Florida Family Lawyer Blog

This post will be a bit different than my others so far - it deals with computer software rather than divorce or other family law issues. I recently updated some of the computer software I use in my office, and wanted to share what has been working well for me, and how I think some of it could be helpful to someone about to start or in the process of going through a divorce or other family law case. I'm finding that software that works well and is pleasant to use makes the day a lot easier.

The first program is CLIO, a practice management program for attorneys. It's practice management software in the "cloud" that you use in your web browser. I'm liking the interface - pleasant and easy to use, and it has some features I like. You can associate/link emails you send with a client file in the program, and there's a feature that gives you a secure place to post documents on-line for your client to view. The price is reasonable I think, and it avoids needing to update the software or have a maintenance contract, or network computers in your office - you access the program on-line.

I started using the business version of Google Apps for my email. The setup to use my domain for my email was not too bad. I'm liking Google's system of "labels" for email versus folders. I'm finding that it's making it a lot easier to clear my inbox each day. I watched a "podcast" about office software a few weeks ago that talked about achieving "inbox zero" I think the phrase was. I'm liking having a clear inbox - I think when I switched over from Outlook I had hundreds of emails in my inbox. Google's spam filter seems to work really well also. Clio integrates with the Google Apps calendar, so has been a very easy way to have my calendar on my "smartphone".

Next one is a program called Dropbox. Once the program is installed, when you make a change to a document on your computer the change is saved to your Dropbox folder in the "cloud", and at the same time saved on all the other computers you've installed Dropbox on and linked to your account. I'm liking this because it avoids having to deal with networking computers, it's an easy way to back-up documents, and the program also automatically saves all of your revisions/versions for 30 days - don't have to worry about accidentally saving over a version of a document if I meant to create a new version.

It's been reported pretty widely in the press recently that the Court in the Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller custody dispute, did not grant Mr. Sheen's request to change custody of the couple's children (Chicago Sun-Times report).

A point to remember for Florida parents involved in time-sharing cases, is that parents in Florida cases can request the court to change or enter a temporary time-sharing and parental responsibility order while their divorce case is pending.

The request can be made as part of a divorce petition or by a motion filed after the petition. The Judge can enter a temporary order specifying what time-sharing will be, can order a parent to undergo a mental health or substance abuse evaluation if there is concern about the well-being of a child while he or she is with one of the parents - the court has a lot of power and discretion when it comes to entering orders to protect children. Temporary time-sharing and parental responsibility can also be determined in a domestic violence injunction hearing.

An issue often for motions regarding children's issues, and other motions, is the timing of scheduling a hearing, and when a hearing date is available. In Broward County, Florida and other circuits, if there is "a matter of imminent or impending abuse, neglect or abandonment" of a child (this is the definition in Broward County of a "child emergency"), you can file an emergency motion and appear in front of the Judge on an "ex parte" basis", possibly the same day you file your motion. The English translation for "ex parte" is "for (by or from) one party", and it means you go in front of the Judge without the other side being present at the hearing. When there is domestic violence, a temporary time-sharing order can also be entered as part of a temporary restraining order.

Motions that don't qualify as emergency motions, are scheduled like other motions through the Judge's Judicial Assistant, or sometimes on-line. Depending on how busy the Judge's court calendar is, there can be a wait. If you have a situation involving your children that affects their welfare, but doesn't qualify as an emergency, it can be important to try to contact the Judge's Judicial Assistant - sometimes other hearings are cancelled and an earlier hearing time may open up and become available for you.

With some exceptions, for example when it is not safe to hold a mediation because of domestic violence, mediation will be required in most divorce and other family law cases in Broward and Dade counties, before the case can go to trial. Both Broward and Dade County have a court mediation program to provide family mediation at a reduced rate when the parties' combined gross income is below $100,000 per year (see my post,The Process for Divorce Cases in Broward and Dade Counties (Part II), for links to these programs).

For other clients, or clients who prefer to use a private mediator, there are many private mediators in town. If you're represented by an attorney who is handling your case, you will almost certainly work with your attorney who will coordinate with opposing counsel to select a mediator acceptable to both sides. There are cases though where the clients - both spouses, will call a halt to litigation and go off on their own to try to mediate and resolve the case without their attorneys, although this isn't all that common, and your attorney may have some concerns about that. The spouses can also choose to go to "pre-suit" mediation, before beginning any litigation, and with our without attorneys.

Family law mediators come from varied backgrounds - e.g. attorneys or counselors/therapists, and will have different styles or approaches. One issue would be the comparative "success" rates for attorney vs. mental health family mediators, but an approach some people advocate is "co-mediation" with two mediators - one an attorney and one a therapist or other mental health professional. It's a complicated issue with many factors to consider, but in the end, it may come down to the personal skills or traits of each particular mediator.

The Self-Help Centers at some of the courthouses, for example in Broward and Palm Beach counties, will provide the forms you need to file for divorce, but I've heard from some people that it can be difficult figuring out which forms to use. The following are the forms you can use to file for divorce in Florida if you have minor children and you and your spouse have agreed on a settlement. The forms can be found here. I'll indicate after each form who has to complete it - Petitioner (the person who signs the Petition and "files" for divorce), Respondent, or both:

1. Cover Sheet, Form 928 (Petitioner)
2. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, Form 901(b)(1) (Petitioner)
3. Financial Affidavit, Form 902(b) (if you earn less than $50,000/year gross income), or Form 902(c)($50,000 or more gross income per year). Each spouse files their own separate financial affidavit.
4. Child Custody Affidavit, Form 902(d). Both, a separate one for each of you.
5. Notice of Social Security Number, Form 902(i). Both, a separate one for each of you.
6. Answer and Waiver, Form 903(a) (Respondent)
7. Marital Settlement Agreement, Form 902(f)(1). It's the settlement agreement/contract you'll both sign.
8. Parenting Plan, Form 995 - a parenting agreement you both sign.
9. Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 902(e)

If everyone is in agreement and all the forms are completed, signed and notarized, you can file all the forms at one time, pay the filing fee, and inquire at the courthouse about what you need to do to get a final hearing. Bring a copy of your Florida Driver's License with you to the courthouse. At least one of the spouses has to have been a Florida resident for the 6 months prior to filing, to get a divorce in Florida. There are other ways to prove your residence if you don't have a Florida driver's license - see Form 902(i), Affidavit of Corroborating Witness and the instructions for that form.

You have to go to a hearing in front of the Judge to get a divorce, but when the divorce is uncontested and there's a settlement agreement, it's basically a 5 minute hearing. Bring a copy of Form 990(b)(1) - Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage and your Florida Driver's license with you to the hearing (see also Form 902(i)). Only the Petitioner must attend the hearing, but if the Wife is the Respondent and wants to change her name back to her prior name, she has to attend also. Be sure to request a name change in Sections V and VI of the Divorce Petition if that's something you want. There are different ways to handle this, but a simple way is for the Wife to be the Petitioner if there is going to be a request for a name change.

Once a case enters litigation, all of the decisions, in each phase, are important in trying to efficiently and successfully resolve the case. Discovery is the process where each party gets to obtain information regarding the other party - financial and other records, depositions, written questions to the other side, and requests for the other spouse to make admissions regarding important issues - called Requests for Admissions. Discovery is an important and often expensive process.

Motions for Relief while the case is pending can involve many things - a request for temporary spousal support, a ruling by the Judge regarding visitation or how particular assets or debts are going to be dealt with while the case is pending, or a request to have a child returned to the jurisdiction if one parent moves with the child. The are many potential issues, ranging from financial to emergency hearings regarding the children.

Although mediation is a fairly common concept these days, and most people probably have some sense of what that is, there are sometimes some mis-perceptions about what the mediator will do. The mediator is not a judge for the case, and does not make a binding decision about the outcome of the case after each parties argues his or her side. Mediators, though, do have different styles or approaches, including how directive they'll be in giving an opinion regarding how a case should be resolved, and whether they'll conduct the mediation mostly with both parties in the room, or more via "caucuses" where the parties are in separate rooms and the mediator in a senses does shuttle diplomacy going back and forth between the parties. Some mediators are attorneys and some are therapists or other mental health professional. So, picking a mediator that both parties can agree on and that you believe will be good for you, is an issue that will come up at this stage of a case. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator, the Judge will appoint one, and if the parties' combined net income is low enough - below $100,000 in Broward County for example, the parties can attend reduced fee mediation through the court mediation program located at the courthouse. You can find information about the Broward County court mediation program here, and about the Dade County program here.

Although some may downplay the drama of a family law trial, and there could be cases where the parties might instruct their attorneys to not put extensive time into preparing for the trial, because they just want to go in front of the Judge, tell their story, and have someone finally resolve the case, in most cases a family law trial is a highly important and often dramatic event. If a party has put the time and expense into litigating a case up to the point of a trial, the issue is probably important enough that they want to prevail - have the case decided by the Judge in the way they believe it needs to be decided. Once it comes to trial, in addition to having the facts and law in your favor, the most important thing is preparation. If the issue is contested and not absolutely and clearly something that will be decided in your favor, there is no substitute for thorough preparation for the trial.

For my first post I want to focus on the process you'll go through in family court for divorce cases. I think different people will find different ways to go through a divorce or other family law case - some people are most comfortable trying to find someone they can connect with and trust to give them information they need and guide them through; some people will also want to look on-line like this and try to get information to help. With all the information available now on the internet, it's almost inevitable that we all do at least a few internet searches to look up information, whether we're dealing with buying a new car or appliance, researching a medical issue or here issues regarding a divorce or other family law cases.

One thing I think is helpful is to have some sort of an overview of the whole process. There are a few ways a divorce case (or a case to establish paternity or child support and other family law cases) can proceed. One way is everyone agrees in advance, there is no dispute, the parties prepare all the required court pleadings and settlement agreement together. I'll put together in a future post a list of the forms you'll need, for example, for a divorce case where there is property to divide and the parties have minor children. If everyone agrees and there are no disputes or uncertain issues, the case can be resolved quickly.

In other situations, the divorce case in court begins by someone filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage - a divorce lawsuit in which the "Petitioner" asks for what they are seeking in the divorce - dissolution of the marriage, division of property, child-support, time-sharing for the children, alimony, and begins to present and explain their case to the Judge. After the Petition is filed the case proceeds along the following course:

• The other side - the "Respondent", is "served"


• The Respondent files and serves an Answer or Counter-Petition


• The parties go through a process called "Discovery", and file and schedule hearings before the Court regarding Motions including motions for "Temporary Relief"


• The parties negotiate and enter into a Settlement Agreement, or


• Voluntarily or under an Order from the Court go to Mediation


• And if still no Agreement, go to Trial