Our firm handles a full range of family law matters. Those areas include but are not limited to the following.

Our firm represents men and women seeking to, or responding to the desire of their spouse to dissolve their marriage. As each individual case is unique we will make every effort to guide you through your case with as little aggravation and anxiety as possible with the ultimate goal of insuring that all issues are addressed and resolved fairly and matters concerning children in a manner that is in their best interest.

A dissolution action can involve: alimony, division of real and personal property, complex business evaluations, valuation of assets, division of retirement plans, pensions/401K plans, children’s issues and attorney’s fees.

Whether your matter is a straightforward uncomplicated divorce (also known as an “Uncontested Divorce”) or a complex divorce, we will strive to protect your rights and interests either by litigation or negotiation of an equitable settlement of your issues.

Children who are born to parents that are not married are entitled to financial support just as if their parents were in fact married. Our firm can assist you in obtaining a legal designation of parental status, to obtain the support and insurance coverage provided by Florida Law, establish shared parental responsibility and establish contact and access rights.

Parenting, child custody, child support and time sharing schedules are important aspects of each action that involves the minor children of the parties. The guiding standard in such issues rightfully remains: “What is in the best interests of the children?” Some of the factors in determining parental responsibilities to be shared by the parties are:

• The principal residence of the children.
• Whether contact is appropriate.
• A time sharing schedule.
• Shared decision making.

Our family law practice includes handling child support matters, as part of dissolution proceedings, paternity proceedings, enforcement actions and in modification actions.

To calculate child support, a number of important issues must be determined: Those matters include but are not limited to: net income of the parties, any special needs of the children, the contact schedule and, the health needs of the children.

Also known as spousal support, alimony is financial support paid by one spouse to the other. An award of alimony is determined on several factors, including: the age and health of each party, the income and financial resources of each party, the earning ability of each party, the standard of living established during the marriage, duration of the marriage and what each spouse contributed to the marriage. Forms of alimony include temporary, lump sum, rehabilitative and permanent. Our office will help you determine which type of alimony is best suited to your situation.

If an individual has been ordered and has the ability to pay support, but has deliberately failed to do so, that individual can be subjected to a variety of sanctions by the Court, including but not limited to a contempt sanction. Our office can assist with the filing of the appropriate documents to enforce your Order.

More and more people are electing to address the issues of property division and support either before their marriage via a Pre-Nuptial Agreement or after the marriage by a Post-Nuptial Agreement so as to avoid the acrimony and expense that often accompanies divorce. Our firm is experienced in the drafting of these agreements. In addition we have established relationships with financial planners as well as CPA’s who can assist.

After the entry of a Final Judgment circumstances of the parties may change and there may be a need to amend the Final Judgment. Our office can assist you amending the obligations that resulted from the dissolution of marriage or paternity process, including:

• Emancipation of child.
• Increase in the needs of the children.
• Changes in primary residential responsibility due to the best interests of the child or based on a change in residential circumstances such as relocation.
• Modification of child support and/or alimony due to a change in economic circumstances.
• Changes in contact and access schedules.

Whether you need assistance in procuring a Domestic Violence Injunction or in defending an individual against the granting of one, our firm can provide assistance.

Due to the significant expenditure of time, money and emotion, various alternatives to litigation have been developed. When both parties are willing to commit to dealing fairly these alternative methods can be very attractive. These alternatives include:

Collaborative Practice is a method for resolving disputes through the structured assistance of collaborative professionals that include lawyers, mental health professionals and financial planners. The process is distinguished from traditional litigation procedures by the clients and the professional entering into a contractual commitment to negotiate a settlement without using the court system to decide any issues for the parties.

Our firm is a charter member of the Central Florida Collaborative Law Group and maintains membership in the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. For those interested in resolving their disputes without necessity of lengthy and costly litigation collaborative law presents a meaningful alternative.

Mediation is an alternative to the litigation process. This can be less expensive and less stressful on the parties and their children. In the mediation process, the parties work with a trained certified mediator to settle their contested issues.