Boca Raton Divorce Lawyer Blog

Generally speaking, a divorce should be a private matter. The proceeding often times involves sensitive and personal issues, which should not be made public. However, in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and in other courtrooms throughout south Florida, contested divorce proceedings are conducted everyday.

Many times someone will say something, in a fit of anger or for other reasons, and then their statement comes back to haunt them in court. Never say anything that you do not want repeated in open court.

Not only are your statements admissible in court, but all of your postings, photographs and comments that you place in the public arena on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, become open game. Be careful what you say or do during a divorce....it could harm your case and significantly impact the outcome.

Most recently there has been a barrage of public divorce cases and separations involving celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Stevie Wonder, and Kristen Stewart, just to name a few.

You do not want to achieve your notoriety in the context of your divorce case.

The length of a marriage becomes one relevant consideration for the court to consider in a divorce case if alimony is an issue in the proceedings.

The Florida legislature has attempted to bring some standardization to the awards of alimony in divorce proceedings. Alimony has historically been that unknown "wild card" in contested divorce cases.

Permanent alimony is now reserved primarily for long term marriages, which by statutory definition, is now defined as a marriage in excess of 17 years. A short term marriage is one under 7 years. Anything in between is a marriage of moderate length.

Bridge-the-gap alimony can be awarded to a spouse in a short term marriage, and it may not exceed 2 years. Bridge-the-gap alimony is not subject to modification.

After bridge-the-gap, you will see rehabilitative alimony and durational alimony awards. Rehabilitative alimony is designed to assist the recipient in either re-establishing the skills to be financially self sufficient, or to obtain the skills to do so. This type of alimony may end with non compliance with a proposed plan of rehabilitation on the part of the recipient.

Durational alimony may be awarded for up to a maximum number of years equal to the length of the marriage. The number of years is discretionary, based upon other factors which the court may consider.

You can read the Florida alimony statute by clicking the link attached. All of the factors which the court will consider are included within the statute.

Having appropriate, competent representation in a divorce proceeding is important, and becomes ever more so important when the duration of the marriage increases.

In Florida, no grounds for divorce are required other than the fact that the marriage must be irretrievably broken.. As a matter of fact, you can find this provision under Florida Statutes 61.043, which indicates that all one need do in a petition for dissolution of marriage is to assert that the marriage is irretrievably broken. No other grounds are required.

Over the years, I have had many people tell me that their "spouse has abandoned them", or "deserted them", or engaged in "acts of either mental or physical cruelty against them". They want a divorce and want to know if these are sufficient grounds.

The reality of the situation is that all of these reasons, although valid reasons to seek a divorce, are not a prerequisite or requirement for obtaining a divorce. All one need do is to allege that the marriage is "irretrievably broken."

What makes one couple's marriage broken may be very different than for another couple. Sometimes people grow apart; sometimes they engage in mental abuse, and sometimes......

Well, you decide. Is the victim of a knife wielding spouse involved in a marriage which you would consider to be irretrievably broken? This was a story recently reported in the Huffington Post. Check it out!

We all know that divorce is an extremely difficult time for people to experience. Emotions run high, and often time, all sense of reason and reasonableness vanish during divorce proceedings.

Some people like to amicably resolve their differences, and move on with their lives. Others, however, would prefer to make their soon to be ex-spouse's life a miserable experience for months and years ahead.

Lawyers have an ethical obligation to represent their clients as zealously as possible, within the bonds of the law. Apparently one divorce attorney in New Mexico decided that there were no boundaries under the law, and that he was at liberty to take matters into his own hands in a divorce proceeding. He gives no meaning to zealously representing his client.

Aggressive representation was given a whole new meaning when this attorney took control of his client's affairs. This is not the best way for an attorney to proceed in a divorce case or any other case for that matter.

Check it out! Watch the New Mexico divorce attorney go to work. You will be shocked.

The issue of vacating temporary injunctions against domestic violence was dealt with in Schock v. Schock, 979 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008).

In this case the father had obtained injunctions against his child's mother, along with another one against her boyfriend. The allegations made included neglect and abuse against his daughter. The duty judge found the allegations appropriate for the issuance of an injunction, that the child involved was the victim of domestic violence, and was in immediate and present danger, and he issued the orders accordingly.

In response to all this, the mother filed an Emergency Motion For Return of Child and Change of Custody in the dissolution of marriage action that had been filed. Two days after the mother had filed her motions, the trial judge assigned to the divorce case entered two orders vacating the injunctions that had been previously entered by the duty judge.

The judge decided on his own that the allegations made by the father in his application for an injunction against the child's mother were conclusory, and those which were made against the boyfriend were based upon hearsay.

On appeal, the trial judge was reversed. The appellate court stated that once an injunction is issued under Section 741.30, Florida Statutes, the injunction cannot be vacated without a hearing. Sanchez v. State, 785 So.2d 672, 676 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

As a result of this ruling, the temporary injunctions were re-instated, and the trial court was instructed to conduct an evidentiary hearing before ruling on the motions filed by the mother. See also White v. Cannon, 778 So.2d 467, 467-68 (Fla. 3rd CA 2001).

For further information, advise, or any questions on this topic, please click the following link: www.alanburtonlaw.com

Were you aware that everything that you file in your divorce case is a matter of public record? Were you aware that your life is "an open book", for anyone to read? Well, it is.

Every single pleading and all its contents is readily available for anyone to read, including your children. It is especially important to try to refrain from filing pleadings that contain scandalous material, which may very well come back "to haunt you" at some point in time in the future.

I recently came across an article dealing with another divorce for the actress we all know and love, Sandra Bullock. This was not her divorce however, but her father's. The court pleadings that someone got their hands on contained less than flattering comments about the behavior of John Bullock, Sandra's father.

The article, published on September 10, 2010 at NDTV.com, alleges the abuse his first wife (not Sandra's mother) was subjected to at the hands of John Bullock.

We are all very aware of the recent high profile divorce of Sandra Bullock, and the gracious manner in which she conducted herself through those difficult times. She, as well as her child, will look back at some time in the future, and see the dignity in which her divorce proceedings were conducted.

Court records are permanent. They illustrate who you are. It is best to rise above the name calling, blame, and slanderous allegations. Look back upon that chapter of your life with integrity.