Florida Family Legal Questions

  In FL the grandparents have no independent right to see the grandchildren or demand "visitation" in Court. I would check with a NC attorney to see if the laws maybe different from FL.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

Unless he has filed a paternity case to establish his rights regarding the children, you are considered  their sole guardian under the laws of Florida. As far as the tools are concerned, your tools are your tools and you should get them back as soon as possible because the longer you wait the better his argument for possession becomes. That being said, the fact that he keeps them in his trailer does not make them his. ... Read More

  You can call the DCF hotline and report the incident. However, in your situation I would not recommend that because there was an injunction in place. Obviously, the Court found merit in whatever the Father did to grant the injunction therefore, you were on notice that he is not a very "good guy." By brining the child around him you potentially put the child in danger. Therefore, you might actually be in trouble with DCF as much as the Father.   I would recommend that you stay away from the Father and not bring the child around. If the Father wants to see the child he will petition the court and go through proper procedures.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  If the paternity has not been established you have no "legal" rights to the child and the mother is the sole custodian of the child. You need to file the Petition to Establish Paternity and Related Relief ASAP.   At the hearing for the Pick Up Order you will be given the opportunity to testify and you should definitely inform the judge of the abuse cases and bring any and all documents you have regarding the dependency cases. Also, ask the judge to do an Agreed Final Judgment of Paternity at the time of the Pick Up Order hearing (make sure you filed the paternity case and served the Mother with the documents prior). Thereafter, you need to convince the judge that it is not in the best interest of the child(ren) that they stay with the Mother. Explain in detail why.   See below link to helpful forms. http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  Is your name on the deed? Are there any documents showing how much each party contributed when purchasing the property? You do not get to keep the property, unless he agrees to it. You need to file a lawsuit called "Partition" which pretty much asks the court to sell the property and divide the net proceeds. Or you can buy out his share or he can buy out your share (an appraisal would need to be done to determine the fair market value of the property).   As to the abuse, if there are recent incidents of abuse and/or threats by him to hurt you and you are currently in fear for your life and/or the life of your children, you can go to your local courthouse and file for domestic violence injunction. If the judge grants it, the father will have to move out. Thereafter, you can file a Petition to Establish Paternity and Related Relief, where you can ask for child support. See below link to the forms you need.' http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  Please see the link below to FL Supreme Court forms. You need a Petition to Establish Paternity and Related Relief and all the supporting documents that are mentioned in the instructions. http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml     Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

   That depends...On first blush one would say no, but circumstances really dicatate what a court would decide.  The court might order supervised time sharing.     However, if this is distant in time and the father has been rehabilitated, then he may be able to assert some rights for timesharing.  Again, I would think that the court would be inclined to make the time supervised, especially if the child is young.        The underlying thought process of the family system is to try and reunify parents and children, but that depends on circumstances, because the first responsibility of the court system is to try and keep children safe.       Keep this in mind when you present anything to the court should the father try to obtain such tiimesharing rights.   Good luck, Cindy Vova Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 8551 West Sunrise Blvd., Suite 301 Plantation, FL 33322 info@vovalaw.com 954-316-3496       ... Read More

  A parent cannot waive child support on behalf of the child. It is the child's right, the parent just receives the money on behalf of the child because the child is a minor. If your divorce "decree" obligated you to pay child support and you have not paid it, you will be responsible for the arrears. If you do start paying child support, make sure you pay via check or money order and indicate in the memo line "child support," keep copies of the checks. Child support is not "connected" with seeing the child, even if you do not see the child you still must pay child support. Before the court can put you in jail for non-payment, you will get several opportunities to explain yourself in front of the judge. The judge must find that you have present ability to pay and refused to pay anyway. However, your driver's license can be suspended and your tax return intercepted. The government can also deny to issue you a passport or renew your old one.   Best of luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

Do you have a court order that gives him timesharing/visitation rights?  If so, then you must get a court order or a written agreement from him letting you move with the child.  If you don;t have a court order yet, you could move, but he could file for an order making you return with the child and an injunction prohibiting you from taking her out of the state again.  Either way, if you want to move, the best plan is to get a written agreement from him or a court order letting you go.... Read More

  I assume the children reside with you? Where the case was originally filed?   There is no form Motion to Change Venue. You can definitely file it yourself; just follow the format of other motions filed in the case. If the children reside with you in Tampa is would be a more convenient forum for the court to decide issues related to timesharing, as all the evidence related to the children is situated in Tampa.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

Yes, you can hire a private investigator and use whatever the private investigator discovers in court. However, you must have the private investigator in court to testify regarding anything he/she saw, otherwise it will be hearsay. Best of Luck, Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~ Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. www.vovalaw.com    ... Read More

  So let's start with your characterization as the person who took your child as being the "father."  If, in fact, you know he is the father, then all the DNA test would do is prove this fact.   Under Florida law, until such time as a court adjudicates a man as the father of a child, when the child is born out of wedlock, the putative father is not "legally" the father.  As such, you, as mom, have no rights to collect child support for your child and, in the unfortunate event that the "father" dies, your child would not get social security benefits or other rights to inherit from the father.   Back to your question....There is not much you can do once the proverbial horse is out of the barn.  However, if this test has come back that this man is, in fact, the biological father, and he is not paying child support, or perhaps not enough child support, then you can now proceed to file a paternity petition to establish support and paternity.   I hope this helps.   Kind regards, Cindy Vova Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 8551 West Broward Blvd., Suite 301 Plantation, FL 33322 954-316-3496 info@vovalaw.com  ... Read More

Hello.  Children under the age of 18 do not get to make decisions about whether they visit a parent or not.  If the child is a minor, then the parents have to discuss contact and access rights (visitation) and make joint decisions.  If the parents cannot make the decision, then one or both of them need to apply to the court for assistance.  If your case is in either Orange or Osceola counties in Florida, please feel free to contact me and schedule a consultation to discuss the matter further.  My office is located in Kissimmee, Florida, and my website is www.aleciareadinglaw.com.  Have a good afternoon. Alecia Reading, Esq. ... Read More

  Only one party needs to allege that the marriage is irretrievably broken to have the divorce granted. However, you can ask the judge to grant a stay in order to attend counseling. If your spouse does not want to do so, it might not be helpful and the judge might not be inclined to grant it.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  There is no legal separation in FL. What your Husband is doing is not proper.   You need to file for divorce and request temporary relief and to maintain status quo. You can also request that the court come up with a temporary timesharing agreement where it is spelled out how and when your Husband sees the children.   See below link to helpful forms.   http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

   The short answer is that typically (unless your agreement states that a verbal agreement is binding) the written terms of a cour order for child timesharing governs.  It is difficult to make an agreement when a child is 18 months old that will cover all the changes that occur between the parties (ie: moving further apart, job changes) and the changes that occur with the child's schedule.   So, you can insist that the parties go back to the court ordered time sharing.  If either party wants to change what the court originally ordered, then that person will have to go back and file a supplemental petition for modification of timesharing.    Now, as a practical solution (!) you could suggest that he and you go to mediation where a skilled mediator could assist with helping both of you come up with an alternative schedule that makes sense for each party's life and the child's situation.  if you reach an agreement, it can be memorialized in writing and then submitted to the court.   Best of luck, Cindy Vova Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 8551 West Sunrise Blvd., Suite 301 Plantation, FL 33322 954-316-3496 info@vovalaw.com   ... Read More

  Since FL would recognize another county's child support order I would imagine Italy would do the same with a FL support order. You would need to check with an attorney in Italy. However, if the Father has no recent connections with Italy, you might have issues obtaining jurisdiction over the Father and might be better off proceeding in FL. Again, you would need to check with an attorney in Italy.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  You need to notify the mother and maybe ask if you can switch the days from Thursday to some other day that works for you. Since it is not an overnight, it does not affect the child support calculations, so there is really no harm in leaving the agreement as it is, if the Mother is okay with it. Otherwise, you can modify the agreement between the two of you and file a new one with the court along with the final judgment ratifying the new amended agreement.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  First and foremost, because you are unmarried, until the Father established paternity via court action he has no rights to the child, and you are the sole custodian of that child. However, since he has an attorney he is probably planning to file the paternity case as soon as the child is born, and submit the parenting plan to the court.   The Father has the right to establish a bond with the child as well, and what he is proposing in not unreasonable, considering that you can pump the milk and/or use formula to supplement feeding. These overnights should not be long but should be frequent for the father to establish a relationship with the child. I believe the judge would agree with his argument.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

It is hard to definitively tell you whether you have a "good" case without knowing more facts about the biological dad's involvement. However, if your current husband is willing to adopt the child and the biological father will not object you can definitely try. Below is the link to helpful forms, see forms for Step-Parent adoption. http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/court-improvement/problem-solving-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml Best of Luck, Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~ Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More

  Usually when the Judge denies an ex-parte Emergency Pick Up order, his/her judicial assistant calls the attorneys and lets them know when the Judge wants to hear the Motion. Thereafter, the attorney who filed the Motion notices it for a hearing. However, each county is different. Each county has an online docket, where you can see all the items filed in your case, if the notice of hearing has been filed it should show up on the docket with 2-3 days.   Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.   www.vovalaw.com  ... Read More