As newlyweds walk down the aisle, their idea of their marriage is something that will last forever. Sometimes, however, a party is better of to dissolving the marriage rather than remain in an insufferable situation. Obtaining a “divorce” in Florida has two simple requirements, i.e., that the marriage be irretrievably broken and that at least one party has resided in Florida for more than six months prior to filing the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. As result, a brief marriage with no children and no assets to split can be dissolved simply by the parties filing a pro se simple Dissolution of Marriage themselves at the Family Court using the Florida family law forms.
However, the vast majority of cases handled by our firm include numerous issues such as child custody and time sharing, child support, division of assets, spousal support (alimony), division of debts, and who bears the ultimate responsibility for attorney fees.
In the initial conference with the client, the client will learn about the legal process which addresses the issues related to a divorce. From the beginning, the client will be advised as to what the client can reasonably expect to occur during the various stages of the divorce process. The client will be reminded that he or she has the facts and the lawyer takes those facts, applies the law, to obtain a result in the case. The client is kept abreast as to the legal and factual issues of the case. Most importantly, we understand that divorce is an extremely traumatic experience for a client. With that understanding, we provide an objective and reasonable voice to steer the client toward a result in the client’s best interest.
A dissolution of marriage matter involves numerous issues depending on the facts and circumstances. Once the children’s issues, i.e., parental responsibility, custody, and time sharing issues, are resolved, most other issues are financial. These issues range from the division of assets and debts, spousal support (alimony), and child support. Assets may include not only the residence, but may include a business, retirement and pension accounts, and all forms of financial accounts. Mr. Kavulich’s background in taxation and accounting enables him to address these financial issues. As a Florida family law attorney, Mr. Kavulich is prepared to handle any family law issue.
These issues can be resolved through litigation where a judge decides the issues; mediation, where a third party mediator meets with the parties and their attorneys attempt to resolve all issues and incorporate them into a Mediated Settlement Agreement; or the parties and their attorneys resolve the issues and incorporate them into a Postnuptial Agreement. If an agreement is signed, mediated or otherwise, the expense of a trial is avoided, and the divorce is obtained in a five minute uncontested divorce hearing. Another alternative is the use of the collaborative family law process.
Other areas of family law unrelated to a divorce include: