Almost every couple that has gotten married, has acquired stuff….  Everything from homes, businesses, cars and boats, right down to the last spaghetti pot and coffee mug must be divided in the event of a divorce.  And if you and your spouse can’t figure out amongst yourselves how to divide the marital property, a divorce judge will ultimately make that decision.  The good news is that the law says that the judge must make an equitable division of marital property.  The bad news is that “equitable” does not always mean “equal,” and a judge has a lot of discretion in deciding what is fair.  Once a decision is made it will stand, unless the judge clearly abused his discretion in coming to the result.   But before marital property is split, the judge must determine what is marital property,… Continue reading →

Today, in a historic 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage is a right granted by the Constitution.  Prior to today, the Supreme Court had side stepped the issue which emboldened 36 of the 50 states to pass legislation legalizing same sex marriage.

Justice Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion,

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its… Continue reading →

Proponents of Florida Alimony Reform will have to wait at least another year before seeing any changes to current law.  This year’s legislative session came and went, and the proposed Alimony Bill never reached the Governor’s desk for signature.  The House Bill included provisions that created a formula for determining the amount and duration of alimony based on the length of the marriage and the parties’ respective incomes.  It was drafted with the input and endorsement of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar.  The idea was to give judges a road map for consistency, and directions on how to deviate when circumstances required it.

Although the House voted in favor of their proposed Bill (93-22), things came to a halt when members of the Senate insisted that the Bill include a presumption in favor of 50/50 timesharing when minor… Continue reading →

House Bill 943 is up for discussion in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow, and if it becomes law, it will drastically change alimony as we know it.  The Bill would completely change how Courts currently consider alimony awards, by among other things:

1. defining how to determine the parties’ income and whether to impute income to the husband or wife;

2. creating guidelines that the courts should follow based on the years of the marriage and the difference in the parties’ income to determine both the amount of an alimony award and the duration;

3. limiting modifications of alimony to the amount and not the duration; and

4.  Setting forth factors a court should consider in deciding if a supportive relationship exists that would warrant a modification or termination of alimony.

If the Bill becomes law this session, courts would have to look… Continue reading →