Author Archives: Jay Butchko
How do you pay child support in Florida?
Child support is usually paid through the State Disbursement Unit in Tallahassee, and this protects both the payor and the payee. A record is kept and can be accessed at any time showing what payments have been received by the SDU and disbursed to the payee. The payor has to pay a small fee… Read More »
How is child support established in Florida?
Both parents have an equal duty to support their children. You need to know that the right to support belongs to the child, and it may not be waived or contracted away by a parent. The court must set child support pursuant the guideline amount – calculated by using a formula – unless it… Read More »
How is child support calculated in Florida?
Child support is set by Florida statute 61.30, which uses a formula based upon the parties’ income, health insurance costs for themselves and for the child, as well as any day care or after-school costs. All of these numbers are put into a formula, and child support is calculated. There are two types of… Read More »
Florida’s “parents and divorce” course
During a divorce, all parties with minor children are required to attend a “parents and divorce” course approved by the Florida Department of Children and Families before entry of the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. I recommend that you take this course as quickly as possible because it will help you navigate through… Read More »
Coming up with a parenting plan for post-divorce
Currently, Florida law requires that the court prepare a Parenting Plan, which is a detailed time-sharing schedule. In this Parenting Plan, time-sharing is dealt with along with the division of holidays, extracurricular activities and travel issues. There are many different parenting plan forms floating around on the Internet for your review, and the Florida… Read More »
Parenting during and after divorce: time-sharing and shared parental responsibility
It is Florida policy to encourage both parents to have “frequent and continuing contact” with their children and to “share the rights and responsibilities, enjoys, of child rearing” after divorce. Florida law refers to this as “parental responsibility,” and most parties have shared parental responsibility. Florida law creates a preference for this so that… Read More »
Temporary relief: Getting action quick during a divorce
Sometimes one of the parties needs the court to order something before the final judgment. This is called “temporary relief,” and it can include alimony, child support, attorney’s fees, suit money and costs, determination of parental responsibility, orders regarding use and possession of marital assets (including the marital home), and payment of marital liabilities…. Read More »
Collaborative Divorce
A new type of process in divorce is called “collaborative law.” In such a case, the parties enter into a Collaborative Law Agreement prior to any filing of divorce. The agreement indicates that the parties will cooperate in providing discovery without the need for any court orders and that they will be forthcoming on… Read More »
Why is mediation important in a divorce?
Mediation is required in divorce, but why is it important? Mediation is highly successful and should be used in good faith. No one is in a better position to settle his or her case than the parties themselves. Therefore, mediation is a very important aspect of the case. Even if a total agreement cannot… Read More »
What happens in mediation?
Mediation is required in divorces, before the parties can see a judge. So what happens in mediation? The petitioner will generally state the issues at the mediation, and then the other party lays out his or her issues. The mediator will then take each issue separately and deal with it between the parties to… Read More »
