Nearly 50% of all marriages in the U.S. will end in divorce or separation. Keep Calm. With our legal guidance and assistance, this can be the start of your new beginning.

Ending a marriage is certainly difficult. It's stressful and emotional, and all the while, you're worried about your financial future and how your family's life will look post-divorce. Unfortunately, divorce is much more than just signing the papers. Before you reach that point, you need to agree on your divorce terms or convince a judge to rule in your favor. This process all happens at the same time as you are learning to deal with a new reality. One of the major ways you can take care of yourself is by investing in an experienced divorce lawyer who can make your life easier throughout the divorce process and help you lay the groundwork for a better future.

When dealing with divorce or other family law conflict, it can be an uncertain and stressful time. This is doubly true for the innocent bystanders of family turmoil - children.

At Dana Price Law, we want to help you develop a plan for how both parents will continue to have a strong and loving bond with their child or children, even if the parents determine that they can no longer do that as a married couple.

Formally known as Child Custody & Visitation

As of October 1, 2008, the courts have done away with titles such as "custody", "primary residence", "rotating custody" and "visitation". Instead the courts now will require a Parenting Plan that includes a Time-Sharing Schedule. Timesharing can be better understood as the amount of time a parent shares with the other parent as to their child. In accordance with this new change neither parent will have “full custody” or “total custody” of the children. When parents of children are separating, whether divorcing or not, the court will consider what is in the children’s best interest when deciding the timesharing schedule. The timesharing schedule will also be important in calculating child support. One factor that is necessary for the calculation is the amount of overnights the parent is sharing with the child. This number will highly affect the outcome of the child support amount the parent will have to pay.

The Parenting Plan accounts for all religious holidays, birthdays, special occasions, spring break, winter break, summer, child’s birthday, parent’s birthdays as well as the weekly division of timeshare. The Parenting Plan also includes factors such as child's education, health care, physical, social and emotional well-being. In creating the plan, all circumstances between the parties, including the parties' historic relationship, domestic violence, and other factors must be taken into consideration. This Plan is a guide for parents to clearly state which of the above dates they are to spend with their child. However, this does not have to limit the time you may spend with your child. If the parties are amicable and working as team, they can coordinate additional time for each parent to spend with the child or share in activities together.

Once the timesharing schedule is determined there is another important issue that must be discussed and that is Parental Responsibility. Parental Responsibility is a legal term for “decision-making” in the child’s life. Effective July 1, 1982, Florida enacted the Shared Parental Responsibility Act. Shared parental responsibility means both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their children. Both parents must confer and cooperate with each other so major decisions affecting the welfare of the child are determined together. All major decisions are still to be made by both parents. Access to all school activities, medical records, and all information regarding the children should be shared.

The Court's rulings are always based on what are the best interests of the minor children. Florida's public policy assures that children continue having frequent contact with each parent. A divorce is not meant to sever the parent-child relationship in any way. The Timesharing Schedule and Parenting Plan is an attempt to coordinate the two independent lives of the parents in a cohesive fashion that is in the best interest of the child. It is usually in the best interest of the child to have both parents as involved in their lives as the parents were before separation.

Dana Price Law handles paternity suits initiated by both mothers and fathers who have had a child and are not married.

Paternity in Florida

Under Florida law, paternity may be determined in two ways: (1) marriage – a child born during a marriage is presumed to be the child of the husband; or (2) establishment through the Florida courts in the form of an Establishment of Paternity case. Paternity provides rights to both a child and the parents of the child.

Establishing Paternity Through the Courts

When a child is not the product of a marriage, paternity can be established in four different ways: (1) both parties agree to paternity by signing an acknowledgement of paternity; (2) paternity is ordered after a genetic test establishes the father; (3) a judge provides a court order of paternity; or (4) the couple gets married after the child is born and provides an updated birth record to establish paternity.

Where paternity is contested, either the mother of a child, or any man who has reason to believe that he is the father of a child, may bring a petition to establish paternity before the Florida courts. Both parties will be required to attend a hearing to present evidence regarding paternity, and the judge may order genetic testing of all involved parties. If an alleged father refuses to participate in these proceedings, a court may choose to make him the “default” legal father in his absence, which will require him to pay child support, if requested by the mother.

In Florida, child support is a right belonging to the child. If you are going through a divorce or have a child outside of marriage and have concerns regarding child support, Dana Price Law can provide experienced legal help to advise you on the law and gather information regarding your income and other statutory factors to determine your child support obligation, if any.

Florida law recognizes that the best interest of the child is served when both parents are involved in meeting his or her emotional and financial needs. Child support is set by guidelines that use a formula to calculate child support. As with all calculations, the quality of the result depends on the quality of the numbers put into the formula.

Child support in Florida is based largely on the net incomes of each parent, the amounts paid for the child’s health insurance and daycare, and the total number of overnight visitations each parent has with the child.

Florida domestic violence actions are handled in a separate division than divorce or paternity cases.

If you are a party to a domestic violence action or are seeking to file for an injunction for protection, Dana Price Law can assist you.

When a change of circumstances occurs, Dana Price Law can assist you in petitioning the court to obtain a modification in your alimony, child support, or parenting plan. Alternatively, if your former spouse or co-parent is seeking a modification, we can defend and represent your interests in a modification action.

Getting married is an exciting time, and while pre or post nuptial agreements are not the most thrilling aspect, they can none the less be a crucial step in ensuring your protection should anything happen. These written contracts are voluntary and spell out how items like assets, income and liabilities are to be handled should the marriage end.

At Dana Price Law, we will help you navigate the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement process, so you feel comfortable and confident moving forward.

We also help clients with legal issues that don’t fall strictly within the definition of family law, but are necessary to protect their families. These include preparation of wills and other estate planning documents and creation of special needs trusts.

Everyone has an estate. Your estate is comprised of everything you own— your car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, retirement, life insurance, furniture, even personal possessions like shoes and pets. No matter how large or how modest, everyone has an estate and something in common—you can’t take it with you when you die.

Dana Price Law is here to help as you need to decide what will happen to your belongings after you die or become incapacitated. Being prepared and controlling how, and to whom, your estate is given to is something all adults need to do.

If you don’t make the decisions to ensure your wishes are carried out the way you want, the state will determine what happens to your belongings. You need to provide a set of written instructions so your wishes can be followed.

Attorney Dana Price helps create comprehensive estate planning documents to give you peace of mind for your loved ones.

Divorce brings about the restructuring of families in which parents have to continue to cooperate and communicate long after the dissolution of the marriage. One of the greatest challenges involves the relocation of one parent after the divorce. One of the divorced parents usually goes from seeing their children on a daily basis to seeing their children on alternate weekends, holidays, and school breaks. Relocation often requires that the time spent with both parents is even more diminished as a move can often mean seeing your children four times per year or less.

Florida Statute § 61.13001 requires advance notice. If the relocating parent is permanently moving more than 50 miles  from the existing residence of the parent trying to move,  the Petition to Relocate must be filed first. This notice, among other things, must state the new address and phone number, the date of the move, the reason for the move, and a plan for the new time sharing schedule. This notice provision applies to parents who are subject to an existing court order or who have a pending dissolution action. It does not have to be a divorce but can apply to any time sharing order involving children.

Many parents ask the question, What will happen to me if I move before filing my Petition? If notice is not given, the Court can hold the relocating parent in contempt, consider additional time sharing to the non-relocating parent as “make up time,” deny the move, or Order the child be returned in an Emergency Pick Up Order.

What can the non-relocating parent do to protect their rights? If they agree to the relocation and the new terms, the parties can enter into a written agreement for relocation. The Court will then sign the Order as an Agreed Order without a hearing in most cases. If relocation is objected to by the non-relocating parent, that parent must file a written objection with the Court and serve a copy on the relocating parent within 20 days of service. Like the petition to relocate, this objection is very technical and must state a basis for an objection and all of the reasons supporting that basis including the extent of that parent’s involvement with the children.

If the parties cannot agree upon the relocation, the Court will have to determine what is appropriate. Among other things, the Court will consider the family ties to the relocating parent, the age and needs of child, substitute visitation arrangements, the children’s preferences, quality of life, reasons for the move or objection, employment opportunities for the relocating parent, good faith, employment opportunities for the objecting parent, and any history of substance abuse or domestic violence. There is no presumption for or against the relocation.

Any relocation must be supported by the best interests of the children. There are always good reasons for and against relocation and such decisions can be difficult for the Court. The reality is that the children need both parents to fully develop into happy and healthy adults. Parents should be urged to communicate and make these important decisions themselves if possible before Court intervention.  It never is easy for a parent to balance future relationships, careers, or opportunities with the need for the children to have meaningful contact with the other parent, but we must try.