Florida Divorce Legal Questions

   Your husband is filing for divorce in the proper state, as it is where you last lived together as husband and wife.    However, since the case is pending in Virginia, the laws of that state would govern.  You should consult with a Virginia attorney who could give you some understanding of the law in that state relative to divorce.  Although the length of a marriage is one factor a court looks at, there are many more that are fact specific to your particular situation.   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Boca Raton info@vovalaw.com  ... Read More

Sure, both of you can informally agree to such an arrangement. It is when there is no agreement, the Court equitably distributes the marital assets and the liablities. It would be best to consult with an attorney and have a comprehensive settlement proposal prepared and presented to the other spouse and then see how far you can get with informal negotiations. If there is an impasse at that early stage, you can still try to negoatiate an agreement after the divorce action is filed. Also, please keep in mind that as part of your divorce action, you will be referred to mediation, which would be yet another opportunity to negotiate a reasonable agreement. All the best.... Read More

It may have an issue on the timesharing and child related matters. Section 61.13(3) of the Florida Statutes contains the factors that the Court considers when establishing a parenting plan with time-sharing schedule. Your spouse's use of marijuana may have an impact on his timesharing and other aspects of his parenting. However, as to the type of impact it may have, if at all, that will depend on additional facts that should be addressed with an attorney during an initial consultation. There are many attorneys who do offer a free initial consultation. You should definitely schedule a consultation to address the specifics of your case. All the best.... Read More

   Mandatory disclosure is, in fact, mandatory.  You mentioned a few items that you provided that must be produced but the list is much more comprehensive.  See Florida Family Rule 12.285.  If there are items on the list that do not apply to you ( for example, corporate tax returns if you don't have a corporation) then amend your answer to reflect that and send it to the attorney and file it with the Court.    If your wife had not produced all of her documents, follow the form of the Motion to Compel that was served on you and serve it on her lawyer.  You will have to set that for a hearing as well. You should call the judge's assistant to see how to do that if you cannot find it on line for your county. Good luck, Cindy Vova... Read More

  That's the problem with forms.  One size doesn't fit all.  I am not sure who the "hold harmless" would protect.  Your daughter is still in the apartment.  Is she looking to have her husband pay the rent and hold her harmless?  If that is the situation, she can add that language.  However, here's the problem.  If they both signed the lease, the landlord really doesn't care (nor is he legally  obligated to care) about any hold harmless language.  The landlord is going to sue anyone who signed the lease if he doesn't get his rent.  The only recourse your daughter would have is bringing her husband back to court on the "hold harmless."  If someone is a deadbeat and has no money, this usually is a  waste of time.  What would be better is language wherein the husband is obligated to pay the rent and that same is in the nature of support for the wife.  There is a chance a court could interpret this as alimony, and if somene fails to pay alimony they can be jailed.  Again, this is a long process, and people still sometimes are able to avoid their obligation. As to the utilites, if your daughter is keeping the apartment, the judge could make the husband transfer the utilities.  But let's go back to my first sentence.  If everything is not resolved in the "forms" she no longer has an uncontested divorce, and it is no longer just forms to fill out.  The judge could order a separate hearing or trial I hope this gives you some insight. Best of luck, Cindy Vova Broward/Boca Raton 954-316-3496 info@vovalaw.com... Read More

     In order to file for divorce in Florida, one of the parties has to have lived in Florida for at least  six months prior to filing the petition for dissolution.  So, if you have been here for six months the court has jurisdiction.  You do not mention whether this divorce will be amicable or not.  If you are in agreement to most issues, you could be divorced in two months.  You also do not state how long you need to be back in Europe to renew your visas.  If it is for a short period of time, it should not effect your ability to continue the divorce here upon your return.         As an aside, we do not have legal separation in Florida, so that option is not available to you.          Best of luck,       Cindy S. Vova  ... Read More

  Typically, in Florida, a divorce is filed in the county where the parties last resided as husband and wife.  Since you indicate your wife was never here in Florida,you can still file for divorce here, if you have been in Florida for 6 months.  However, you must have your wife served with the divvorce papers in the Philippines.  If you do not know where to find her in the Philippines, there is a way to serve her by publication.  It would make sense to consult with an attorney about this.    According to your question, if you wife has no contacts with Florida, the court can only divorce you and cannot decide issues of alimony, property division or child issues (though you do not indicate you have any children).   Still you would be divorced, and it would not be very costly. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova... Read More

You can file for divorce in Florida if you have been a Florida resident for at least 6 months prior to filing your petition for dissolution of marriage. Depending on the outstanding issues, you may be able to informally serve your spouse. As to the specifics, there are just too many factors to address and your inquiry does not contain enough facts to provide you with a more pointed response. It would truly serve your interests to consult with a divorce attorney so that all your options can be addressed. Many do offer free initial consultations. All the best.... Read More

 Florida law states that when a child is born during a marriage, the husband is the legal father and a 3rd party biological father has no rights to the child. Service by email is not proper or legal .  If your husband cannot locate you he may eventually serve you by publication and if you don't respond (which you won't) then he can get divorced where the court reserves jurisdiction to decide division of assets and debts (which also is unlikely to ever happen) and child issues(which it appears your husband is unaware of). This should answer your questions. Good luck,  Cindy Vova  ... Read More

   You state there has never been a distribution of assets and liabilities.  However, surely your settlement agreement and/or divorce decree provided for such a distribution?  That is one of the fundamental  matters to be resolved in a divorce.    If the settlement provided for you to get the monies from the joint business account and you simply failed to do so previously, then you can certainly take them now.   If, however, for some reason this was nnot addressed, then legally you should file a Motion for Clarificaion with the court before just removing the funds, and spell out what was missing from the final judgment and what you are requesting that the court let you do at this time. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward: 954-316-3496/ Boca Raton: 561- 962-2785 ... Read More

  It depends...Sometimes getting a hearing in front of a general magistrate is quicker.  Since you only have 10 days to object to the Magistrate, my suggestion is you call the Magistrate's assistant and find out when you can get a hearing; and then call the judge's assistant and see when that judge is setting trials.  Whichever seems sooner is the options I would take. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Office of CIndy S. Vova, P.A. 954-316-3496/561-962-2785... Read More