Recent Blog Posts in May 2010

The court system uses guardians ad litem to assist in cases involving children.  In order to be appointed by the court to perform this task, you must meet one of three qualifications.  You must be officially certified by the Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program, certified by a not-for-profit legal aid organization or be an attorney who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.

There are a number of specific criteria within the Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program and within any not-for-profit legal aid organization which we will discuss in a later blogpost.  All of the requirements are geared toward obtaining guardians ad litem who will dedicate their time to diligently representing the best interests of the children they are appointed to represent.

If you have questions about these qualifications, contact an expert Tampa family law attorney.

Bottom line:  A guardian ad litem can be appointed to represent a child in a child custody dispute.

In a Florida divorce or paternity case, there will be a child support guideline calculation to determine how much will be paid from one parent to the other.  These calculations are pretty precise and inflexible.

What if you are one of the many people in this country who are financially subsidizing an elderly parent who does not have sufficient funds to meet the monthly bills?  You should contact the best child support lawyer in Tampa to ask what the effect of that situation is on your child support obligation.

Florida law allows for certain exceptions to the child support guideline calculation.  One of these is for just such a situation as we just described.  If you can show that the payments for your parent have been regularly paid and that they are legitimately an ongoing necessity, the court may deviate from the Florida child support guidelines.

Bottom line:  Ask your expert Florida custody lawyer how this exception applies to you.

A Florida child custody determination deals with the details of who is physically and legally responsible for the child and what timesharing rights other parties may have. 

If a determination is made in a Florida family law court, whether permanent or temporary, initial or modification, it is binding on all parties unless there is a subsequent modification.  

Persons inside the state of Florida will be served in accordance with Florida laws.  If a person resides outside of the state of Florida and they are served with a child custody determination, they must abide by the determination according to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

Your expert Tampa family law attorney can advise you how each of the fifty states has passed exactly the same law with regard to which state has jurisdiction over child custody cases depending upon the contacts of the parents and the child with each particular state.  All of the other states will honor a child custody decision of any state which follows this statute.

Bottom line:  There are specific rules in place to determine which state has jurisdiction in any child custody jurisdiction dispute.