No Marriage Means No Alimony… and No Distribution
You cannot receive alimony or equitable distribution if you were never married. This might seem obvious, but sometimes there are people who think they are married but the law says otherwise.
The West Palm Beach divorce lawyers and attorneys of Nugent & Zborowski recently observed this scenario in Betemariam v. Said, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2542a (Fla. 4th DCA, Nov. 17, 2010). In Betemariam, the Wife believed that the parties were legally married in Virginia before the couple relocated to Florida with their two children.
However, once the Wife filed for divorce in Florida, from what she thought was her successful radiologist-husband, it was brought to the attention of the court that the parties had never actually obtained a marriage license in Virginia. Although parties were married by their Imam in a religious ceremony, they never obtained a marriage license in Virginia.
The Betemariam court held that the marriage was not valid because neither party obtained a marriage license. The Court noted that the Wife had several previous marriages, so she should have known that a license was required to form a valid marriage. Because the marriage was not valid, the trial court did not have the ability to award the “wife” alimony, or to equitably distribute the parties’ assets.
Essentially, what the Betemariam held was that the case needed to be treated as a paternity case, and, thus, the Court awarded child support and developed a parenting plan for the parties’ children. However, there was no alimony awarded to the “wife”.
It should be noted that the Court applied Virginia law to determine whether there was a valid marriage. Chapter 741, Florida Statutes lays out the legal requirements for a valid marriage in Florida (click here for a link to the statute), which are largely the same as the requirements in Virginia.
Click here to see the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Betemariam.
For more information, call 561.844.1200 or click here to arrange to speak to a divorce lawyer with Nugent & Zborowski about your divorce, annulment or paternity case.
The West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Nugent and Zborowski are West Palm Beach divorce attorneys, and also serve as Boca Raton divorce lawyers; Palm Beach Gardens divorce lawyers; Jupiter alimony attorneys; grandparents’ rights attorneys; and fathers’ rights attorneys. For more information or to schedule a consultation call (561) 844-1200 or visit the firm’s website, www.nugentlawfirm.com.
Florida Appeals Court Shows How Hard it can be to Modify a Timesharing (Visitation) Schedule
The West Palm Beach divorce lawyers of Nugent & Zborowski limit their practice to divorce and family law matters in and around the West Palm Beach, Florida area. The firm consults with clients who need a Boca Raton divorce lawyer; a Delray Beach divorce lawyer ; a Boynton Beach divorce lawyer; a Lake Worth divorce lawyer ; a Jupiter divorce lawyer; a Palm Beach Gardens divorce lawyer; a Wellington divorce lawyer; a Royal Palm Beach divorce lawyer; or a Stuart divorce lawyer.
The firm’s West Palm Beach divorce attorneys recently observed the decision of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal in Sidman v. Marino, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2431a (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 29, 2010). The Sidman court’s decision addressed the high burden involved with modifying a timesharing (visitation) schedule.
It is well established in Florida that, in order to change a visitation schedule, the moving party must establish that: (1) there was a substantial, involuntary, material and permanent change in circumstances that was not anticipated by either party at the time of the final judgment; and (2) changing the timesharing schedule is in the best interest of the child(ren). Click here to read more about a case stating the standard for modifying timesharing/visitation.
In Sidman, the trial court changed a previously enacted custody order because it found that it would be in the child’s best interest to increase the father’s time with the child. The Sidman court found that the trial court abused its discretion by modifying visitation without competent, substantial evidence of a substantial change in circumstances.
The Sidman court stated “although the evidence may have shown that increasing the father’s time with the child is in the child’s best interest, there was no evidence of an unanticipated and substantial change in circumstances. The father had merely begun exercising the full visitation rights allowed in the consent decree, and an additional weekly overnight that the mother had agreed to informally. As we have said regarding modification of custody arrangements, allowing an agreement between the parents to provide a basis for modification would discourage parents from making informal, joint decisions for the benefit of their children.”
Thus, the Sidman court reaffirmed the longstanding notion that a substantial change in circumstances must occur to justify a change in custody and it is not enough that the child would benefit from having more time with a parent. Click here to view the Sidman opinion.
It is important to consult with an experienced divorce lawyer to evaluate whether you or your former spouse may be entitled to an order modifying timesharing/visitation with your child(ren)to your case. For more information, call 561.844.1200 or click here and speak to an attorney with the Law Offices of Nugent & Zborowski about your modification case.
The attorneys of Nugent & Zborowski exclusively handle Divorce & Family Law matters in and around West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County, Florida, and also handle divorce, paternity and modification of alimony and child support cases in the vicinity of Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth, Stuart, Royal Palm Beach and Jupiter. For more information or to schedule a consultation call (561) 844-1200 or visit the firm’s website, www.nugentlawfirm.com.
First DCA Holds Adjudication of Paternity is Not a Basis for Changing Last Name of Child
The West Palm Beach divorce attorneys of Nugent & Zborowski practice all areas of divorce and family law in West Palm Beach, Florida. The firm also handles paternity and modification of alimony and child support and child custody cases in Stuart, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Park and Jupiter.
The West Palm Beach divorce and family law lawyers of Nugent & Zborowski recently observed the September 13, 2010 opinion of Florida’s First District Court of Appeals in the case of Hutcheson v. Taylor, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2051c (Fla. 1st DCA, Sep. 13, 2010). In Hutcheson, the parties were involved in a paternity lawsuit involving a child born outside of a marriage. The father asserted that the child’s name should be changed to include his last name because (1) the mother would soon be married and have a name change herself and (2) not changing the child’s name might eventually send the child a negative message regarding the mother’s attitude about the father-daughter relationship.
The trial court granted the father’s request for a name change and ordered the child’s last name to be a hyphenated combination of both parents’ last names, in alphabetical order. The Hutcheson court reversed, citing that a child’s name may only be modified when the record affirmatively shows the change is required for the welfare of a the child and the trial court’s order changing the name was made based only upon speculative arguments made by the father and not evidence establishing the change would be in the child’s best interest.
To read the full text of the court’s opinion in Hutcheson click here.
For more information, call 561.844.1200 and speak to an attorney with the Law Offices of Nugent & Zborowski about how Florida’s standards relating to child custody and support apply to your West Palm Beach paternity action.
The attorneys of Nugent & Zborowski exclusively handle Divorce & Family Law matters in and around West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County, Florida, and also handle divorce, paternity and modification of alimony and child support cases in the vicinity of Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth, Stuart, Royal Palm Beach and Jupiter. For more information call (561) 844-1200 or visit the firm’s website, www.nugentlawfirm.com.