Category Archives: florida family law

Two Critical Mistakes Clients Make When Hiring a Divorce Lawyer

family lawyer, florida family law

When you hire a family lawyer for a litigated divorce case, your role is just as important as theirs. An attorney knows the law and courtroom procedures, but you hold the key to unlocking the value of that service. Your active participation directly influences your case outcome.

In this post, I’ll share two mistakes I’ve seen divorce clients make — and how to avoid them.

Mistake 1: Misunderstanding Your Role in the Legal Process

How the Divorce Process Works

A litigated divorce involves three key players:

  • You — the client providing information and documents
  • Your attorney — navigating the legal system and court rules
  • The court system — processing your case through deadlines and hearings until a final judgment dissolving the marriage

Your job is to be responsive to your attorney’s requests. This means:

  • Providing documents needed for discovery (sharing with the other side)
  • Supplying information to help your attorney identify and obtain evidence
  • Meeting deadlines your attorney sets
  • Complying with court orders

Why Missing Deadlines Costs You Money and Time

Court deadlines are strict. When you delay providing documents to your attorney, a domino effect occurs:

1. Your attorney must request an extension from the court

2. Your attorney spends billable time preparing and filing extension motions

3. The court grants the extension (usually within reason)

4. Your legal fees increase— not because of your attorney’s work, but because of administrative delays caused by your delay

The worst-case scenario: If you continue missing deadlines, the court may refuse further extensions. The result? Your pleadings (the documents requesting relief from the court) could be stricken. This means the court treats it as if you never asked for anything — while the other side’s requests may still be granted.

What You Can Do

  • Respond promptly to all attorney requests
  • Provide documents and information on time
  • Ask questions if you’re unclear about a deadline
  • Communicate proactively if you anticipate delays

Your attorney will keep you informed, answer your questions, and provide context for your case. Your responsibility is to support that effort by being responsive.

Mistake 2: Damaging Your Credibility with the Court

What Credibility Means in Divorce Court

Credibility is how believable the judge finds you. It’s one of the most powerful factors in determining your case outcome.

What Impacts Your Credibility

The judge evaluates your credibility through multiple signals:

  • Your appearance— how you dress for hearings
  • Your testimony— the truthfulness and tone of your answers during hearings
  • Your conduct— whether you comply with court orders and deadlines
  • Your attitude— your demeanor when answering questions from your attorney, the opposing counsel, and the judge

How Answer Questions Can Damage Your Case

In a litigated divorce, you’ll likely testify at multiple hearings and the final divorce hearing.

During these proceedings, you’ll be questioned by:

  • Your own attorney
  • The other party’s attorney
  • The judge (sometimes)

How you answer matters.

Failing to Comply with Rules and Orders

When you ignore court deadlines or fail to comply with orders, the judge notices. It signals to the court that you don’t take your responsibilities seriously — and that directly affects how the judge perceives your credibility on other matters.

Different judges interpret these signals differently based on their own judgment, but the message is clear: non-compliance suggests unreliability.

What You Can Do

  • Comply with all court orders and deadlines
  • Dress professionally for hearings
  • Answer questions truthfully and respectfully
  • Take your responsibilities in the case seriously

By stacking the deck in your favor through compliance, you build credibility that can influence the judge’s decisions throughout your case.

The Bottom Line

Hiring a divorce lawyer is important — but it’s only the beginning. Your participation in your case matters significantly.

When you:

  • Respond promptly to your attorney’s requests
  • Meet all deadlines
  • Comply with court orders
  • Maintain credibility with the judge

…you’re likely to experience:

  • A smoother case presentation
  • Lower attorney’s fees
  • A better overall outcome

Your divorce case is your responsibility. Your attorney is your partner in navigating it. Work together, and you’ll see the difference.

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Ready to Take Control of Your Divorce Case?

Don’t let avoidable mistakes cost you time, money, or your credibility in court.
Schedule a confidential case assessment session with a family law attorney today — and start building a stronger, smoother path to your divorce resolution.

florida family law changes 2023

Florida Family Law Changes You Should Know About (2023)

alimony in florida, florida family law, timesharing in florida

Florida family law changes took effect recently.  Here you have the highlights of some significant changes to alimony and timesharing.

Please note that the online statutes, which you can find here from the Legislature have not been updated as of the date of this blog entry. 

Alimony in Florida 2023

The most significant change in alimony law in Florida is the elimination of permanent alimony.  You can still ask for bridge-the-gap alimony; or rehabilitative alimony, which is now capped at 5 years.  The legislature added temporary alimony to the alimony statute. 

The amendments made significant changes to durational alimony.  The provisions now include a cap as to how long you can get it, depending on the length of the marriage. It also added a formula or guideline as to the amount that you can get, which is to be calculated using your net income and that of your spouse.  Specifically, the cap is 35% of the difference in net income as calculate using the same formula as child support for calculation of net income.

Finally, which type of alimony you can claim will depend on how long you have been married.  A short-term marriage is defined as anything less than 10 years; a moderate-term marriage is one that lasts between 10 – 20 years; and a long-term marriage is 20 years or more.  Durational alimony cannot be granted in a marriage that has lasted 3 years or less.

There were no changes as to when you can ask for alimony, meaning that just being married, alone, is not the requirement that will get you alimony. If you are asking for alimony, you have to prove that you have a financial need for it.  It is not just a question of checking boxes and asking for the particular alimony you think you qualify for.  Additionally, you must also prove that your spouse has the financial ability to pay alimony.

Florida Family Law Changes to Timesharing

There is now a presumption of 50-50 timesharing when it comes to children in divorce or paternity.  This presumption can be eliminated if you show the court that such a 50-50 timesharing would not be in the best interest of the children.

New Support Statute for Dependent Adult Child

The Legislature created a new provision for the support of dependent adult children, Section 61.1255. 

Under this Statute, parents have a legal obligation to support an adult child who is dependent due to a physical or mental incapacity that began before the age of 18. This is really not a new obligation since this obligation was already recognized under Florida case law.  This new statute provides a framework, or guidance, as to how to calculate the financial obligation.

In addition, the statute is designed to work in furthering the right of a dependent adult child to obtain and/or qualify for any available federal/state benefits programs.  It explicitly provides that the child support guidelines used for establishing child support before the age of 18 do not apply.

You can file a suit under this statute at any time after the dependent adult child reaches the age of 17 years and 6 months, unless there is already an order of support in place.  Any support ordered to be paid under this statute would be paid to the dependent adult child, or an agent of the child under a durable power of attorney, or a aren’t or other person for the benefit of the dependent adult child.

Conclusion

These Florida family law changes caused quite a bit of disagreement with some.  By knowing about them, you can better prepare yourself. Those of us who practice family law have been busy with seminars to ensure that we are up to speed on what our clients may need.  While I provide the above as a summary of the changes you should not rely on what I described above.  You should consult a family law attorney in your area to provide you specific advice, tailored to your situation, if you have any questions about this changes and how they may impact you.