Divorce & Family Law Attorneys in Marco Island
We recognize divorce is an emotional and stressful experience. We do everything possible to help. That means spending time with you, learning about your needs and educating you about your options. You want to know what your post-divorce future is going to look like after the dust settles. We work hard to give you a clear picture of your future.
DIVORCE AND RELATED MATTERS
Financial issues are a major concern during a divorce and beyond. You want to know what will happen to the house, the car, the retirement funds and even the family pet. If you have children, you will be wondering how time sharing and coparenting will work, how your children will adjust and how the cost of raising your children will be shared during and after the divorce. We use our knowledge and experience to help you resolve the issues that arise in family law cases such as:
DIVORCE
Florida is a no-fault state when it comes to divorce. This means that you do not need your spouse’s permission to get divorced nor do you have to prove that one of you did something wrong. Many friends and family members will try to help you during this time and offer lots of advice based on their own personal experiences. Try to keep in mind that every situation is different so the outcome will not be the same. We provide knowledge and experience to help guide you through this difficult process.
ALIMONY (SPOUSAL SUPPORT)
Spousal support, more commonly known as alimony, is an issue that can arise during a divorce. More often than not, it doesn’t play a factor when a short-term marriage is ending. Typically, alimony is associated with long-term marriages – marriages that lasted for a decade or more. Florida has five different types of alimony which include: Rehabilitative, Lump Sum, Permanent, Bridge-the-gap and Temporary. Our attorneys can help you determine whether alimony will play a role in your case. If it will, we will take great care to see that all payments end up being fair.
DIVISION OF MARITAL PROPERTY
In theory, fair property division means splitting everything 50/50. Of course, this is just a starting point, as there are a variety of issues that need to be taken into consideration, the most important being whether property is marital or non-marital. Our attorneys have the experience to help you protect what is yours.
CHILD CUSTODY/PARENTING PLAN
Florida does not use the term child custody and uses the term “timesharing” instead. The public policy of Florida is parents’ have shared parental responibility and both parents involvement in their child’s life is in the best interest of the child except in extreme circumstances. We work with our clients to help develop a parenting plan and timesharing schedule that works for them and their children and will provide support and consitency for the child.
CHILD SUPPORT
Florida child support guidelines are found in Section 61.30, Florida Statutes . These guidelines are used to determine child support obligations based on the income of each parent, the cost of child care, health insurance and the amount of time the child spends with each parent. It is critical to calculate accurate child support figures so that the parent with the child support obligation is able to make the payments and the receiving parent is able to provide for the child.
ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY
Section 742.011, Florida Statutes, permits any woman who is pregnant or has a child, any man who has reason to believe that he is the father of a child, or any child to bring a case to court to determine the paternity of the child when paternity has not been established by law or otherwise. We can help both mothers and fathers establish timesharing and child support for children who are born to unmarried parents.
MODIFICATIONS AND RELOCATIONS
When a divorce or family law case is over, it is not necessarily final. Situations may arise that require post-judgment modification. A job loss or other financial change could require a change in spousal support or child support or could creat a need to relocate. There is also the issue of enforcement. When one party fails to follow the judgment requirements, legal action may be required. Our lawyers handle all of these post-divorce matters.