When marriages dissolve and the parents of minor children cannot agree on which parent shall have physical and/or legal custody or if there should be a joint custody arrangement, the court will determine parental responsibility and custody/visitation based on what is in the best interests of the child. But what exactly does that mean for Florida’s parents of minor children who are going through a divorce or who were never married but wish to establish certain parental responsibilities? What are the factors that a court uses when it decides the parenting issues such as custody and visitation? What...

Divorces are traumatic for everyone no matter how bad the relationship turned out to be. If you have children, research consistently shows that the children suffer as well. Children have high expectations for their parents to meet all their needs and fully expect that they will do so. When the parents separate or divorce, their beliefs can be shattered and they consider the breakup as a betrayal of their understanding of what is normal or expected. Children may come to resent the custodial and absent parent or blame themselves for the dissolution. Family research studies have come to a number...

Prenuptial agreements (also known as ante-nuptial agreements, or premarital agreements) are contracts between marrying couples that outline what will become of their assets/debts if the marriage dissolves, along with other potential issues such as alimony, attorney’s fees, etc. Most prenuptial agreements are favored by wealthy parties who do not want their considerable assets to be claimed by their spouse in a divorce or who wish to protect them from a court order forcing them to relinquish a large percentage to their partner. Florida uses the concept of equitable distribution in determining...

There are many reasons why marriages end in divorce. Many couples feel that their partner has changed, become insensitive to their needs or is just intolerable to be around any longer. Of the numerous explanations given for why a marriage fails, here are the top 5 reasons marriages end in divorce. 1. Infidelity Statistics vary but around 25% of men and 17% of women engage in at least one extramarital affair incident during their marriage. Some studies suggest this figure is higher, especially for women. When a spouse discovers the infidelity, reactions vary from disgust, sadness and anger to...