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Clearwater Divorce Law Blog

Florida potentially makes changes to foster care system

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Family Law on Thursday, May 16, 2013.

Many family law issues deal with the end of a relationship -- either through custody issues or with a divorce. However, family law also helps to grow families through adoption. Sometimes these adoptions are facilitated by private parties and happen when the children are infants. Other times, children are adopted from Florida's foster care system.

In this system children are cared for my foster parents until they are 18-years-old or until they are adopted. At age 18, if these children are not adopted then they are sent into the community and expected to live as adults.

NBA player faces paternity action in Florida court

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Fathers’ Rights on Monday, May 13, 2013.

One hotly debated family law issue is the issue of father's rights. Many people understand that being a father comes with certain financial obligations; however, people sometimes do not understand that it also comes with certain rights. When a paternity test confirms that a man is the father of a child he is then legally obligated to financially support that child.

Take, for example, a recent Florida case involving Miami Heat player Mario Chalmers. In 2012, a paternity test confirmed that he was the father of his former girlfriend's daughter. At the time paternity was established Chalmers agreed to by $2,600 a month in child support for the young girl. This money would be used to help pay for her every day expenses, her child care, educational expenses and other needs.

Tips for planning for college following a divorce

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Divorce on Sunday, May 12, 2013.

When two parents end their marriage they stop being husband and wife, but they do not stop being mom and dad. Divorcing couples still need to work together to raise their children until each one has reached adulthood. However, in today's society adulthood may not mean age 18. For many families, parents choose to support their children through college.

Therefore, it is important for Florida couples who are going through a divorce to discuss issues beyond basic property division or child support and determine if they will pay for their children's college education. If they want to pay, these couples need to determine how they will save, who will pay and how much they will pay. When these decisions are made they need to be included in the divorce decree so they are enforced down the line.

Toddlers often treated differently in child custody disputes

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Child Custody on Friday, May 10, 2013.

Divorce can be a difficult time for any Florida family, especially if that family has children. When children are involved the goal of the family law courts is to make decisions in the best interest of the child. Often, what is in the best interests of the child changes significantly child-to-child and family-to-family. Especially when determining child custody, several factors need to be considered before a final child custody agreement or child custody order can be set. One of those factors is the child's age. For young children, particularly for toddlers, a child custody agreement will look different.

In the past, when a toddler subject to a child custody agreement, the mother was given preference over the father. However, that has changed in recent years. According to some, it is more likely to be a 60 to 40 percent split instead of an 80 to 90 percent split. Furthermore, experts suggest that toddlers see each parent at least every two to three days, which can mean more frequent schedule changes. Often parents may need to split weekend visits.

Tips for divorcing Florida parents

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Divorce on Friday, May 3, 2013.

When a couple decides to end their marriage, many considerations must be made. They have to make decisions about how to split their lives and move forward from their current situation. This often means splitting personal property, maybe selling the family home and determining child custody. With all these decisions, it is very easy for Florida couples, especially for those with kids, to become overwhelmed during the divorce process.

In order to make the process smoother for divorcing couples with children, experts offer several tips. First, experts say it is important for couples to keep an open mind. Couples need to respect the other person's parenting decisions, and try and move forward with their lives. This mind set is especially important when one of the parents starts dating again and brings new people around.

Child support dispute questions woman's income

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Child Support on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

As many Florida parents know, child support is a payment from one parent to the other for the care of the child. Child support is awarded by the court to ensure that the everyday expenses for the child are met. Child support is generally determined using a child support formula. The formula takes into consideration the cost of living, the parents' income and other factors to determine how much the non-custodial parent should pay to the custodial parent.

If parents are not honest about the numbers they provide to be used in the formula, then parents may be paying more in child support then they need to. One Wall Street executive is now claiming that he is paying too much in child support after his child's mother was not honest about her income.

Florida legislature approves bill to end alimony, sent to Governor

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Family Law on Friday, April 26, 2013.

As this blog has mentioned on several occasions, under current Florida law courts can award permanent alimony. Many people in the state have recently questioned the reasoning behind permanent alimony and whether it was necessary in today's society. Therefore, a bill had been introduced which eliminated permanent alimony Florida.

It seems big changes are coming to Florida's family law courts because a bill has been passed eliminating permanent alimony and making other changes to family law issues. The bill has now been sent to Governor Rick Scott. If Gov. Scott chooses to sign the bill, the changes will go into effect. If passed, Florida would join four other states that have already eliminated the possibility of permanent alimony and it would apply retroactively -- thereby opening up the possibility of changes to older cases.

Supreme Court hears complicated father's rights custody case

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Fathers’ Rights on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

Florida courts strive to make custody decisions in the best interests of the child. This is not always an easy or clear cut decision. Although rare, when state courts are unable to come to a conclusion about custody issues, the United States Supreme Court can step in to make a determination.

The Supreme Court has recently heard a child custody case that addresses many difficult issues including father's rights issues, federal laws and adoptive parents' rights. In the case, a biological mother choose to give her baby girl up for adoption in 2009 and a married couple legally adopted the baby shortly after the birth.

Tampa children at home after international child custody dispute

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Child Custody on Friday, April 19, 2013.

There are very few issues, if any, that are more heated in family law courts than those dealing with peoples' children. When people disagree with a child custody order, their emotions can sometimes get the best of them. In these situations, people need to understand the very serious consequences of not following a child custody order.


A recent case in Tampa provides an example. In this case, a couple did not have custody of their two young sons. Instead, the court had given custody to the children's grandparents. Unhappy with this arrangement, the couple broke into the grandparents' home and took the children. They then got on a sailboat and went to Cuba. Authorities located the couple and the two children after nearly a week.

Florida legislature to consider expanding grandparents' rights

On behalf of Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices posted in Family Law on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

Grandparents often play a major role in the lives of Florida's children. Grandparents often love and support their grandchild as much as they are able. However, a divorce or other family disputes can make it difficult for grandparents to see their grandchildren as much as they would like. When this happens, grandparents may turn to Florida's family law courts to try and get access to the kids.

In these situations, grandparents are often surprised to learn that they have very few rights to see their grandchildren. Child custody agreements do not usually include time for grandparents. In many cases, visitation must be negotiated with the parents and is left up to their discretion.