Selecting the right attorney to assist your family with any of the following areas of practice is an important decision and one that should not be taken lightly. At the Law Office of Sandi D. Milmed, P.A., Sandi Milmed will personally help you navigate the legal system as well as be a counselor to help you move forward toward a better future. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on any of these areas of practice.
The legal action of terminating your marriage through legal proceedings. Florida is a no-fault state for divorce, which means that you do not need to prove fault on the part of your spouse in order to obtain a divorce in Florida. Divorce can be obtained in Florida is if the marriage is permanently broken, or if one spouse is mentally debilitated. Although fault is not required to obtain a divorce in Florida, fault can play a role in awarding alimony as well as when determining an equitable distribution of the assets and liabilities of the parties involved.
In a proceeding for divorce/dissolution of marriage, in addition to all other remedies available to a court to ensure equity between the parties, or in a proceeding for disposition of assets following a dissolution of marriage by a court which lacked jurisdiction over the absent spouse or lacked jurisdiction to settle the assets, the court will set apart to each spouse that spouse’s non-marital assets and liabilities, and in distributing the marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution based on all relevant factors.
In the state of Florida, both parents are legally required to provide financial support to their minor children (18 years-old or younger). Child support is meant to provide the custodial parent (the parent possessing the most overnight visits with a child in a one-year time frame) with financial assistance from the non-custodial parent. Child support is determined by the Florida’s child support guidelines, which takes the following into account: the number of overnight visits each party has with their child; the parties’ monthly net income; how many minor children the parties’ have together; and any payments made by either party for child care and/or health insurance costs, which provides the paying parent with a credit. If child support had already been awarded, you may also be entitled to a modification of child support.
In a proceeding for divorce/dissolution of marriage, the court may grant alimony to either party, which alimony may be bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, or permanent in nature or any combination of these forms of alimony. In any award of alimony, the court may order periodic payments or payments in lump sum or both. The court may consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances thereof in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.
Formerly known as child custody & visitation, the time-sharing arrangement is the part of the parenting plan that outlines when children live and/or spend time with each parent. Parties can agree on a time-sharing arrangement in a settlement or submit proposed schedules in a trial for the judge or general magistrate to decide. Florida courts emphasize the importance of time-sharing plans that prioritize children’s best interests while supporting ongoing parent–child relationships.
A situation where one parent wants to move their primary residence and that of the child/children more than 50 miles from the other parent. This may cause issue with shared physical custody of the child. These cases highly depend on whether the parties actually share physical custody of the child.
Determining how parents’ “co-parent” daily. A parenting plan is required in all cases involving time-sharing with minor child(ren), even when timesharing is not in dispute. The parenting plan must be developed and agreed to by the parties and approved by the court. If the parties cannot agree to a parenting plan or if the parents agreed to a plan that is not approved by the court, a parenting plan will be established by the court with or without the use of parenting plan recommendations.
Even once your final judgment is entered, issues may arise that require additional legal advice. Post judgement matters can involve agreements or orders of the court, or may require modifications of child support, alimony, custody or parenting time.
To collect a judgment obtained in another state against a person or corporation with Florida assets, you must “domesticate” the judgment. That means you bring the judgment to Florida. You may domesticate a judgment from another state by following the requirements of the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (FEFJA). As it is used in the FEFJA, “foreign” refers to any state other than Florida.
Child/children born out of wedlock can bring rise to many emotional matters. Paternity cases involve unwed parents trying to determine if the child belongs to the father. Additionally, legitimation is the process in which a father can legally acknowledge a child as his legitimate offspring.
Unfortunately, during divorce and child custody cases, involved parties can feel unsafe or even endure physical violence that may require a restraining order. This violence may include and is not limited to: a committed felony, assault, battery, criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, stalking, and unlawful restraint.
Prenuptial (before marriage) and postnuptial (after marriage) agreements spell out how a couple will divide their assets in the event their marriage dissolves. Prenups are important when one member of a couple has significant assets, a large estate, or expects to receive a large inheritance or distribution from a family trust. In many ways, postnups are almost identical to prenups. The biggest difference is that postnuptial agreements are made after the wedding.
Both wills and trusts are useful estate planning devices that serve different purposes, and both can work together to create a complete estate plan. The main difference between a will and a trust is that a will goes into effect only after you are deceased, while a trust takes effect as soon as you create it. A will is a document that directs who will receive your property at your death and appoints a legal representative to carry out your wishes. A trust can be used to begin distributing property before death, at death, or afterwards. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person, called a trustee, holds legal title to property for another person, called a beneficiary. Wills and trusts can work together to keep possessions and assets out of probate.
Probate is the process by which a court determines how to distribute your property after you have passed away. Some assets are distributed to heirs by the court (probate assets) and some assets bypass the court process and go directly to your beneficiaries (non-probate assets). The probate process includes filing a will and appointing an executor or administrator, collecting assets, paying bills, filing taxes, distributing property to heirs, and filing a final account.
A power of attorney allows a person you appoint, your “attorney-in-fact” or agent, to act in your place for financial or other purposes when and if you ever become incapacitated or if you can’t act on your own behalf. There are four main types of powers of attorney: limited, general, durable, and springing.
A living will is a document that explains whether or not you want to be kept on life support if you become terminally ill and will die shortly without life support, or fall into a persistent vegetative state. It also addresses other important questions, detailing your preferences for tube feeding, artificial hydration, and pain medication in certain situations. A living will becomes effective only when you cannot communicate your desires on your own. A health care surrogate is an adult that you may appoint to make health care decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them for yourself.
The Law Office of Sandi D. Milmed, P.A. is sympathetic and understanding to the nature of your matter(s) at hand and is ready to work rigorously for you on any of the above areas of practice. If you are interested in learning more about how we may assist you, please contact us.