Parenting Coordinator Requirements

The parenting coordinator is not a judge, and he or she is not simply any unbiased third party.  The educational requirements for parenting coordinators in Florida are quite strict. To be a parenting coordinator, you must have a medical degree and be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, or else you must hold a master’s degree either in family mediation or in a mental health field. You must have three years of professional experience working as a psychiatrist or mental health professional. You must complete a family mediation training program, in addition to a parenting coordinator training program; the latter program includes 24 hours of classroom instruction. Having previously been found guilty of child abuse or domestic violence disqualifies you as a parenting coordinator. Additionally, parenting coordinators must keep what is said at parenting coordination meetings confidential, and they must avoid conflicts of interest with any parties involved.

Do You Still Need an Attorney?

Parenting coordination is much less expensive than litigation, but it is not free. At the same time, while parenting coordinators know a lot about the emotional well-being of children and parents after a divorce, they are not lawyers. Divorce without lawyers is not possible for most couples.  Even the simplest divorces, in which the couple does not have children together and has very little in terms of marital assets, sometimes require the services of one or more lawyers.

While a parenting coordinator certainly has an informed opinion about what is in the children’s best interest and how to set and achieve goals based on that, a parenting coordinator’s advice is not really a substitute for professional legal advice. For one thing, parenting coordinators only help with agreements regarding the parenting plan.  hey do not deal with division of property, which is often the second most controversial issue in a divorce after issues related to parenting.

Contact Alan Burton About Child Custody Cases

Before you meet with a parenting coordinator, it is a good idea to discuss your case with a family law attorney. Contact Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, Florida for a legal consultation.

How do Florida Parenting Plans Address Holiday Timesharing?

People whose parents divorced in the 1980s and 1990s probably remember that life settled into a rhythm, usually including living with Mom during the week and with Dad on the weekends, but that sparks always flew at Thanksgiving and Christmas, when extended family members visited, or when one parent wanted to take the children to visit out-of-town relatives during a holiday.  This is one of the major issues that Florida’s new parenting plans address. The parenting plan template has questions to address every school vacation, including winter break, Thanksgiving, and spring break. Parents can choose, as soon as they divorce, where the children will spend each holiday each year. For example, they can specify that, in odd-numbered years, the children will spend Thanksgiving break with Mom until Friday afternoon and then spend the rest of it with Dad, but in even-numbered years, they will be with Dad until Friday afternoon and then go to Mom’s house. Parenting plans even allow parents to allot certain times for children to stay with grandparents, and they can choose to grant certain holiday days to the grandparents.

In some ways, Thanksgiving is the simplest holiday to plan because it is always on a Thursday.  What about Christmas, which is always on the same date, but on different days of the week?  What about Hanukkah, which sometimes coincides with winter break and sometimes does not?  What about Islamic holidays, which, because the Islamic lunar calendar is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, vary not only by day of the week, but by month?  (For example, this year, both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha were during summer vacation. In 2000, Eid al-Fitr was between Christmas and New Year’s.) Florida’s parenting plans were made to be customized.  You can specify that each parent gets the children for four nights of Hanukkah, and that if it falls during a school week, each parent gets one non-school night of the holiday.

Ambiguity Breeds Conflict: Avoid Holiday Confusion with Alan Burton

It might sound like micromanaging, but the best way to avoid holiday stress is to make your parenting plan as specific as possible. Once your parenting plan is set, you can build your holiday plans around when the children will be with you, and when they will be with your ex-spouse. Contact Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, Florida to discuss the holiday timesharing aspects of your parenting plan.

Once you are the legal parent of a child, it is difficult to lose your parental rights. The courts acknowledge that parents are only human, and that it is almost always in a child’s best interest to stay with his or her own parents. For example, having a criminal record or a diagnosis of a mental illness or addiction does not, by itself, mean that the court will reduce or take away your right to spend time with your children or make decisions about them. Involuntary termination of parental rights only happens when it is impossible for the parent to provide adequate care for the child or when the parent has seriously endangered the child.

Bases for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

These are some of the cases in which Florida courts can terminate a parent’s parental rights.

• Long prison sentences: Most prison sentences do not cost parents their parental rights. If the parent’s sentence is no long that the child will have turned 18 by the time the parent is released, the court may terminate the parent’s rights.
• Breach of case plan: If the parent has repeatedly failed to meet the requirements of a case plan set by the Department of Children and Families, the parent may lose his or her parental rights.
• Abuse: Physical and sexual abuse of a child can be grounds for termination of parental rights.  Depending on the severity of the abuse, a single incident can be grounds for termination of rights.
• Failure to comply with substance abuse treatment: If a mother gives birth to a child whose bodily fluids test positive for alcohol or illicit drugs, the court will require the mother to undergo addiction treatment. If she fails to comply with treatment, she can lose her parental rights. If she gives birth to a subsequent child, and this second child also tests positive for drugs or alcohol, she will automatically lose her rights to both children.
• Violent sex crimes: If the parent is convicted of a crime that requires the parent to register as a sexual predator, the parent will lose parental rights. According to Florida law, not every sex offender is a sexual predator. Florida also requires people to register as sex offenders for non-violent crimes such as failure to notify a partner of your HIV-positive status, even if you use condoms or take medications to reduce your risk of transmitting the virus, and “Romeo and Juliet” relationships, which are consensual relationships between teens who are close in age, but only one is a legal adult. Sexual predators are people who have been convicted either of violent sex crimes or sexual abuse of minors.

Contact Alan Burton About Parental Rights

It is possible to reinstate your parental rights after they have been terminated, but it is very difficult. Contact Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, Florida to find out how Florida’s parental rights laws apply to your situation.

Details of the Miranda Wilkerson Case

Trista Crews and Donald Coleman met and began their relationship in 1997, when she was 14 and he was 38. They married when Trista was 16, with Trista’s mother Rita Manning giving consent for her underage daughter to marry. Nonetheless, Coleman eventually had to register as a sex offender because of the age difference in his relationship with Trista. They would go on to have three children together before separating in 2007.

Trista was separated from Donald Coleman at the time of Miranda’s birth, and he filed for divorce at around that time because he doubted that he was Miranda’s biological father. About a month later, Trista died in a car accident, and her mother Rita Manning assumed responsibility for Miranda’s care. After a long custody battle between Manning and Coleman, a judge finally awarded custody of Miranda to Coleman, who was then living in Georgia. Miranda was then three years old, and she had lived with her grandmother almost since birth. Miranda’s biological father has since tried to get custody of her, but currently available news reports offer few details about that aspect of the case.

What About Grandparents’ Rights?

To anyone who has never dealt with Florida’s paternity laws, the outcome of the case is very strange indeed. Why would the court take a child away from her grandmother, the only parental figure she has ever known, and give custody to a man who has never claimed to be her biological father? Does the fact that Coleman is registered as a sex offender for beginning a relationship with a teenager when he was nearly 40 not weaken his case at all? It sounds like a case in which the court gave more weight to the mother’s legal marriage than to anyone’s relationship with the child. In Florida, parenting plans can include clauses about children spending certain amounts of time with grandparents, so one can hope that Miranda has been able to continue to have a close relationship with her grandmother.

Contact Alan Burton About Child Custody Cases

In determining child custody, judges are required to base their decisions on the best interests of the child. Contact Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, Florida if you think that a family court has put your child or grandchild in a custody situation that is not in his or her best interest.

What has any of this to do with divorce in Florida? It turns out that many Florida divorce cases require parenting classes. In fact, mandatory parenting classes in Florida divorce cases are almost as routine as the one-day class for new drivers in Florida.

Mandatory Parenting Classes in Florida

It is common for Florida family courts to require Florida couples going through a divorce to complete the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the judge will sign the final divorce decree. In fact, Florida courts require it of every divorcing couple that has minor children. Additionally, when a man who is not married to his child’s mother establishes paternity, the court requires both parents to complete the course.

If a court requires you to take a parenting course, it does not mean that the judge thinks you are a bad parent. It is simply to make sure that both parents understand the legal requirements and basic principles for co-parenting a child when the parents are not married to each other. In fact, the courts do not require the class for just one parent; they always require it for both parents.  The parents do not have to attend the class together, though, and in fact, they usually do not. The course is designed not to be a major burden on parents. The minimum length for the course is four hours; most of the time, the courses last just one afternoon or evening. While the law does not specify a price for the course, the course must not be prohibitively expensive. In practice, the usual price for a Florida parenting course is between $18 and $39.

Alan R. Burton Works With Family Law Cases in Florida

Completing a required parenting course is just about the only thing that is easy about divorce when you have minor children. For everything else, you need the help of an experienced family lawyer. Contact Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, Florida about divorce and child custody.

What Rights Do Fathers Have?

You might think that going through the process to establish paternity is unnecessary red tape, especially if you communicate well enough with your child’s mother that there have never been any major disagreements about the child. You might have an unwritten agreement where you take care of the child at certain times and provide some financial support to the child. Without legally establishing paternity, though, anything can change. What if a new partner enters the picture? What if one of you decides to move out of state?

A child’s legal father has certain rights and obligations regarding his children.

• Physical custody: The court can enforce the father’s right to spend a certain number of days per year with the children. (This is called “timesharing” in the Florida parenting plan.)
• Legal custody: The father has the right to act on the children’s behalf and make major decisions regarding them. This is especially important regarding schools; legal custody is the right to decide everything from which school the children attend to which extracurricular activities they can do.
• Child support: You might not think of paying child support as a “right,” but Florida law also considers the father’s needs and ability to pay in determining how much child support her should pay. If the children spend more time with you and your income is lower than your ex’s, the court might require her to pay child support.

How to Get the Court to Recognize You as the Child’s Father

The easiest way for an unmarried father to become recognized as the legal father is to file a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity. Once you and the child’s mother file this signed statement with the court, it will become legally binding 60 days later. The court may or may not ask you to take a DNA test to prove that you are the biological father of the child.

Burton Law Is Here to Help Fathers

When you have established legal paternity, the court cannot take your children away from you, except in very extreme circumstances. Contact Alan Burton in Palm Beach County in order to have the court legally acknowledge you as the father of your children.

Custody

People tend to speak of one parent having custody of the children after a divorce, while the other parent has visitation. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was more common than it is now for children to spend most of their time with one parent and to spend only two weekends a month with the other parent. Now, when possible, courts often rule to have children spend at least two nights per week with each parent. Exceptions are when the parents live so far away from each other that it is not practical to transport the children back and forth each week.

What to Say Instead: The current version of the Florida parenting plan template contains language about timesharing; it has details about what portion of every school week and every school vacation the children will spend with each parent.

What Custody Really Means According to the Law: Florida law makes a distinction between physical custody (where the children spend time) and legal custody (decision making power).  Florida parenting plans also ask parents to specify which parent is responsible for which decisions related to the children.

Temporary Alimony

Florida judges can award any of six types of alimony in a divorce. Only one of them is truly permanent. The term “temporary alimony” refers to only one of the five non-permanent types of spousal support.

What to Say Instead: Call each type of alimony by its official name. For example, if the alimony is being awarded to help the supported spouse become certified to practice a certain profession, so that he or she can become financially independent, it is rehabilitative alimony. If it is just one alimony payment, no matter how large or how small, it is lump sum alimony.

What Temporary Alimony Really Means According to the Law: Temporary alimony is spousal support paid in installments while the divorce case is still being decided. It automatically ends once a court formally dissolves the marriage. If the spousal support payments will continue even for a short time after the divorce is final, then it is not technically alimony.

Burton Law Makes Family Law Understandable

Family law case documents can be full of legal terms that mean something other than they mean when they are used in everyday speech. Contact Alan Burton, a Palm Beach family law attorney, for straight answers about divorce, spousal support, and parenting plans.

There Is No One Size Fits All Parenting Plan

It is rare in Florida that judges award sole custody of the children to only one parent.  Besides, the word “custody” has more than one meaning in Florida law.  Physical custody refers to where and with whom the children reside most of the time, whereas legal custody refers to who has the authority to make important decisions about the children. Legal custody includes the right to choose which school the children attend, which medical treatments they receive, and which religious activities they participate in, among other important decisions. It is technically possible for one parent to have more time with the children while the other has the last word about their education and extracurricular activities.

Divorced couples with children must file Form 12.995(a) with the courts; couples who have children together but have never been married to each other must also file this form. The form, called a parenting plan, contains many details about physical and legal custody. Clearly, child custody is not a yes/no question, since the parenting plan form, minus instructions, is 13 pages long. The parents (or the judge, if the parents cannot agree) indicate how many nights per year the children spend with each parent and how to divide the responsibility of transporting the children to the other parent. They can even assign a certain number of nights with the children to another relative. The parenting plan sets out in detail where the children will spend each day of each school break. As for decision making, each decision (school choice, non-emergency medical treatment, day care, extracurricular activities, etc.) is a separate item. In fact, it deals with every aspect of parenting except child support payments.

Every family is unique, so no two parenting plans are alike. Some families even choose an option called bird’s nest custody. In this arrangement, the children stay in the family home, while each parent spends a different part of the week there. This type of custody arrangement is quite rare.  It only works if the spouses can cooperate well with each other. It is also virtually impossible if one or both parents remarries, as it would be disruptive to the stepparents.

Let Alan R. Burton Help You Navigate Your Parenting Plan

Alan R. Burton is a Palm Beach County family lawyer. Contact Alan Burton with questions about your child custody or child support case, no matter how complex.

What Is a Guardian ad Litem?

A guardian ad litem is a person appointed to provide information about the child and his or her situation in order to help the judge make a decision about the child’s best interest. The guardian ad litem does not have custody of the child even temporarily; the child’s legal guardians remain the biological, adoptive, or foster parents. The guardian ad litem’s legal responsibility to the child is only to represent the child’s best interests before the judge.

In Florida, guardians ad litem are volunteers, and each guardian ad litem is assigned to only one child or family at a time. They come from all different professional and educational backgrounds. Regardless of previous work experience, they must take a training course to become qualified to work as guardians ad litem. Many of them have worked with children in their professional lives and have a keen sense of what constitutes a child’s best interest; many guardians ad litem are social workers, teachers, and healthcare workers.

The duties of a guardian ad litem include visits and meetings with the child, often at the child’s home or school. He or she might also meet with other people in the child’s life, such as teachers, relatives, and doctors, to gain information about what is in the child’s best interest. The guardian then prepares a report about the child and submits it to the judge. Judges use reports prepared by guardians ad litem to help them make decisions in family law cases.

Can a Guardian ad Litem Help Your Child Custody Case?

The most important duty of guardians ad litem is to protect children from abuse and neglect.  Most children who are appointed a guardian ad litem to represent them are currently or have previously been in foster care. Sometimes judges also appoint guardians ad litem in child custody cases, even when the children have only ever lived with their parents, either together or separately. In divorce, it is common for parents to disagree about what is in the best interest of the children. The parents present their respective sides of the story in court, and it is one person’s word against another’s. A guardian ad litem is an unbiased source of information about the child, and his or her report can help the judge determine what is actually best for the child.

Contact Alan R. Burton About Your Divorce

Alan R. Burton is a marital and family law attorney in Boca Raton, Florida. Contact Alan R. Burton with questions about divorce and child custody, including if you think a guardian ad litem could help you and your ex-spouse arrive at an acceptable custody agreement.

The judge’s discretion however, is not unlimited or unchecked. The trial judge is bound to follow the mandates of the Florida relocation statute, found in Florida Statue 61.13001.

The relocation statute includes a list of ten (10) factors that the judge hearing the case is required to consider. No one factor is more important than any other.  The judge will hear evidence on all of the various factors, and do what is best for the children.

In preparing your case for court, whether you are seeking to relocate, or are opposing the relocation, be sure to have all of your evidence you intend to present as to each factor organized, and ready to submit in a concise fashion.

What do you do if you are presented with a job offer or other employment opportunity, the acceptance of which is time sensitive?  Often time Court proceedings can be a long and protracted experience.  The relocation statute provides a specific remedy for this very situation.

You have the right to request a temporary relocation, if you are pressed for time.  The statute requires that you be heard on a temporary request to relocate within 30 days of your request.

The relocation statute has many technical requirements.  You must be certain to comply with each and every one of them, or you may find your petition denied on procedural deficiencies.  That is the last thing you would want.

A temporary right to relocate does not necessarily mean an automatic right to relocate at a final hearing.  The relocation statute is very specific regarding this point.  A judge is not permitted to give any weight to the fact that a temporary relocation was granted or denied, when considering the case for final resolution.

The stakes are high when either seeking or opposing a relocation with minor children.  You want to be sure you get it right. Contact Boca Raton divorce and family law attorney, Alan R. Burton, an attorney with over 37 years of experience for assistance. You can reach him directly, 7 days a week, at 954-295-9222.

In the absence of a statutory or contractual provision to the contrary, the proper method to measure the distance between 2 points is the straight line or quote as the crow flies” measure. If the distance using the straight-line test measurement is less than 50 miles, a move can be made by one parent without consent from the other parent or approval from the court. This would be true even if the move is 49 miles away.

However, simply because a move is less than 50 miles away, does not mean that other aspects of a parenting plan would be effected.  A move 49 miles away would most definitely effect the school boundaries, and therefore the school that the minor child would attend.  Does this mean that the moving or relocating parent has a right to change schools without obtaining the other parent’s consent?

The answer to this question is usually no.  Once parents enter into a parenting plan, they generally provide for shared parental responsibility on all major decisions effecting the welfare of their children.  Educational matters are considered major decisions.  Therefore, if a move will trigger the enrollment of the minor child in a different school, a discussion must be held with the other parent, and the consent of the other parent to change schools must be obtained prior to removing the child from his or her existing school.  In the event the other parent will not consent, the matter must be brought before the court for a determination as to the best interests of the child.

A discussion of these issues, which involve the interrelationship between these principles, can be found in the case of Dickson v. Dickson, 169 So. 3rd 287 (Florida 5th DCA 2015).

The Florida Supreme Court has approved a form for a Parenting Plan (Form 12.995(a) to be used in a divorce case or paternity case. Caution should be exercised when completing this form.  Although the form contains many multiple-choice type selections, the parenting plan can also include, and should include, specific matters that are unique to your own particular family situation.  An experienced divorce attorney in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale should always be consulted with prior to executing any parenting plans or other legal documents which will substantially affect the welfare of your minor children.  Attorney Alan R. Burton, a seasoned and experienced divorce attorney who deals with parenting plans and all other child related issues on a daily basis is ready to assist you now.  Call 954-295-9222 to speak with Mr. Burton today.

Before a court will grant your divorce, you and your spouse must settle numerous issues including:

• Property and debt division;
• Child support;
• Time-sharing and visitation;
• Parenting plans;
• Alimony.

If any one of those issues cannot be settled out of court, the divorce can be delayed as the court will have to decide for you. You and your spouse will have to present evidence to support your arguments for how you want to resolve the issue at trial and the judge will rule on the matter.

A recent divorce case demonstrates just how much a divorce case can be affected by adversarial disputes instead of cooperation. After 25 years of marriage, the wife of the founder of Cancer Treatment Centers for America filed for divorce. The filing occurred in 2009 and the case is still dragging on due to several disagreements regarding a prenuptial agreement, custody, and division of their millions of dollars in assets. The case has involved numerous hearings, appellate hearings, changes of lawyers, contempt orders, and other complications, and is now finally going to trial over asset and property division. In the meantime, both spouses have likely spent an enormous amount of money, stress, and time dealing with the divorce proceedings and have been unable to remarry since their marriage is not yet dissolved after more than six years.

Finding Ways to Come to a Resolution

It is unreasonable to expect every divorcing couple to agree on every issue. However, there are numerous ways to facilitate cooperation and agreement even if spouses do not initially agree. Some options for couples to resolve issues in a more efficient and amicable way include the following:

• Mediation;
• Collaborative divorce;
• Negotiation.

It is important to explore one or more of these options before you take your case to court for a more costly and time-consuming resolution. In addition, the above methods allow you to settle matters on your own terms because, when you go to court, the ruling is out of your hands.

Discuss Your Case With an Experienced Boca Raton Divorce Attorney Today

At the law office of divorce lawyer Alan R. Burton, we understand the importance of an efficient resolution in a divorce case so that you can move on with your life as soon as possible. However, we also know that agreement is not possible in every case. For this reason, we will help you explore every possible option to come to an agreement, however, are also prepared to represent you in court if it is necessary for a fair and favorable result for you. If you are considering divorce, please call us as soon as possible at 954-229-1660 for a free consultation.

In order to understand why this is the case, you should have a basic understanding of custody laws in Florida. First, there are two different aspects to child custody:

• Physical custody: the time you spend with your child visiting you or living with you; and
• Legal custody: the right to be a part of major decisions in the child’s life, including schooling, activities, religion, and medical care.

In Florida, physical custody is called “parenting time” and legal custody is often referred to as “parental responsibility.” How these rights are divided between parents is set out in a parenting plan that must be approved by the courts.

Florida law greatly favors joint parenting rights whenever possible and whenever it is in the best interests of the child. It is very difficult to demonstrate that denying one parent of any custody rights will be in the best interest of the child. Doing so will essentially terminate the rights of the other parent and that can only happen in very rare circumstances. Such circumstances may include a history of violent crime, serious abuse or neglect, substance abuse or addiction, or mental health disorders. Even under those circumstances, a court can allow the parent to have visits with the child that are supervised to ensure the child’s safety.

Trying to fight for sole custody requires you to show significant evidence that the parent is unfit to have any parenting rights to the court. Not only can these hearings involve airing personal dirty laundry in open court, but they can be extremely costly and time-consuming. An attorney can help you carefully consider if striving for sole custody is worth it in your situation. Instead of sole custody, you could seek one of the following solutions:

• Supervised visitation;
• No overnight visits with the parent if their lifestyle or living arrangement is questionable;
• The sole authority to make decisions for your child if the other parent cannot make rational and practical decisions.
• Shared custody with the condition of psychological evaluations or drug tests.

Contact a Knowledgeable Florida Child Custody Lawyer Today

While it may not be possible to obtain sole custody rights in many situations, there are cases that warrant such a determination. Boca Raton family law attorney Alan R. Burton will evaluate your situation and advise on whether seeking sole custody would be appropriate in your case. Even if you do not get full custody rights, we can fight to ensure proper restrictions are put in place to protect the wellbeing of your child. Please call for a free consultation at 954-229-1660 to learn more about our family law services today.

Can I get sole custody of my children?

It is important to note that instead of the terms “joint custody” or “sole custody,” Florida law refers to “equal time-sharing” or “majority time-sharing.” While the law favors time-sharing with both parents, it is possible in some situations to have your children with you the majority of the time. However, courts will generally allow at least some visitation with the other parent except in exceptional circumstances. So, unless the other parent does not want to see your children, you will have to share some time with your children.

We have a time-sharing order as part of our separation agreement — can we just keep that arrangement following the divorce?

It is possible to include the existing arrangement in the divorce judgment if both parents agree, if no circumstances have substantially changed that warrant a new arrangement, and if the court finds that the existing arrangement is still in the child’s best interests.

Can my children just tell the court they want to live with me?

Under Florida law, children can have a say in who they want to live with if their preference is reasonable and if the court determines they have the experience, intelligence, and understanding of the situation to make the decision. However, courts can still order visitation with the other parent.

What happens if my ex refuses to agree to a time-sharing arrangement?

It is always preferable to agree on a time-sharing and parenting plan and have the court simply review and approve it. However, if one or both parents cannot agree, the court will examine the circumstances, listen to evidence of each argument regarding requested arrangements, and determine what schedule is in the child’s best interests under the circumstances. If you do have a trial regarding time-sharing or parenting plans, your attorney can help you gather and present evidence supporting your desired schedule.

My ex has a mental illness, substance abuse problem, or history of domestic abuse — will they get to spend time with the children?

While courts do favor time-sharing with both parents, they will consider whether time with a certain parent places the child in danger or is not in the best interests of the child. In such situations, the court may decide to order supervised visitation with the parent or perhaps no time-sharing with that parent at all. If the circumstances later change (e.g. the parent successfully goes through treatment), they may be able to obtain a modification of the time-sharing order based on a substantial change circumstances.

The above are only brief answers to often complex questions regarding child custody. For more in-depth information or if you are facing a custody case, do not delay in calling a Boca Raton family law attorney for help. Contact the law office of Alan R. Burton at 954-229-1660 today.

The following are some examples of actions you should never take on your own regarding child custody:

• Withholding visitation or custody rights if the other parent fails to pay child support.
• Refusing to adhere to the visitation schedule in the parenting plan. This includes both refusing to turn the children over to the parent during their allotted time as well as failing to take the children for your own visitation time.
• Taking the children during the other parent’s custody time.

Even if you believe that the other parent is not fit to be alone with the children, you should still not refuse to follow a custody order. Instead, you can file an emergency motion with the court if you believe that the safety or wellbeing or your children is in jeopardy. If the other parent is refusing to comply with the custody order, you should file a motion with the court to enforce the order. The court can then issue sanctions if they still refuse to obey the order. Finally, if the custody arrangement is not working for you, you should request a modification from the court.

The one time you should act on your own is if your children disappear from your home during your parenting time. In such a situation, you should first call the authorities before the court. In a recent case out of Florida, two children who were in the custody of their grandparents disappeared from the home. An Amber Alert was issued and, later that day, authorities found the children with their mother in a motel room. The mother was then arrested and may be facing criminal charges of interference with custody or even more serious charges.

Consult With a Qualified Boca Raton Child Custody Lawyer as Soon as Possible

Whether your ex-partner is refusing to agree to with the custody agreement or you want the arrangement changed for your own benefit, you should never try to solve custody matters without the approval of the courts. Violating a court order can result in serious consequences, even if you believe you are acting in the best interest of your child. Instead, you should contact an experienced family law attorney in Boca Raton who can help you explore your options to resolve your custody conflict. Please call the law offices of Alan R. Burton at 954-229-1660 for help today.

Generally speaking, child support is determined under the law by a specific formula based on each parent’s income and expenses. Under the law, a legal parent has the responsibility to financially support his or her child whether or not he or she has physical custody of the child. Due to the Florida child support formula, many support determinations are fairly straightforward and difficult to challenge. However, a recent case involving a television personality demonstrates how these cases can still be very complex.

Challenging Parental Responsibility for a Surrogate Child

Several news outlets reported a court ruling involving former host of The View Sherri Shepherd, her ex-husband, and a child born from a surrogate mother. While they were married, reports indicate that Shepherd and her husband contracted with another woman to have a child via surrogacy using her husband’s sperm and a donated egg. Unfortunately, the marriage was over before the pregnancy was and they filed for divorce.

In the divorce, Shepherd attempted to challenge her parental responsibilities to the child. She was not present at the child’s birth and did not allow her name on the certificate of birth since she stated she was in no way the biological parent of the child since the egg was donated. She also stated she only agreed to seek a surrogacy because her husband wanted it. She sought no custody or visitation and claimed she should not have to pay child support to her ex-husband.

In the maternity suit brought by the ex-husband, a court recently ruled that the surrogacy contract is valid and makes Shepherd the legal parent of the child, which means her name must be listed on the birth certificate and she is responsible for paying child support to her ex-husband who is raising the child full-time. The court also ruled she must pay alimony.

The above case is an example of how complex some child custody and child support cases can be. Whether a child is conceived to both parents, adopted, or conceived via surrogacy, there are still issues of parental rights and responsibilities to be addressed in any divorce that involves children.

Contact a Qualified Child Custody Attorney in Boca Raton

Whether a child custody and child support case is relatively simple or complex, it is still important to have an experienced family law attorney handling your case. At the law office of Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton, we have helped many individuals with custody and child support matters, so please call 954-229-1660 for a free consultation.

In order to have full parental rights, a non-biological parent must legally adopt a child. For this reason, many people in the Boca Raton area decide to pursue a stepparent adoption. If successful, stepparent adoptions provide all the benefits of a traditional adoption without many of the requirements under Florida adoption laws, such as a waiting period, interviews and home visits, and other “red tape.” However, there is one specific requirement for a stepparent adoption that can cause complications in your case.

Consent From the Biological Parent

The main requirement for a stepparent adoption is that the biological parent (who is not in the marriage) must consent. Three people cannot have parental rights at the same time. This means that when a stepparent gains parental rights, the biological parent relinquishes them. For this reason, the biological parent must consent to the adoption and giving up their parental rights. This can be complex and one of three situations generally results:

• The parent agrees — Parents do sometimes agree to give up their rights, especially if they do not have a close relationship with the child. Giving up rights also means giving up responsibility, so they would no longer have to pay child support or for other needs of the child.

• The parent does not respond — If the parent does not respond or cannot be found, the court can still approve the adoption as long as the parent was notified and the adoption is in the best interest of the child.

• The parent refuses — If the parent refuses, a stepparent can try to claim the parent has abandoned the child if they have not contacted the child or that the parent is not the presumed father.

Call a Committed Boca Raton Family Law Attorney For Assistance

If you are considering adopting your stepchild or if you have any other important family law concerns, you should never hesitate to call a skilled family law lawyer in Boca Raton. Family law matters can be especially difficult if they involve children, so you want an attorney handling your case who can provide the commitment and representation you need for a favorable outcome for your family. Mr. Burton has assisted numerous Florida families with adoptions, paternity actions, custody and visitation disputes, and much more, so please call for a free consultation at 954-229-1660 today.

If You Agree to Relocation

If a parent plans to take a child over 50 miles away for more than 60 days, Florida law states they must obtain permission to do so from the other parent. In some situations, the other parent may simply agree to the relocation. Even so, the parents must submit an agreement to the court for approval before the move can take place. This agreement must also set out the new visitation and time-sharing schedule for after the move.

If You Do Not Agree

Cases can become significantly more complex if the noncustodial parent does not give his or her permission for the relocation. In such situations, the parent wishing to move must petition the court for permission to do so. If the other parent does not respond to the petition, the court will generally approve the relocation. If the other parent opposes the petition, a hearing will be held for the court to decide what is in the best interests of the child.

Many factors may be considered when determining whether a relocation would be in the best interests of the child. Some factors include the following:

• How the move will affect the child’s relationship with each parent, siblings, or others who are important to the child;
• How the move would affect the child’s physical, emotional, and educational well-being and development;
• What the child wants;
• The chances of preserving a meaningful relationship with the other parent after the relocation;
• The reasons the parent wants to relocate, including whether the reasons are valid and whether the move will increase the child and parent’s quality of life and financial circumstances.

Contact an Experienced Boca Raton Child Custody Attorney for a Free Consultation

Many issues regarding child custody can arise in the months and years after an initial custody order is issued. While relocation is one of the most serious issues that can affect child custody, parents can have major disagreements about vacations, education, health care decisions, and much more. It is critical to have representation by an experienced family law attorney who thoroughly understands child custody matters in Florida both in your initial case and any subsequent issues that come up. If you are facing a child custody case, call the law office of Alan R. Burton in Boca Raton at (954) 229-1660 for help today.

Questions of Fault

In Florida, you must file for divorce on a “no-fault” basis, which means that no specific reason–such as adultery–can be given for the divorce. Insteading of blaming one spouse, all divorces are based on the assertion that the marriage is irretrievably broken. For this reason, adultery has no effect specifically on basic questions of fault in a divorce.

Alimony

Though adultery cannot be considered for fault purposes, it can be considered when the family court is making other determinations, such as whether to award alimony. However, the court cannot award alimony simply as a punishment for a cheating spouse. Instead, the court must further find that the adultery affected the non-cheating spouse’s need for financial support.

Child Custody Determinations

In addition to alimony determinations, a court may consider infidelity as a factor in deciding how to award physical and legal custody. For example, courts regularly examine the moral fitness of each parent when deciding what type of custody arrangement will be in the best interests of the child. Adultery, especially flagrant or particularly scandalous behavior, may lead the court to doubt the moral fitness of the spouse who cheated and may influence a decision to limit custody or timesharing if the court believes the affair had an adverse effect on the child’s well-being.

Division of Property

Florida law requires division of marital property to be equitable and fair based on the particular circumstances of the spouses. If the court finds that the unfaithful spouse spent marital assets on an affair that otherwise would have been divided, the court can award the other spouse more assets and property. Similarly, if the cheating spouse incurred debts to pay for an affair, the court may find that those debts are the sole responsibility of that spouse instead of dividing the debt balances between the two parties.

Call a Boca Raton Divorce Attorney for Help

As you can see, adultery can play a role in a divorce case. If you suspect that your spouse has been unfaithful or if your spouse has accused you of adultery, it may cause a number of potential complications throughout the divorce process. It is important that you have the representation of an experienced Boca Raton divorce lawyer and keep your lawyer fully informed regarding any possible issues or accusations that may arise during your divorce. Florida family law attorney Alan R. Burton understands how to face such issues head-on with your best interests in mind. Call our office today at (954) 229-1660 to talk about your case for free.

Marriage

In order for a marriage to be valid, both individuals must be of sound mind, must understand the nature and effects of getting married, and must be mentally capable of agreeing to the marriage. Simply because one person has a mental condition does not automatically render them incapacitated for marriage purposes, but if a court decides one spouse did not have the capacity to agree to a marriage, that marriage will be deemed invalid.

Prenuptial Agreements

If you sign a premarital agreement, you must have the mental capacity to understand the provisions of the agreement and the effects of the agreement should you get divorced in the future. If you did not have the ability to understand what you were signing at the time you signed, the agreement may be declared invalid.

Divorce

Mental incapacity is important in Florida divorce in more than one way. First, a Florida statute permits a spouse to get a divorce if they have been djudged to be mentally incapacitated for at least three years prior to the divorce filing. In such cases, the individual’s guardian or representative family member will be notified and will be able to appear in court on his or her behalf.

Additionally, Florida family courts will not grant a divorce that was filed by a mentally incapacitated person who does not understand the effect of a divorce. For example, a Palm Beach County judge recently ruled that an 87-year-old man with dementia could not be granted a divorce. His wife argued that his children are manipulating him for financial purposes to pursue divorce and that he would not actually want a divorce if he understood what was happening. The court agreed and dismissed the divorce case.

Child Custody

If one parent is mentally incapacitated, they will likely be unable to properly care for a child. Therefore, in such cases, the court may determine that it is in the best interests of the child to award full custody to the other parent or only provide for limited supervised visits with the incapacitated parent.

A Qualified Boca Raton Family Law Attorney Can Help

Having the requisite mental capacity is only one of many potential issues in marriage, divorce, and other family law matters. Each case will have unique legal questions and you always want to make sure you have an attorney handling your case who understands how to identify and address any potential issues. If you have any type of family law matter, you should not delay in discussing your situation with Boca divorce lawyer Alan R. Burton today. Call (954) 229-1660 for a free consultation.