February 11, 2019
February is the month where love is in their air, but it can also be an emotionally difficult time for others, especially when going through a lengthy or contentious divorce.
Our firm represents clients on a wide range of family law issues. One of the things that we hear most, and fight extremely hard to secure for our clients out the outset of a case, is a sense that things will be alright during the holiday time period. Oftentimes children are involved as well, and it may require advance negotiations or even judicial intervention to make sure that our clients are ensured quality time with their children during the holidays. A parent who has a tradition to take his or her child somewhere special, maybe to a dance or dinner, isn’t going to want to miss out on that moment, not only for themselves but also because of the child’s excitement and expectations. This is where we really dig in to make sure those irreplaceable memories aren’t missed out on during the progress of a case.
Our clients need to know that they can count on us to be there in exactly these type of situations, and we take pride in knowing that the personal relationship we have with our clients allows us to know exactly what we need to do so our firm can help. We hope that all of our clients have a wonderful Valentines Day. And you can expect us to be there along the way to make sure that happens.
February 13, 2013
Article By: William Dorsey
Contact Us With Your Paternity and Family Law Questions.
When a child is born as a result of a marital union, the law presumes that the husband is the child’s father and grants the husband parental rights accordingly. If you and your child’s mother are not married, you may possess certain rights under the law, depending on your situation. 
Until legal paternity is established, you have no rights.
Under Florida law, if a child is born out of wedlock, the mother is the sole “natural guardian” until a legal determination of paternity occurs. Neither your biological relationship with your child, nor the closeness of your relationship with the mother, will alone establish your paternity. You have no legal relationship to the child. You may not be noticed of an action by the mother to terminate your parental rights and place the child for adoption unless you register with the Florida Putative Father Registry nor can you contest any custody matters regarding the child.
Multiple avenues exist for establishing paternity.
The simplest opportunity for ensuring that legal paternity is established occurs at birth. At the hospital, when the child is born, you and the mother can sign a Form DH-511 “Paternity Acknowledgment.” Both of you have to sign before either two witnesses or a notary. When you do this, your name appears on the child’s birth certificate and your child has a legal father right from birth.
You and the child’s mother can acknowledge paternity after the birth by completing a Form DH-432 “Acknowledgement of Paternity.” Again, both of you must sign and must do so before two witnesses or a notary. The Department of Vital Statistics will amend the child’s birth certificate to add your name as the father.
Another option is what’s called “legitimation,” which involves you and the mother marrying and updating the birth record through the Office of Vital Statistics. This involves completing Form DH-432 and submitting the completed form, along with a copy of your marriage certificate, to the Office of Vital Statistics.
Alternately, paternity may be established through genetic testing. The Florida Office of Child Support can assist with accomplishing this. Utilizing this avenue has the advantages of allowing you to avoid going to court, and avoid paying for the test. Using a DNA sample from the inside of the cheek of each of: you, the mother, and the child, the laboratory determines if you are the father. If the test identifies you as the father, the Office of Child Support issues an Administrative Order of Paternity, which has the same legal effect as a court order.
A court may also establish paternity. Typically, courts are involved if either the mother or the alleged father contests paternity. If both the mother and alleged father agree regarding paternity, the two may sign a consent order which, once adopted by court, establishes paternity. Once you’re established, by any of these means, as the legal father of the child, you receive all the same rights as if you and the child’s mother were married when the child was born, such as petitioning for custody of the child. You also take on all the responsibilities of parentage.
Contact us today for help with the process to be the legitimate father of your child.
February 13, 2013
Article By: William Dorsey
Contact Us With Your Divorce and Alimony Law Questions.
Fiscally shrewd ex-spouses know that a world of difference can exist between characterizing a payment as alimony, as opposed to child support, when tax time comes around. That’s because periodic alimony payments are usually income tax deductible, while child support payments are not. The Internal Revenue Service, however, has a menagerie of requirements you must meet in order to qualify for the alimony deduction.
First, the payment you make must be pursuant to a divorce or settlement agreement that is contained in written form. Additionally, you and your spouse must be completely separated from each other. This means you must live in separate residences, and must not file a joint federal income tax return. If you still live together, the IRS may contend that the money is actually paying for your share of the household expenses (such as utility bills,) and disallow the deduction.
Also, the payment must be monetary – either cash or check. The payment must indicate that it is for alimony or spousal maintenance, and is to your ex-spouse or for her benefit. Giving your ex-spouse property (such as a car), does not constitute alimony in the IRS’s view. However, you can pay her bills for her. As long as it is a cash or check, for her benefit, you can pay her mortgage bill, her education tuition, her medical expenses, her taxes or the premiums on a life insurance policy she owns. To ensure this approach is deductible, your ex-spouse needs to send you a written document informing you that she would like you pay a certain a certain third party (or parties,) and that the payment is in place of paying her directly.
Payments made on a property may or may not be deductible as alimony. If you allow your ex-spouse to live in a property you own, neither your mortgage payments on that property, nor your lost rental income, constitutes alimony. However, if you and your ex co-own a property, and you pay the full mortgage payment on that property, you may deduct half of those payments as alimony.
Make sure your payments are not designated as child support or tied to events in your children’s lives. The documents must state that the payments end upon your spouse’s death. As an example, if your arrangement says you must pay your ex-spouse $6,000 per month, until your child turns 18, then $2,000 each month thereafter, the IRS will view only $24,000 of the annual payments as alimony, and will deem the other $48,000 you paid each year as non-deductible child support. Note that the IRS can go back and re-classify past alimony as child support, retroactively disallow the deductions, and declare that you owe back taxes.
Furthermore, be careful about “front-loading,” or paying extremely large amounts in the first months or years of the arrangement. Section 71 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibits front-loading alimony payments in the first three years after you and your spouse separate. The reason for this rule is to prevent taxpayers from hiding property settlement payments under the guise of alimony.
Contact us today for your Alimony or Divorce Consultation
