Recent Posts in Parent Coordinator Category

Often clients question whether their minor children will be forced to testify in family law court proceedings.  During litigation over custody, there may come a time when one parent would like their child to testify about which parent he or she would prefer to live with.  In general, the courts have a strong public policy of protecting children from court proceedings and testimony of children is usually frowned upon.  There is a steadfast rule that children are not allowed in court hearings without express permission from the judge.  This is designed to protect children from the emotional harm the child might experience from having to testify against a parent.

As always, there may be an exception.  In rare occasions, the court may hear testimony from the minor child if the court determines the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding and experience to express a preference.  In these rare situations, the child is usually older and will speak with the judge alone without any lawyers present. 

Requesting a child to testify in court in a divorce case is a complicated, difficult and often emotional issue.  It's important to contact an expert family law attorney to discuss this sensitive issue and how this might affect your case and your family. 

As of July 1, 2010 a new statute regarding military service members and timesharing went into effect.  Governor Crist recently signed House Bill 25 which may be good news to military parents and their family members.

According to this new Florida family law, if a parent is in the military and is activated, deployed, or temporarily assigned to military service on order in excess of 90 days, the parent may be allowed to designate another person to exercise timesharing on the parent's behalf.  The scope of who can be delegated is limited to a family member, stepparent, or relative of the child by marriage.   

There are some other provisions in the statute that must be followed, such as ten day notice requirement.  The statute also allows the other parent to object if they feel the proposed designee's timesharing visitation is not in the best interests of the child.  The statute also allows for the Court to make decisions regarding child support and requiring the service member to enroll the child in Tricare, or other similar benefits.

The statute will not apply to military personnel making permanent station change moves.

Additionally, this new way of delegating timesharing to family members can be decided at the time of dissolution of marriage or other child custody proceedings; a military parent does not have to wait until deployment or activation actually occurs.  It is essential for any military parent who is contemplating a divorce or child custody proceeding to address this issue from the start and appoint a designee. 

It is important to contact an expert Tampa family law attorney to help explain how this new statute applies to your family and to assist you in asserting these new rights granted to military members.

It is never too early to start thinking about where your children will spend their holidays.  Most parents wait until November to start dialoguing with their former spouse about scheduling their holidays for their children.  If they do not have a set schedule in place, they find themselves calling their family law attorney after Halloween to settle their disputes.  Unfortunately, the judges have dockets that are already crowded.  So, last minutes hearings are rarely granted and usually quite expensive to litigate.

I recommend that clients start around the beginning of the school year to set out their requests for a holiday schedule.  That way, if there is going to be a disagreement, it can set sorted out without a last minute rush to the courthouse that quite possibly might not get resolved in time.

If you find that you and your spouse are unable to work something out, going to a mediator may be helpful.  Many jurisdictions have mediation services available for divorce cases at the courthouse for a relatively low cost.

Additionally, it may be helpful to know that many jurisdictions have a holiday guideline schedule that may be found on the courthouse website.  Ask your expert Tampa family law attorney for ideas as to how to get this problem served early in the year and avoid unnecessary expense.

In a Florida divorce or a Florida paternity case, the law sets out a specific schedule that determines how much child support each party is responsible for based on the income of both parents and the number of children in the family.  However, we have previously discussed that Florida family law provides for certain exceptions from these guidelines, such as the demonstrated need for one party to financially support an elderly parent or certain extraordinary medical or educational expenses.

Another exception is seasonal variations in one or both parents' income.  What does this mean and how would a court interpret this provision?  One example might be a teacher who gets paid his salary during the school year when he's in class teaching but not over the summer.  Another example could be a salesman who gets paid mostly on commission and sees larger paychecks around the holiday shopping season. These are only two circumstances for which the court could deviate from the established guidelines - there are many others.

Bottom line:  If you find yourself having trouble meeting your child support obligations due to changes in your income from month-to-month, consult with the best Tampa family law attorney to make sure you receive the reasonable accommodation as provided by law.

Florida family law is very clear on how much each party will be responsible for in child support based on both parents' income and the number of children.  However, we have recently discussed that the court can deviate from the normal payment schedule for certain unusual circumstances like the care of an elderly parent.

What if the children are enrolled in private schools which can cost thousands of dollars per school year these days?  Are these expenses meant to be shared using the normal child support schedule laid out in the law?  Expert Florida divorce lawyers know that the answer is, "Not necessarily."

While the guidelines for payment are calculated using a clearly defined formula, the law states that the court can adjust one or both parents' share for a number of factors, one of which is extraordinary "medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses".  Private school tuition fits under this exception and should be handled outside the normal guidelines.

Bottom line:  Speak with the best Tampa family law attorney you can find if your children are subject to expensive private school tuition costs and you are involved in a divorce or paternity case.

In a Florida divorce or paternity proceeding, the best Tampa family law attorneys often use guardians ad litem for the benefit of the children.  A guardian ad litem should not act as an attorney or advocate for the child, but rather as next friend of the child in seeking the child's best interests.  Once appointed, this person has fairly wide-ranging powers, many of which require the assistance of a lawyer.  For example, the guardian ad litem has investigatory powers that allow the interview of the child, witnesses, or any other person having information concerning the welfare of the child.  The guardian ad litem may also assist in seeking impartial expert examinations as necessary or, with the assistance of counsel, may ask the court to compel examination of the child or the parents by doctors or mental health professionals.   

A guardian ad litem is entitled to attend any court proceedings that affect the child and also must submit a written report containing recommendations to the court within 10 days of any stipulation or agreement.  The guardian is able to make oral or written recommendations directly to the court.

While these are some of the powers and duties specifically laid out in Florida family law, the law is also clear that this list of powers is not meant to be exhaustive. 

Bottom line:  The best St. Petersburg child custody lawyer will tell you that the purpose of a guardian ad litem is to act in the best interests of a child and that the law provides fairly extensive authority to assist in the pursuit of this goal.

A dispute over child custody in a Florida divorce or paternity case can often become very emotional and divisive.  The more animosity there is, the more it hurts the children involved.  The Florida family law system has a way to try to ease some of the tension that is placed on the children.

In a Florida divorce where there is a request for creation or modification of a parenting plan, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to act as "next friend of the children, investigator or evaluator, not as attorney or advocate."  This is typically done when a judge feels that it would be appropriate to hear what the child has to say about the proposed parenting plans, but wants to keep the child from feeling alone in the process.

If there are allegations of abuse, abandonment or neglect, the court has no alternative.  It must appoint a guardian ad litem.

The guardian ad litem will typically meet with the children and make them feel more at ease with the idea that their parents are divorcing.  The guardian ad litem will assure them that the breakup of the marriage is not because of anything that they have done.  Then the children will be asked what they would like to see the parenting plan look like.  Finally, the guardian ad litem will inform the court of the thoughts of the children.

Bottom line:  Your expert Tampa family law attorney can assist you in seeking a guardian ad litem to assist your children.

To be a parenting coordinator, a person must either be licensed as a Florida mental health professional, psychiatrist or lawyer or be certified as a family law mediator with a master’s degree in a mental health field.  Expert Tampa family law attorneys often refer client s to parent coordinators for assistance in creating a timesharing plan because of the education and experience in dealing with children that comes with these qualifications.

The parent coordinator will meet with the parents both together and individually to discuss the needs of the children.  In some cases, the parent coordinator will contact teachers or others who have information regarding the children or, in certain circumstances, speak with the children themselves.

The primary goal of the parent coordinator will be to reach an agreement between the parents on all aspects of their future timesharing arrangement.  Not only will the parents decide which days the children will spend at each home, but also agree upon rules for telephone contact, exceptions to the usual schedule, responsibility for transporting the children, systems for selection of doctors, schools, extracurricular activities and all other choices you will make as your children mature.

Parent coordinators are fairly new to the divorce process in Florida custody cases, but have proven to be quite valuable in helping to reduce the bickering and reach agreements that divorcing parents can accept.

Bottom line:  Ask your expert Florida divorce lawyer if a parent coordinator could be helpful in your situation.