On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Child Custody on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The past few decades have witnessed a seismic shift in our country's views about marriage. In Florida and other states, people are reevaluating the benefits of marriage and are waiting longer before getting married. Indeed, many couples now have children before marriage for a variety of reasons. This choice can lead to a child custody dispute if the unmarried couple lives apart or if they later decide to end their relationship.
While a majority of women still have children within the context of marriage, that is not true when women are broken into different demographic groups. A majority of children born to women under the age of 30 are born outside of marriage. Specific minority groups also have births to unmarried mothers in excess of 50 percent. But according to study data, the highest increase in unwed births is among white women who have attended but not graduated from college, a group that traditionally waited until marriage to have children.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Alimony on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
During the past couple of months, we have written on the possibility that the Florida Legislature could modify our state's alimony laws. Recent progress on the bills has been made, as the Senate Judiciary Committee revised the original bill that was written in the Senate.
Both chambers of the Legislature drafted initial bills that, broadly speaking, would have imposed bright-line rules in alimony cases. These rules would have diminished the amount of alimony an ex-spouse would have to pay and decreased the period of time over which alimony was paid. The rules would also have eased the termination of alimony when the paying ex-spouse reached retirement or the receiving ex-spouse entered into a new relationship. In addition, adulterous conduct that depleted marital assets could not be considered when fashioning alimony awards.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Fathers' Rights on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Celebrities live their lives in the public eye. Many aspects of their lives are unearthed and broadcast around the world. And few aspects receive as much attention as the details of their lavish marriages and high-asset divorces. But these stories can provide more than just idle gossip. Despite all their glitz and fame, celebrities face some of the same problems as Florida citizens, and we can learn from them.
A case in point is Halle Berry's divorce, which continues to be marked by contentious fighting on both sides. Berry and her ex-husband had a child custody agreement in place that provided that the couple would share joint custody of their young daughter. Berry, however, recently went to court to seek a restraining order against her ex-husband and sole custody of their daughter.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in High Asset Divorce on Friday, February 3, 2012
Welcome back. We are currently discussing an article from the Huffington Post that provided some helpful tips on how to prepare for a divorce. Of course, divorce can be difficult for anyone, but knowing what to expect can make a world of difference.
In the first post, we talked about steps to consider taking before the divorce begins. Here are a few more steps from the article to keep in mind for after the divorce begins:
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in High Asset Divorce on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Divorce is something that can be highly emotional. However, it's almost always better to approach a divorce from a more practical, business-minded point of view. This means going into the settlement talks knowing what to expect and with all of your ducks in a row.
A recent article in the Huffington Post discussed several practical steps to take before and during your divorce settlement negotiations. The article said that being prepared is the best way to protect yourself during a divorce.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in High Asset Divorce on Thursday, January 26, 2012
In what could very well turn into a high asset divorce, musical entertainer Seal and supermodel Heidi Klum announced that they are separating this week after almost seven years of marriage. The couple released a joint statement saying that the decision had been made after "much soul searching."
Property settlement can quickly become a contested issue in any divorce. Oftentimes, both parties want their fair share, but each party has a different definition of the meaning of "fair." When significant assets are involved and there is no prenuptial agreement, the division of assets can become even more complex and challenging.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in High Asset Divorce on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Oftentimes in a divorce there is one spouse that knows significantly less than the other about the finances. This spouse may be concerned about building credit on his or her own and may feel pressure to start fresh even before the divorce has been settled.
However, as a recent article from The Huffington Post pointed out, it is important to take one step at a time and become financially secure before taking on new obligations.
The article also said that many times decisions made during a divorce are influenced by emotions, so it's a good idea to be prudent with the finances during this time.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Alimony on Saturday, January 14, 2012
In Florida, there are no set guidelines establishing when alimony, or spousal support, should be awarded. Instead, judges use their own discretion after considering many factors such as the duration or the marriage and the income of both parties.
Alimony can be awarded on a temporary, permanent or rehabilitative basis in Florida. However, a group called Florida Alimony Reform hopes to change that. They say that Florida's alimony laws are outdated and apply to a time when it wasn't as common for women to hold jobs outside of the home.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Collaborative Law on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Typically, we think of divorce as being highly contested, with two people who were once in love battling over property interests and retirement accounts. However, divorce does not have to be that way.
Collaborative law is new form of divorce resolution that is gaining popularity in Florida and throughout the United States. In the collaborative law process, each party is represented by a trained family law attorney, but the difference is in how the attorneys and parties interact.
On behalf of McMichen, Cinami & Demps posted in Child Custody on Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Florida readers may be interested in a sort of cautionary tale involving a child custody case gone awry in Minnesota. A couple with five children divorced in 2004. The subsequent years' child custody proceedings have involved the divorced parents and their children, but also social workers and the civil and criminal court systems. Though no specifics were provided in a local news report, the mother claims to have feared for her children's safety when they were with the father. And yet the father had custody of at least one 13-year-old daughter in 2010. The mother and father have a history of dueling protective orders over the years, but the situation appears to have boiled out of control on Halloween in 2010.
The 13-year-old apparently ran away from her father's home that night, though the reasons why were not revealed. It appears that she had help escaping, and was transported by several people (including an older sister) to Canada by way of Michigan, where she met her mother. When the mother attempted to reenter the United States, her child custody case quickly became a criminal matter. Though she explained to Border Patrol representatives that she and her daughters were in Canada to explore refugee status, she was placed under arrest and returned to Minnesota for a criminal trial. Representing herself in court, she was found guilty by a jury on three counts of depriving her ex-husband of parental rights.
