Tavares Family Law Blog

Rules for surviving divorce

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in divorce on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

Divorce in Florida is a complicated process that can often cause emotional pain and stress. At the law office of Michael E. Golub, we understand that there may be times during the process when you feel that you may not get through it. At these times, it may be comforting to remember that many people before you have gone through a divorce successfully, often coming out even better on the other side.

You should also remember that you are not completely powerless. You have a part to play in setting the tone of the proceedings and helping the process go as smoothly as possible. The following are guidelines that may help you to not only survive the divorce process but thrive during and after.

Make a workable parenting plan

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in child custody on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.

Your divorce in Florida means ending a relationship that is damaged beyond reclamation. Nevertheless, we at the law office of Michael E. Golub remind you that if you and your spouse have children together, you still need to cooperate with one another to co-parent your children even after divorce finalization.

The first step in this co-parenting process is to work together with your spouse to develop a workable parenting plan. A good parenting plan that serves your children's best interests should establish the following.

Considerations that go into determining child support

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in divorce on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.

When parents in Florida end their marriage, it often falls to at least one of the parents to pay child support. Sometimes both you and your ex-spouse have a child support obligation. At the law office of Michael E. Golub, we know that you want to determine as soon as possible if you will have to pay child support and, if so, how much. Your child support obligation depends a great deal on your individual circumstances. There are several different factors that go into the determination.

It will probably be necessary to figure out your co-parenting plan with your ex-spouse before any discussion of child support can take place. The reason is that the amount of time that the children spend with each parent is a significant factor in determining which parent is to pay child support and how much. The responsibility to pay child support generally falls to the parent who spends less time with the children, usually calculated according to overnights spent with each parent.

Divorce mediation versus uncontested divorce

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. on Friday, August 16, 2019.

Going through a divorce can be a strenuous process. However, if the divorcing parties work together, it can make the process easier.

For those looking to have an amicable split, there are a couple of options to choose from outside the traditional court process. Particularly regarding divorce mediation and uncontested divorces, there are a few key differences.

Back to school coparenting tips

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in child custody on Saturday, August 3, 2019.

Florida parents who are separated or divorced might find the summer months a particularly nice break from the scheduled world of the school year. This time might give them more opportunities to do special things with their kids and ease the restrictions of tight bedtimes and other requirements. However, when the calendar turns to August, it is time to turn one's attention back to the school routines and finding a way to do this when kids live in two homes means parents must work well together.

Lifehacker recommends that coparents make it a priority to meet with their children's teachers together. This allows both parents to learn what the teachers will need from their kids and from them and also allow them to share important scheduling or other details with the teachers. These meetings may help prevent kids from being the communication middle-people which can be stressful for them.

Gray divorce and poverty rates

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in divorce on Sunday, July 21, 2019.

Most people who live in Florida understand that marriage is both an emotional and a financial arrangement. That, in turn, makes divorce both an emotional and financial experience. The losses associated with the end of a marriage impact people on both of these levels. When a divorce takes place after the age of 50, the impact on a person's financial life and future can be particularly devastating according to some research.

As reported by Yahoo Finance, one report recently reviewed found that men who had experienced a divorce after the age of 50 had a poverty rate of just over 11%. By comparison, women in the same group had a poverty rate of nearly 27%. For married persons, the poverty rate in this age group is three percent.

How will my taxes change after a divorce?

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in divorce on Saturday, July 6, 2019.

If you and your spouse in Florida have decided to get separated and are now looking at filing for divorce, there will be many aspects of your final settlement that may have serious financial implications for you. You will want to evaluate each one carefully before coming to any final decisions. Income taxes are one of the things that require a good understanding before you sign your divorce decree.

As explained by SmartAsset, if you and your spouse have minor children together and you will share custody of your children after your divorce, only one of you will be able to qualify to file an income tax return using the head of household status once you are divorced. The requirements for a head of household filing status include having at least one dependent live you with for more than half of the year. You should also be able to show that you have financially contributed more than half of the money needed to maintain a residence in the tax year. Finally, your divorce must have been completed no later than December 31 of the same tax year.

Your debts in a divorce

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in divorce on Saturday, June 22, 2019.

If you are like a lot of people in Florida, when you hear references to the property division portion of a divorce settlement, you think about how assets are split up between the spouses. While this is certainly a big component of the property division negotiation, it is important to remember that debts must also be addressed and divided when a couple gets divorced. The agreements that you make with your partner about how to assign debt responsibility may well impact your choices regarding asset division.

As explained by Money Management International, you should take a very forward-looking approach to your debt allocation choices. If your spouse is to assume responsibility for a particular debt, you should require that they either pay it off in the course of the divorce or transfer the debt to a new account in their name only if they will take some time to pay it off. The goal here is to ensure your name is no longer tied to the debt.

Is empty nest syndrome good grounds for divorce?

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

Marrying a spouse and raising a family are two dynamic ways to spend a lifetime. When kids leave home, though, you may think you have little in common with your spouse. Mental health professionals often refer to this feeling as empty nest syndrome.

Usually, there are neither good nor bad reasons to opt for divorce. After all, the decision is deeply personal. Nonetheless, a growing number of middle-aged couples decide to call it quits when children move away from home. Before you choose to use your empty nest syndrome as a reason to leave your spouse, you may want to try some coping techniques. Here are four that may help you measure your desire to follow through with divorce:

Fla. boy dies following apparent child custody violation

On behalf of Michael E. Golub, P.A. posted in child custody on Friday, June 14, 2019.

There is a good reason that it is difficult to modify child custody orders: The court issues them for the benefit and protection of the children. One couple appears to have violated such a court order by bringing two children from Florida to Indiana without the knowledge of their noncustodial parent. Authorities have now charged them criminally for the death of one of those two children, a 12-year-old boy.

The boy's parents divorced in 2016. His mother reports that the court awarded full custody of the boy and his nine-year-old sister to her ex-husband after she failed to show up to a custody hearing. She claims that it was a shock to learn from police that her son had been living in Indiana, where he died. Allegedly, she had been sending child support payments to a Florida address and had twice seen her ex-husband in Florida court. It is not known what, if any, visitation rights she had.