Seeking Solutions That Protect Your Rights & Your Family
FT. LAUDERDALE: (954) 776-1414 • BOCA RATON: (561) 910-1870

Category Archives: divorce

South Florida Family Law Blog: Senior Divorce – No Minor Kids, No Problems? Boomers Facing Divorce Still Must Navigate Issues

At The Law Offices of B. Finkel P.A., we’re not just family law attorneys and divorce lawyers. We’re long-time residents of the South Florida community. We’ve watched our friends and their families grow older. One of the pleasures of a married couple growing older is growing old together. The kids grow up and the couple [...]

Pro Se Divorce Debate: Hire a South Florida Family Law Attorney – or Risk the Perils of Do-It-Yourself Representation

When facing divorce, couples have options. They can hire an experienced family law attorney who will protect his or her client’s best interests; or the sides can download fill-in-the-blank documents and handle their divorce case pro se, or “for one’s own behalf.” In this do-it-yourself strategy, the individuals advocate for themselves or on their own [...]

Fort Lauderdale Family Law Attorney: South Florida Women Facing Divorce Must Be Financially Prepared

It’s long been the lament of family law attorneys representing wives in separation and divorce cases. All too often, women arrive to this place in their lives with little to no knowledge of the family’s finances. Many have been homemakers and mothers to the children – with no involvement in earning an income or managing [...]

Fort Lauderdale Divorce Attorney: For Florida Alimony Reform to Succeed, Florida Needs Judicial Guidelines

Alimony reform has garnered much attention in recent years from family law attorneys and divorce lawyers in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton and throughout Florida. Attorneys for breadwinners ordered to pay ongoing alimony to ex-spouses have grown frustrated with seemingly unending payments. Some such breadwinners call themselves “slaves” to alimony. As long as they’re gainfully [...]

Leading South Florida Divorce Firm Adds Listings of Family Law Practice Areas

For Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Miami and other South Florida residents hoping to learn more about family law and specific divorce practice areas, The Law Offices of Barry I. Finkel P.A., recently updated its website to provide just that. The Services page on the firm’s site now offers in-depth explanations of various common practice areas. [...]

Fort Lauderdale Family Law Blog: The Benefits & Pitfalls of South Florida Divorce ‘Expos’

Expos seem to be prevalent across South Florida consumer markets. Home expos, outdoor expos, pet expos. As a South Florida family attorney, we’ve witnessed the entry of a new event: the divorce expo. Combining consumer interest, general confusion regarding family law, and a desire to learn more, a divorce expo can play an important role [...]

Florida Family Lawyer: Filing for Divorce, Signing a Post-Nuptial as Protective Fiscal Moves

Imagine the husband and wage-earner of a married couple has a big deal coming down the pike. Their marriage has been failing for some time, though they remain together. Or the wife suspects adultery, or has tired of the husband’s abusive alcoholism or drug addiction. In each instance, the mate wants to secure his or [...]

Florida Divorce Attorneys Confront Digital Snooping in Family Law Cases

The story is destined to become lore in family law. A married man had sent emails. But the messages that arrived in recipients’ inboxes – he later learned – differed from those he’d sent. The man – who was in divorce proceedings with his wife – suspected she’d meddled with the messages. He was right. [...]

Passwords and Shared Accounts: Make the First Move Key to Preserve Financial Protection

Several years ago, a woman came into our Fort Lauderdale family law practice for an initial visit to discuss her failing marriage.   For two hours, we discussed her marriage and its apparent impending divorce. During that time – and unbeknownst to us all – her husband logged into their online bank accounts. He changed the [...]

Myths, Realities of South Florida “Do It Yourself Divorce”

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently had an article on the apparent rise in do-it-yourself divorces in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton and across South Florida. As family law attorneys and divorce lawyers who work with clients facing marriage separation and divorce every day, we believe the article offered some good insights and advice. We believe [...]

iPhone, Google Android Tracking: Implications for Family Law, Divorce Cases

Consumer advocates and technologists were all a’twitter when word leaked that Apple and Google had in their popular wireless phones applications that tracked users every move and location. Another example of Big Brother’s incessant invasion of privacy via iPhones and Android, they protested. Yet, what about couples in divorce? For divorce lawyers and family law [...]

Facebook Fallacy and the Divorce Debate: Is Facebook Bad for Marriage? Only if a Spouse is Bad for Facebook

First, statisticians said Facebook led to one in five divorces. Then, realists reviewed the numbers and found it was nowhere near that figure. In the article, Irreconcilable Claim: Facebook Causes 1 in 5 Divorces, the Wall Street Journal reviewed a recent debate about whether Facebook could be linked to 20% of divorces. While the numbers [...]

New Model, Same Protections: Florida Divorce Lawyers and Family Law Attorneys Advise Non-Married Couples to Use ‘Cohabitation Agreements’

Whether you live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, or anywhere else in the country, cohabitation is like marriage without the certificate. You want to spend the rest of your life with someone, but you don’t necessarily want to get married. What happens to your assets, though, should you decide to leave, split up or otherwise part company [...]

South Florida Attorney: Prenups Are Important for Divorce – and Marriage

What is a prenuptial agreement – or prenup? South Florida / Fort Lauderdale family law and divorce attorney Barry Finkel discusses how this agreement can save time, money and aggravation if issues related to assets are resolved prior to marriage.

Fort Lauderdale Family Law Attorneys Debate ‘Lawsuit Lenders’ Who Fuel Divorce Case Costs

The New York Times recently had a story on divorce litigation and ‘Lawsuit Lenders.’ These firms are part of a growing trend of companies that underwrite the costs of almost any litigation – family law, personal injury, product liability, even whistle blower – in hopes of taking a percentage of the final settlement or judgment. [...]

Family Law Attorneys Favor ‘Easy’ Divorces for Couples Who Put Kids First, Affairs in Order

A Sun-Sentinel article this week spoke of how a Fort Lauderdale / Broward County, Florida, courthouse hosted Family Pro Se (Latin for do-it-yourself) Day. The “docket-clearing” session was designed for “couples filing for uncontested divorces and name changes on their own — that is, without a lawyer.” “The first-time event was designed to make what [...]

New York Times: Divorced Couples Co-Parenting at One Home for the Holidays

The New York Times had an article on divorced couples who get together as a family unit – with their children – for the holidays. This is exactly what family law judges and conscientious divorce attorneys are looking for during the holidays among divorced, divorcing or separated parents. It’s called “co-parenting,” and occurs among parents [...]

Florida Divorce Lawyers See Baby Boomers Turning to Pre-Nups to Protect Existing Estates

Before they say, “I do,” some couples are asking, “Will you?” A recent Wall Street Journal article on the place of prenuptial agreements among Baby Boomers — and others looking to protect existing assets — raises important questions. As the article stated, “Baby boomers looking to protect their assets are increasingly turning to prenuptial agreements [...]

New Book: What are the 7 Deadly Sins of Divorce?

Across South Florida and the nation, we’ve been told that 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. As family law attorneys and lawyers skilled in divorce, we’ve heard the statistic. But is this really true? According to a new book and its review on MSN, “Whether you are happily married now, or hoping to [...]

South Florida Family Law Attorney Discusses Facebook, Social Media and Divorce

South Florida divorce and family law attorney Angela R. Neave, of the Law Firm of Barry I. Finkel P.A., was interviewed on Comcast Newsmakers regarding the implications of social media and divorce. Watch as she highlights some of the trends — and warnings — related to social media like Facebook, texting and other applications.

Florida Attorney on Divorce, Alimony & Taxes

Tax time is here. If you’re divorced and paying alimony, child support or any other settlement or obligation in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton or anywhere else in Florida, what are the tax implications? Watch and listen as family law attorney Barry Finkel discusses divorce and taxes with a local television news host.

Florida Family Law Attorney: Facebook, Twitter & Blog No Place for Divorce Details

For many, Facebook is a compelling and engaging social media network. For those facing divorce, Facebook, Twitter, even YouTube and Flickr are inviting places to share details about your experiences: your separation, social life, maybe new-found freedom and even “hot dates.” All a family law attorney can advise is: Be careful what you post. A [...]

Preparing For Florida Divorce: How to Prepare for the Inevitable & the Unexpected

Sometimes, divorce papers confront a spouse totally unexpectedly. And sometimes, after months or years of bad chemistry and a relationship turning sour, there is no surprise at all. It’s in those situations – when you believe that separation or divorce might be coming – that it’s best to prepare for separation and divorce. If you’re [...]

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren: Tips for a High-Profile Divorce

The high-profile case of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren has been splashed across tabloids and Websites from South Florida to New York and around the globe for weeks. There’s been discussion of his affairs, and her reactions – and possible outcomes. Lost in much of the discussion is how this case likely would play out [...]

The Pre-Nuptial Agreement of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren: Why Florida Divorce Law is Center Court

Many of the questions surrounding the high-profile episode of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have centered on the pre-nuptial agreement, alimony and the equitable distribution of assets, and how – or whether – Ms. Nordegren can fight to improve it to her benefit. Simply put: Under Florida law, which by virtue of their primary residence [...]

Divorce Newsfeed

- March 14, 2013 - Bill Moves Forward That Would End Permanent Alimony A bill that would eliminate “permanent alimony” in Florida passed through a state House committee Thursday, and its next stop is the House floor. State Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Republican, the bill’s sponsor, said this would alter family law to reflect an evolving American culture. He said the statutes should portray the country’s cultural shifts.

- January 11, 2013 - Losing Friends During Divorce - Or Not Divorce stirs up all kinds of emotions in people. Some people base their feelings on their relationship with the couple divorcing. Perhaps others base it on their own experience with divorce themselves or as a child. That's all understandable. It's was the friends that took my divorce personally that surprised me the most. We were a group of five couples that did many things together. We vacationed together, we had girls trips, play dates with the kids and all the fun things people do together with their families and friends. It was all of that until my divorce upset the party.

- December 18, 2012  - Divorce And Affairs: Does Cheating Cost You In A Divorce? NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Cheating spouses are constantly in the headlines, one of the latest involving former Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus. While there seems to be an endless appetite for stories about infidelity involving celebrities or those in the halls of power, in most cases divorce courts couldn't care less. The price tags on affairs that blow up a marriage come out of negotiated settlements. This is because in states with no-fault divorce laws - which allow people to divorce without having to document specific reasons the marriage went south - courts aren't looking for blame. So affairs and other disasters of the heart don't matter.

- December 5, 2012  - When Couples Divorce But Still Run a Business Together Given a 2007 Census Bureau estimate that about 3.7 million businesses are owned by a husband and a wife and given the high rate of divorce, divorced couples running a business is quite common. This small-business guide offers suggestions on making the best of a difficult situation.

- November 25, 2012  - Change Permanent Alimony Say you married your high school sweetheart, and he or she stayed home to raise the kids. Now 20 years later, you've grown apart and gotten divorced. Along with a fair distribution of your lifetime savings, you'd probably agree that it's fair to pay alimony for a good number of years to help your former spouse find his or her way in the next chapter of life. But should you be forced to pay alimony for the rest of your life?

- November 18, 2012  - Huffington Post Divorce Section Visit the Huffington Post's Divorce Section online to read the latest news, trends, business and legal updates regarding divorce in America.

- November 11, 2012  - Florida Group Pushes For More Alimony Reform Debbie Leff Israel, the Weston woman who helped start the Florida Second Wives Club, won’t marry her fiancée because her salary can be used to recalculate what he pays to support his ex-wife. Alan Frisher, a Brevard County financial advisor, was ordered to pay his former wife permanent alimony in 2003 when the couple divorced, a ruling he considers “abusive and unjust.” The two are unlikely allies in a fight for alimony reform in Florida.

- August 14, 2012  - Evelyn Lozada Files for Divorce From Chad Johnson The honeymoon is officially over. Evelyn Lozada has filed for divorce from Chad Johnson, TMZ first reported. The two were married in a lavish ceremony July 4 in front of cameras for their now defunct VH1 reality show, Ev and Ocho. The network pulled the plug after Johnson’s weekend arrest for domestic abuse. In legal documents, Lozada claims the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” The ex couple allegedly had a fight after she spotted a receipt for condoms in their Smart Car.

- August 3, 2012 - TMZ: Stevie Wonder Files for Divorce from Kai Morris TMZ reported Stevie Wonder has filed for divorce. In the divorce docs obtained by the media outlet, the music icon cites irreconcilable differences. According to the papers, Wonder has been separated from wife Kai Millard Morris since October 2009. Wonder filed the divorce papers using his legal name, Stevland Morris, and signed with two fingerprints. In the docs, filed by disso-queen Laura Wasser, Wonder asks for joint custody of the couple's two boys, ages 10 and 7. In the docs, Wonder agrees to pay both spousal and child support. Although Wonder amassed his fortune long before he tied the knot with Kai back in 2001, some assets will be split, though the papers indicate the amount has yet to be determined, TMZ reported.

- July 25, 2012 - Divorce Hotel: Check in Married, Leave Single Quick split in splendor? New business venture promises couples a clean and easy split in one weekend.

- June 29, 2012 - Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes Divorcing After Five Years of Marriage "Rock of Ages" star Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes are divorcing after five years of marriage, according to a report from People magazine. Cruise, 49, and Holmes, 33, were married at an Italian castle in the fall of 2006 after a whirlwind romance that garnered major headlines for both stars.

- Chicago Tribune - June 27, 2012 - Rielle Hunter Says She Has Split With John Edwards NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rielle Hunter, the woman who had an affair with former U.S. Senator John Edwards during his U.S. presidential bid, said on Tuesday that she was no longer in a relationship with him. In an interview to promote her tell-all memoir, Hunter, 48, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she and Edwards had split, but would continue to see each other as they share parenting duties of their now 4-year-old daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter.

- Palm Beach Post - June 26, 2012 - Missing Oil Tycoon's Wife Wanted Divorce NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mother of a 35-year-old missing oil tycoon alleges Jamie Aguiar told her son she wanted a divorce shortly before he disappeared. Guma Aguiar's boat washed ashore in Fort Lauderdale last week with its engine still running. Police found no blood on the boat and no evidence of foul play. His mother, Ellen Aguiar, filed court documents to gain control of her son's nearly $100 million estate while rescuers were still searching the water for his body.

- Reuters – May 10, 2012 - Divorce Courts Mirror Society as More Women Pay Alimony Tables have turned in U.S. divorce courts with more women paying their former husbands alimony and child support than ever before, according to U.S. lawyers. As women climb higher up the career ladder and outpace their exes in salary, when love goes wrong and marriages break up they are being compelled to contribute to the livelihood of their former spouses..

- Action News Jacksonville – March 1, 2012 - Alimony Outrage: Demanding Changes in Tallahassee Many Florida citizens who pay alimony say they are victims of Florida’s alimony laws. Under the current laws, there are 6 types of alimony awards. Most of them are temporary, the purpose of which is to aid in the transition from married to single life. But it’s permanent alimony—due every month until the payer dies—that has so many people outraged. It doesn’t end when someone retires, or becomes disabled. It doesn’t end when the ex-spouse meets someone new, or evenmoves in with someone new. And sometimes, it’s awarded in cases that seem to go against common sense.

- The New York Times – March 1, 2012 - More Americans Rejecting Marriage at 50 – And Beyond A growing number of baby boomers are venturing into old age on their own, a shift that is changing the traditional portrait of older Americans. Over the past 20 years, the divorce rate among baby boomers has surged by more than 50 percent. At the same time, more adults are remaining single. The shift is changing the traditional portrait of older Americans: About a third of adults ages 46 through 64 were divorced, separated or had never been married in 2010, compared with 13 percent in 1970. Sociologists expect those numbers to rise sharply in coming decades as younger people, who have far lower rates of marriage than their elders, move into middle age.

- Daily Mail – January 1, 2012 - Russell Brand and Katy Perry Split After 'She Put Fame Ahead of Children' Russell Brand’s marriage to Katy Perry collapsed as he became exasperated over her refusal to put her career on hold to start a family, it was revealed yesterday.

- MSNBC – Tallahassee, Florida – December 7, 2011 - Members of Florida Alimony Reform Group Tell Their Personal Stories of Hardship and Unfair Treatment to Florida's House Civil Justice Subcommittee More than a dozen members of Florida Alimony Reform (FAR) testified in favor of a bill that would update Florida's antiquated alimony laws. FAR members spoke movingly before the House Civil Justice Subcommittee about the extraordinary hardships they endure paying permanent lifetime alimony that does not end even at retirement, even when payers are disabled or forced to retire by age.

LA Times – Los Angeles, California – October 31, 2011 - Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries: What Factors Led to Divorce? As extravagant as the wedding was and as public as the divorce has already become, Kim and Kris would not be the first celebrity couple to call it quits so soon after tying the knot.

- The Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – June 6, 2011 - Websites help divorced couples manage child custody and communication — minus the animosity over the past several years, a spate of high-tech websites are helping fractured families manage their lives in cyberspace, without ever having to raise a voice or pay a lawyer. Divorce mediators say the websites add efficiency and eliminate the emotion that continues long after the legal war is over.

- The Sun-Sentinel – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – May 5, 2010 - Angela Neave Co-Chairs Legal Aid Service of Broward County Annual Fundraiser on May 14 “You've Been Served" is the theme for Legal Aid Service of Broward County's 9th Annual "For the Public Good" celebrating 36 years of securing justice and changing lives. The event committee co-chairperson is Angela Renee Neave, Esq., of the Law Offices of Barry I. Finkel, P.A. The event will take place at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina located on 1881 SE 17th Street Causeway on May 14. The event begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and silent auction followed by dinner and awards.

- The Huffington Post – February 28, 2010 - Committing Adultery? You Could Go to Jail So, did you notice what I noticed as Tiger Woods delivered his 14 minute nationally televised mea culpa last week? While he was busy admitting, "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated ..." What jumped out at me was what Tiger didn't mention. He confessed he'd broken the law. Adultery is a crime. I know that sounds odd and old fashioned. But the truth is that more than 20 states, including Florida where Wood's keeps his primary residence, still have laws on the books against cheating on your spouse.

- The Tampa Tribune / Tampa, FL – February 18, 2010 - Facebook Plus Divorce Equals Flammable Situation If eHarmony is the Web site bringing lovebirds to the threshold of marriage, Facebook is the one showing up for the divorce. The world's most popular social media site is revolutionizing the divorce experience, pouring toxin into virtually every stage of a collapsing marriage and rekindling old flames into blazing affairs.

- USAToday – January 19, 2010 - Marriage Benefits Men Economically, Too If you think women still reap more economic benefit than men do from marriage, you may be living in the past. Today, men are better off economically because their wives are, too, suggests a new study on the economics of marriage by the Pew Research Center.

- People – January 12, 2010 - Why Did Chris Evert and Greg Norman Divorce? The split between tennis star Chris Evert and golfing great Greg Norman, whose 15-month marriage ended in divorce last month, was a result of stress and strain over her teenage boys needing their mother, according to someone who observed the situation. 

- Fox News Online – January 11, 2010 - How to Talk to Your Kids About Divorce With roughly 50 percent of all marriages ending in divorce in the United States, it is all too common for children to endure all that comes along with families breaking up. Divorce can be scary and sad for all involved, but it can have a particular and lasting effect on children. Therefore, it's important to approach the subject delicately. We spoke with rabbi and psychotherapist M. Gary Neuman, who created the widely successful "Sandlecastles Program". He gave his tips on how to inclusively talk to your children to ensure they cope with divorce in a healthy and productive way. 

- Daily Finance – December 28, 2009 - Courts in Crisis: Recession Drives Caseloads Up, Budgets Down Court systems nationwide are facing two forces that could collide and create a major crisis in 2010. Caseloads driven by the recession are flooding the courts at the same time as judicial systems around the country are dealing with budget cuts. In some states, those budget cuts could slow the flow of paperwork and possibly even result in postponement of some trials. Courts are starting to see the full brunt of cases involving recession-related issues…Increasingly, what the courts are seeing are cases in which the root causes are families in crisis after losing their homes and jobs.

- New York Daily News – December 28, 2009 - NJ dad David Goldman will 'never understand' Brazilian family that fought him The New Jersey father reunited with his 9-year-old son after a bitter divorce and custody battle in Brazil says the boy has been adjusting well to his return to America – despite video footage taken before their reunion showing Sean Goldman crying in the arms of his stepfather.

- Boston Herald.com – December 27, 2009 - Will prenup stand up in Tiger divorce case? I hate to sound shallow, but do you think Tiger’s prenup will get thrown out because he was messing around? In order for a PMA to be enforced, Tiger had to make a full and fair disclosure of all of his assets and liabilities. That’s because Elin cannot waive her rights to something she did not know about...

- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel – December 15, 2009 - Report: Elin Nordegren plans to leave Tiger Woods People magazine is reporting that Elin Nordegren plans to divorce Tiger Woods. In its issue that arrives at newsstands on Friday, the magazine quotes a source close to Nordegren as saying, "She plans to leave Tiger." It cites another source as saying, "She's made up her mind. There's nothing to think about: he's never going to change."

Archives