It is easy to be confused by legal terms.  Below is a list of family law legal terms and a brief explanation of each.

Marriage Contracts/Relationship Agreements – contracts entered into by the parties in reference to possessions, assets, liabilities and finances that can be relied upon during a divorce.

Pre-Nuptial – A pre-nuptial agreement is recommended when either the bride or groom wants to clearly spell out before the  marriage how assets obtained prior to and after the marriage will be handled should the marriage end in divorce.  Many pre-nuptials also include terms about potential alimony claims for the lesser earning spouse.

Post-Nuptial – A post-nuptial agreement which may also be called a marital settlement agreement is a contract entered into after the couple are married.  Post-nuptials or marital settlement agreements deal with many of the same issues that pre-nuptials deal with in reference to finances, assets, liabilities and alimony.  However, post-nuptials may also deal with issues to any children that have been born during the marriage such as timesharing.

Annulment of Marriage – Legal Annulments of a marriage are rarely entered in the state of Florida.  An annulment is granted generally for one of three reasons: (1) the party not requesting the annulment was unavailable to marry because he/she was still legally married to someone else or was not old enough to marry and married without consent; (2) the party requesting the annulment was drugged or drunk at the time and did not know they were getting married; and (3) the marriage was never consummated.

Ground for Divorce – Florida is a no-fault divorce state.  The only grounds necessary for divorce in the state of Florida are “irreconcilable differences.”

Dissolution of Marriage/Divorce – The legal term in the state of Florida for a divorce is a dissolution of marriage There are several legal options available to couples wishing to obtain a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

Petition/Counter-Petition Contested – The standard option everyone thinks of is filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage which is served on the other party.  The other party than has twenty (20) days to file an Answer and possibly a counter-petition.

Pre-Suit Offer of Settlement – Usually a written “Offer of Settlement” letter is sent to the spouse offering terms upon which a Marital Settlement Agreement can be drafted prior to any petition being filed with the court.

Pre-Suit Mediation Representation – Couples have the option of attending mediation with a certified mediator prior to filing a petition for dissolution of marriage with or without legal representation.  Attorneys from InFocus and most other firms will appear with you on a limited appearance basis for pre-suit mediation.  It is generally better to have an attorney as the mediator (even if an attorney) cannot provide legal advice to either party if they are acting in their capacity as a mediator.

Marital Settlement Agreement Drafting/Review – Many couples are able to sit down at the kitchen table and put together a list of how all issues related to their divorce will be handled and they are in complete agreement.  At that point one or both may hire independent legal representation.  (Here is a good time to note that one attorney CANNOT represent both the husband and wife in a divorce action.) One spouses’ attorney can draft a marital settlement agreement based upon the terms provided and the other spouse can take the document to an attorney of his/her choice for review of the marital settlement agreement.  This substantially reduces the cost of the divorce while still allowing the parties to get sound legal advice from independent counsel of their choice.

Courthouse Packet Review – Most courts have dissolution of marriage/divorce packets that can be purchased at the courthouse or downloaded on line.  In some cases there is a nominal fee for the forms.  There are times when we will recommend this option to potential clients. It is generally best to have the completed packet reviewed by an attorney prior to filing it court.

Parenting Plans/Timesharing/Visitation – The court now requires that any divorce matter involving children must have a completed document called a Parenting Plan filed prior to the final divorce being granted.  This document primarily indicates where the children will be spending their time.

Prior to October 2008 the term was called “visitation” however the current legal term is “timesharing”.  Both deal with which parent will have the children when.  There also is no longer a “primary” parent designated by the court in the final divorce decree.  There are still parenting plans approved by the court where one parent is considered the “substantial timesharing residential parent” and has the minor children the majority of the time.

Child Support Guideline Calculations – Child Support Guidelines are calculated by a formula which has been established by Florida Statutes.  Child Support Guidelines are calculated based upon each parents income minus any deductions/credits for taxes, health insurance and daycare/aftercare expenses for minor children.  The number of overnights the child spends with each parent is also taken into consideration in the calculation.  A child support guidelines worksheet should be filed in any case involving child support.

Alimony Calculations – There currently are no set guidelines for alimony or spousal support.  The court will initially look at the need of the lesser income earning spouse and the ability to pay of the higher earning spouse.  Once need and ability to pay has been established, the court look at several other factors including length of marriage, educational level, work experience and contribution of each party to the marriage prior to determining if alimony is appropriate.  There are several different types of alimony.

Permanent Periodic Alimony – Usually for long term traditional marriages where one party has worked and the other has maintained the home and raised the children.  Permanent periodic alimony is a set amount that is paid monthly to the lesser earning spouse until one spouse dies, the lesser earning spouse remarries or is substantially supported by an unrelated third party.  Permanent Periodic Alimony is taxable to the lesser earning spouse and deductible to the paying spouse.  Permanent Periodic Alimony like child support, is modifiable if there is a substantial increase or decrease in either parties’ income.

Lump Sum Alimony – A lump sum amount which can be paid all at one time or over a set period of time.

Rehabilitative Alimony -  Allows the lesser income earning party to return to school for additional education to obtain a better job.  In certain circumstances the court can order that the higher income earning spouse pay part or all of the cost of that education.  Note:  The spouse must actually have taken steps towards the education such as taking the required admission tests, filing application and being accepted.

Bridge-the-Gap Alimony – Usually requested in short term marriages where one party has no money to support themselves for a interim period of time prior to having a chance to obtain employment or to find a place to live.  This is typically a set monthly amount paid for three months to at most a year.

Temporary Alimony – Temporary Alimony can be requested prior to the final judgment of dissolution of marriage is entered to allow the lesser income earning spouse to be able to pay their ongoing expenses until the entry of the final divorce decree.  This type of alimony terminates once permanent alimony is determined.

Nominal Alimony – A form of permanent periodic alimony that is a low monthly dollar amount.  Usually put in place when there is an expectation that the higher earning spouse is voluntarily under employed.

Equitable Distribution – Florida sees a divorce as the personal equivalent of a business partnership.  Every asset or liability bought into the partnership from the date of marriage until the filing of a petition or entering into a marital settlement agreement is an asset or liability of the marriage.  It doesn’t matter who bought in the asset or created the liability.  The presumption is each party is entitled to a fifty/fifty distribution of all assets and liabilities at the time of the divorce.

Equitable Distribution Worksheet – An equitable distribution worksheet is generally presented to the court during trial.  An equitable distribution worksheet usually lists and totals all assets and all liabilities.  This is used by the court to determine equitable distribution.

Child Abduction – Child abduction occurs when one parent removes a minor child from the child’s home state with the intent not to return without the approval of the other legal parent.  Home state is determined to be where the child has resided for the previous six months prior to the filing of any court documents.

Interstate Child Abduction – Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act is a federal act which requires that children not be removed from their home state without the expressed approval of both legal parents.  States generally cooperate with each to return minor children back to their home state who have been removed in violation of this Act.

International Child Abduction – There are two federal acts that come into play when minor children are removed from the United States without the approval of one of the legal parents.  The Patriot Act requires that both parents be present to obtain a passport for minor children and that when one parent is traveling without the other that a letter from the non-traveling parent is required along with the passport to be presented to custom officials.  The Hague Convention has member countries from around the world allowing embassy’s to work together for return of minor children that have been illegally removed from the United States.

Collaborative Law – Collaborative Law is a new concept in family law that is being accepted both in America and Internationally.  This option is not for every family, but for those families with high conflict issues this maybe the best option.  Lori Caldwell-Carr of InFocus Family is a collaboratively trained professional.

Paternity – Whenever minor children are born to an unmarried couple there should be some type of establishment of paternity filed with the court in order to protect both the rights of the father and the minor child. All the same options available in dissolution of marriage matters are the same for paternity.  However, paternity only deals with issues related to the minor child such as timesharing, support, health insurance, extracurricular activities, etc.

Paternity Petition/Counter-Petition Contested – The standard option everyone thinks of is filing a Petition for Paternity which is served on the other party.  The other party than has twenty (20) days to file an Answer and possibly a counter-petition.

Paternity Pre-Suit Offer of Settlement – Usually a written “Offer of Settlement” letter is sent to the other parent offering terms upon which a Paternity Settlement Agreement can be drafted prior to any petition being filed with the court.

Paternity Pre-Suit Mediation Representation - Parents have the option of attending mediation with a certified mediator prior to filing a petition for paternity with or without legal representation.  Attorney’s from InFocus and many other family law firms will appear with you on a limited appearance basis for pre-suit mediation.

Paternity Settlement Agreement Drafting/Review – Many parents already have already agreed how they want to share time with their minor child, who will pay expenses and a list of how all issues related to their child will be handled.  At that point one or both may hire independent legal representation to draft the Agreement.  (Here is a good time to note that one attorney CANNOT represent both the father and the mother in a paternity action.) One parents’ attorney can draft a paternity settlement agreement based upon the terms provided and the other parent can take the document to an attorney of his/her choice for review of the paternity settlement agreement.  This substantially reduces the cost of the paternity action while allowing the parents to get sound legal advice from independent counsel of their choice.

Paternity Courthouse Packet Review - Most courts have paternity packets that can be purchased at the courthouse or downloaded on line.  In some cases there is a nominal fee for the forms.  There are times when we will recommend this option to potential clients. It is generally best to have the completed packet reviewed by an attorney prior to filing it court.

Department of Revenue Hearings – Whenever there is an entitlement for child support the parent who has the minor child(ren) the majority of the time can request that the Department of Revenue take legal action against the non-paying parent for support.  In many cases, paternity will still need to be established prior to department of revenue ordering support.  Private attorneys are often retained by non-paying spouses who are questioning paternity or the amount of monthly support being calculated by the department of revenue.

Post Judgment Matters – Any action that requires you to go back to court after a final judgment or decree has been entered.

Child Support Enforcement – Once child support has been ordered by the court if at any time the parent ordered to pay support has not paid that support the recipient parent has the right to return to court requesting that the non-paying parent be ordered to pay.  The court has the ability to enforce their order in several ways ranging from suspension of a drivers license to imprisonment.

Downward/Upward Modification of Child Support – Child support is modifiable based upon a permanent unforeseen involuntary substantial change in the income of either parent.

Timesharing Enforcement – If one parent withholds the children from the other parent for a continuous and ongoing period inconsistent with the parenting plan.  The parent being deprived of time with their children has a right to Motion the Court to order the non-complying parent to enforce timesharing.

Relocation – Relocation of Children can only be done by agreement of the parents in writing or serving of a notice of intent to relocate to the non-relocating parent including very specific information as to reasons for requested location and all contact information for new location.  The non-relocating parent has thirty (30) days to object in writing to the relocation.  If the relocation is contested a hearing is required on the matter prior to the relocation occurring.

Domestic Violence – There are two types of domestic violence, civil and criminal.  Family law attorneys deal with civil domestic violence.  Civil domestic violence occurs between individuals who live together, have lived together or have a child together.  Domestic violence usually involves a battery, assault, stalking, or kidnapping.  If a person can convince a court that they are in fear and that there is an immediate and present danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence a temporary injunction for domestic violence may be granted.  The party accused of domestic violence is served notice of the temporary injunction hearing.  If at that hearing the judge determines that there is domestic violence or an imminent threat of violence they will grant a permanent injunction.  Permanent injunctions are not necessarily permanent.  The permanent injunction is effective immediately, but can be modified or dissolved by the judge at either party’s request, upon notice and hearing.  Sometimes the judge will set a specific date that the permanent injunction expires.

Step-Parent/Close Relative Adoption – Upon petitioning the court step-parents or close relatives can adopt minor children with a full release from both biological parents and from the child if twelve or older.

Grand Parents Rights – Florida does not currently recognize grand parents rights to timesharing with minor children.  However, many parents understand the value of involving grand parents in their children’s lives on an ongoing basis and will enter into marital agreements that include timesharing with the grand parents.

Wills/Ancillary Documents – Everyone that has minor children should have a will.  We always recommend that our clients establish new wills and ancillary documents for protection of their children and their assets.

Simple Wills (with and without simple trust provisions) – Wills tell the world what you want to have happen with your money, personal possessions and children after your death.  Wills do not take effect until you die and are always modifiable during your life as long as you are competent at the time you sign the will.  Wills must be signed in the presence of two unrelated individuals who sign the will as witnesses and a third person who acts as the notary.  A proper will signing requires four (4) people…you, two witnesses and a notary.

Health Care Surrogate – This is a document that is in effect during the term of your life in the event that you are unable to make decisions about your medical treatment.  It allows you to appoint a trusted person to make those decisions for you in the event you are unable to make them for yourself.

Power of Attorney – This is a document that is in effect during the term of your life in the event that you are unable to make decisions about your financial issues.  It allows you to appoint a trusted person to pay your bills, make decisions about selling of assets and investments for you in the event that you are unable to make them for yourself.  Powers of attorney can also be limited to such things as allowing grand parents to secure medical treatment for minor children in the event you are away and they are in the grand parents care for emergency situations.

Living Will – This is a document that is in effect during the term of your life.  It is more comprehensive than the health care surrogate and clearly directs the health care surrogate as to what your wishes are in reference to life sustaining treatments available in severe medical situations.  It allows you to appoint a trusted person to make those decisions for you.