While we are supportive of our clients that decide to try to work out the problems in their marriage even after initiating a marital dissolution, it is important to seek legal advice to avoid damaging your position if these efforts do not pan out.  Because we recognize the value of preserving your marriage, if possible, it is worth noting a new study that identifies potential issues in otherwise happy marriages that eventually end in divorce.  This new study analyzes the factors that contributed to the collapse of marriages where both partners were happy during the early years of the marriage.

The study analyzed 136 marriages where both parties indicated that they were happy four years into the marriage.  The couples were tracked over a subsequent ten-year period.  All of couples, both those that divorced and those that stayed together, provided similar feedback on their satisfaction level at the starting point of the study (i.e. four years into their marriages).  Married couples whose marriages did not survive generally had less effective communication skills and displayed a tendency to express more negative emotions and support mechanisms than couples whose marriages survived.  Married partners that ended up divorcing frequently employed invalidation and blame in their communication.  Spouses whose marriages ended in divorce also tended to dissuade a partner from expressing the partner’s feelings and expressed unjustified pessimism.

The significant implications of this study arise out of the fact that these negative communication issues were apparent even at the beginning of the study in marriages that ultimately failed.  By identifying communication barriers that tend to predict divorce as an outcome, early intervention may be possible to develop better communication skills and prevent divorce.  Another important take away from this study is that married partners that indicate they are happy and satisfied in a marriage may still have communication issues that may ultimately lead to a marital dissolution.

The decision to file for a Boca Raton divorce is never easy, and the process can be emotionally and financially difficult for married partners and their children.  Our experienced Boca Raton family law firm work diligently to assist our clients in navigating the difficult challenges involved in the divorce process.  We also recognize that every so often we will hear from a client that wants to reconcile with their spouse.  We welcome such situations but also advise our clients on the best way to proceed so that you do not prejudice your situation if the reconciliation effort fails.  At the Law Office of Eric N. Klein & Associates, PA, we have provided effective legal representation in Boca Raton divorce cases.  Our experienced Boca Raton family law attorneys understand that you may have many questions about your legal rights when facing a potential divorce or reconciliation so contact us today at 954-580-8080.

Formerly in Florida and many other jurisdictions, courts imputed income to the other party in a divorce or paternity action who was unemployed or underemployed or refused to provide financial documents quantifying income.  Many times this imputation of income was calculated at minimum wage unless it could be proven that the person’s earning potential was substantially higher.  If it could be shown a parent had particular training, education or experience that increased one’s earning potential, income could be based on this information.

However, Florida law provides for a special provision that makes it ill advised to disregard child support proceedings or to hide income.  If a party does not cooperate in providing documentation of income in a divorce or paternity action or fails to participate at all in a child support proceeding, Florida Statute 61.30(2)(b) permits the court to impute income at the median income level based on census bureau data.  Because imputation of income at the median income level may mean basing child support on income that is 2-3 times the level of minimum wage, it is important to make sure that you cooperate with financial disclosure requirements if you are involved in a child support case in Florida.

This is particularly important if you are involved in a job that has a substantial amount of cash income.  Cash should be run through your bank account and appropriate financial records should be provided as part of discovery to head off claims of hidden income or voluntary underemployment.  Invoices, paper checks and similar records should be kept and provided so that you are not at risk of having the court determine that you are not cooperating in providing financial information for an accurate calculation of child support.

At the Law Office of Eric N. Klein & Associates, PA, we have provided effective legal representation to clients in both divorce and paternity cases involving child support orders including modification proceedings.  Our experienced Boca Raton family law attorneys understand that child support orders can have a dramatic impact on your financial situation so contact us today at 954-580-8080.

Although the preferences of a child who is of sufficient age and maturity may be factored into any consideration of the best interest of the child standard, it is only one of many factors that the court will consider.  The preferences of the child also are not given any more weight than the other best interest of the child factors.  The court also may consider the child’s expressed reason for a particular preference to determine that the child’s input is based on maturity and sound reasoning.

Unless a child is of suitable age and maturity, the preferences of children are not considered at all when a Florida family law judge considers the best interest of a child.  There is no “magic age” that necessarily means the child is old enough to have his or her preferences considered.  Again, the determination whether to consider the preferences of a child in a parenting time dispute is typically dependent on whether the child exhibits the sound judgment and maturity that renders the child’s preference helpful to the court in making a determination of the child’s best interest.

There are sound policy reasons for not placing a greater emphasis on the preferences of a minor child.  Family law courts generally try to avoid putting children in the middle of parenting time disputes in divorces and paternity actions.  When heavy emphasis is placed on the preference of a child, this places the child squarely in the middle of the time-share dispute.  Further, the risk is increased that either parent may try subtly or not so subtly to influence the child’s preference.  For these reasons, a child should not even be brought to court unless you are instructed to do so by the judge.

Some of the factors that a Florida family law judge may weigh when considering whether to consider a child’s preferences include the following:

• Feelings of animosity of the child toward either parent
• Maturity level of the child
• The justifications for the child’s expressed preference

The court must determine whether preferences expressed by the child were the result of undue influence by one of the parents.  This may be manifest in a hostile negative attitude toward a parent that is cultivated by the other parent.  Where a situation like this exist, the court may choose to disregard the preferences of a child even if the child is 17.  If you are involved in a Boca Raton divorce or paternity action involving a disagreement over parenting time, our experienced parenting time attorneys may be able to help you as we have so many others facing similar issues. Our Boca Raton child custody attorneys at Eric N. Klein and Associates have helped many people just like you so call us today to discuss your options at 561-353-2800.

• Property acquired prior to marriage
• Property acquired by gift or inheritance
• Earnings and appreciation from separate property
• Assets excluded from marital property by a valid written agreement like a prenuptial agreement

By contrast, marital property includes the following types of property:

• Property acquired during the marriage
• Earnings and appreciation  from property acquired during the marriage
• Inter-spousal gifts during marriage

While these broad categories generally are accurate, a fair amount of property does not fit squarely within these categories.  Many of the most valuable assets acquired during most marriages have both marital and separate asset components.  This type of asset may include retirement plans, the family home, other real property, and other assets acquired by wages or salary earned by one of the spouses during the marriage.  This type of asset is referred to as a mixed characterization asset.

This type of asset is typically the most difficult type of asset to divide, especially when that asset appreciates in value.  It is necessary to determine how to apportion the appreciation in value of the asset between separate and marital property contributions.  This may be accomplished by analyzing a ratio between payments made toward the asset prior or after marriage to those made during the marriage and then allocating the appreciation according to the ratio between the payments made during these periods.

While this is a process that is very familiar to our experienced Florida divorce attorneys, it can be complicated for the average party to a divorce.  Because mixed assets like a family home and retirement plans may be the most significant assets in the marriage, the equitable division of these assets will be critical to your ability to start over after your divorce with a firm financial foundation.  If you are involved in a Boca Raton divorce, the experienced divorce attorneys at Eric N. Klein and Associates review our clients’ assets and debts and represent them in seeking an equitable division of their marital assets.  Our Boca Raton property division attorneys have helped many people just like you so call us today to discuss your options at 561-353-2800.

When evaluating whether to grant a request to relocate with the children, the court does not make a presumption for or against the move but instead analyzes a number of factors relating to the children’s well-being and relationship to each parent.  This analysis can be extremely complex so the result of a court’s decision on whether to grant a parental relocation typically is hard to predict.  There are many factors that the court will consider and no particular weight is assigned to the factors so this means that these child move away cases often turn on the persuasiveness of the evidence and presentation regarding the justification and benefits associated with the move.  The factors that a Boca Raton family court will consider include:

• Nature and duration of the relationship of the child to parents, siblings and other family members
• Impact on the child’s physical, emotional and educational development
• Ability to restructure timesharing for the non-moving parent to preserve frequent and continuing contact with the child
• Preferences of the child based on age and maturity level
• Impact of the move on the financial and emotional well-being of the moving parent and child
• Reasons for moving or opposing the move
• Financial impact or benefits of the move
• Good faith basis for the move (e.g. not to frustrate the visitation of the other parent)
• Non-moving parent’s compliance with financial and parenting responsibilities
• Past domestic violence or substance abuse
• Other relevant factors

While this is a simplification of the factors that a court will consider in a divorce or paternity case involving the relocation of a child, it should be obvious that there are many diverse factors that a family law judge will consider when making a determination on whether to grant a parental relocation request.  There also are many types of evidence that may be relevant to a judge when considering these factors, such as:

• School records, transcripts, report cards, teacher evaluations
• Witness testimony from teachers, counselors, extracurricular activity coordinators and others
• Testimony regarding cooperation under existing timeshare arrangements
• Financial information including the projected costs of visitation after the move
• Police reports or criminal records regarding domestic violence or substance abuse
• Medical records of the child

Parental relocation cases are intense fact based inquires so they require thorough preparation in terms of gathering the appropriate evidence related to these factors and persuasive presentation of this evidence.  If you are involved in a divorce or paternity case and need to relocate or the other parent is planning to move, we invite you to contact the Baton Raton Parental Relocation Attorneys at Eric N. Klein & Associates by calling 561-353-2800 today.

It may seem counter-intuitive for a law firm to discourage behavior that results in higher attorney fees; however, our Florida divorce attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffery A. Klein are committed to assisting clients in obtaining the most favorable outcome in their divorce so that they can rebuild and start over.  Litigation that needlessly drains marital assets or depletes a substantial portion of the divorcing couple’s estate is counter-productive to this objective.  Our Florida divorce attorneys provide aggressive, innovative and persuasive advocacy while also exercising sound judgment and restraint to facilitate informed decisions by our clients.  While sometimes contentious litigation is unavoidable, it is usually preferable to settle issues with ADR methods where possible.

There are issues that merit fighting, and other issues that do not justify such litigation because there is not enough at stake, or the issues will almost always be decided a certain way.  We encourage our clients to litigate for reasons that merit the costs rather than indiscriminately depleting the marital estate, which means that both parties will be left with less to rebuild.

Seeking moral victories designed to exact a “pound of flesh” or denying the other party something that carries sentimental value will only prolong the divorce process, causing all parties involved to invest more money on unnecessary litigation and promote long-term animosity and conflict.  One of the benefits of working with the experienced Florida divorce attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Klein is that we can advise you regarding how a family law judge would likely rule on an issue so that you can make informed decisions about when contentious litigation justifies the potential benefits and costs.

Our experienced and dedicated team of divorce attorneys understands that each divorce case is different so we avoid a one-size fits all approach and customize our legal representation to your specific needs.  We offer a free consultation that is completely confidential so that we can evaluate your legal needs so call us today at 866-819-6032 to schedule a free consultation!

In 2004, both women filed a lawsuit against the state so that gay and lesbian marriages would be allowed instead of outlawed. California overturned the ban on same-sex marriage in 2008, and before the voters put Proposition 8 into action, there were 18,000 same-sex couples that married.

The women behind this movement, now both 69, had been together for 14 years before they officially married in 2008. Now, they have been put into the spotlight, but this time it is for their impending divorce. They have chosen to go their separate ways, and do not believe that their divorce will have a negative impact on same-sex marriage.

If you are considering divorce, please contact the West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. by calling 561-353-2800 today.

The national divorce rate has been dropping since 1996, and has declined by five percent overall. Theories for the decrease have been centered around the recession. Financially, it is expensive to go through an entire divorce proceeding.

Poverty levels of individuals who went through a divorce were recorded, and show that 26 percent of divorced women were living below the poverty line, compared to 13 percent of divorced men.

Please contact the West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. by calling 561-353-2800 if you or someone you know needs help regarding divorce proceedings.

Since the first ruling outlining his support payments, Terrell has seen a dramatic decline in his income. Currently, he is not part of any NFL team, which means that his yearly income is almost nonexistent to what it once was. He relied on his profession to pay the large amounts of child support.

The actual numbers in the cases have been sealed, but several people have said that the new amounts are more reasonable for Owens to pay on a monthly basis. Terrell has four children with four different women.

If you need help regarding child support options, please contact the West Palm Beach child support lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. by calling 561-353-2800 today.

The study shows that individuals who divorced between the ages of 35-41 developed more serious health conditions than those who divorced between 44 and 50. The researchers believe this is due to people being able to cope with divorce better at an older age.

According to the results, the younger divorced participants required more comfort and attention from their friends and family than those who were older than them. This dependency played into the health results as well, relating strongly to stress build-up.

Please contact the West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. at 561-353-2800, if you or someone you know is considering divorce.