 2d DCA April 3, 2024). During their marriage, the former wife’s mother and grandmother loaned money to the former husband. The former husband and wife entered a marital settlement agreement in their ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure When an order is reversed on appeal, a party should not be held in contempt of that order later. This was an issue in the case Rich v. Rich, 2D20-707 (Fla. 2d DCA April 3, 2024). The former wife previously appealed an order requiring her to pay attorney’s fees and costs to the former husband. Despite this reversal, the trial court held the former wife in contempt for non-payment under that order. She appealed. The appellate court reversed, holding “As the former husband correctly concedes, the contempt order must be reverse ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody Temporary relocation in Florida is governed by Florida Statute Chp. 61.13001. A temporary relocation can be granted pending a final hearing if the court finds it is in the best interest of a child to relocate and it is likely that permanent relocation will be granted. There are strict requirements for seeking and considering relocation. This was an issue in the case Vanderhoof v. Armstrong, 5D23-1486 (Fla. 5th DCA March 22, 2024). The parties previously were ordered to abide by a parenting plan which granted the mother 60% time-sh ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce What justifies unequal division of assets and debts in a Florida divorce? The person seeking an unequal division has a high burden to meet. When parties live separate financial lives throughout their marriage, this may point to the parties’ intent to keep assets and debts separate. This was an issue in the case Price-Lawrence v. Lawrence, 2D22-2605 (Fla. 2d DCA March 27, 2024). The parties were married for 12 years by the time of their divorce proceedings. The evidence showed the parties lived completely separate lives for those 12 year ..read more

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support Child support guidelines worksheets are important to a final judgment. This is because they serve as a reference point when a party wants to modify child support in the future. Failure to attach or file guidelines may require reversal of a final judgment. This was one issue in the case Knight v. Knight, 1D2022-2040 (Fla. 1st DCA March 27, 2024). In this divorce case, the former husband appealed multiple issues, one of which was the trial court’s chosen start date for his child support obligation which conflicted with the date the ..read more