Florida Dissolution of Marriage: Edition 13

The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education

Jul 2018 · LexisNexis

About this ebook

This publication details the dissolution process from interview through temporary relief and discovery to final judgment. Key areas covered include parental responsibility, child support, alimony, equitable distribution, and attorneys' fees. The publication includes forms and checklists.

Florida Dissolution of Marriage, 13th Edition, highlights:

• Discussion and analysis of the new Collaborative Law Process Act, F.S. 61.55 et seq.
• Florida Supreme Court’s adoption of the creation of “stand-alone” Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, which now govern family law proceedings. In re: Amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, 214 So.3d 400 (Fla. 2017).
• Discussion and analysis of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 2584, 192 L.Ed.2d 609 (2015) that the U.S. Constitution requires that same-sex couples be allowed to marry, regardless of where they live, and that states may not reserve that right for only heterosexual couples.
• Same-sex couples’ entitlement to dissolution of marriage. Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas,163 So.3d 644 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015), Brenner v. Scott, 999 F.Supp.2d 1278 (N.D. Fla. 2014).
• Viability and constitutionality of F.S. 61.043(1)’s requirement of using “husband” and “wife” in the caption in the context of same-sex marriage dissolution procedures. Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas,163 So.3d 644 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015), Brenner v. Scott, 999 F.Supp.2d 1278 (N.D. Fla. 2014).
• Reproductive technology and parental rights of same-sex couples. D.M.T. v. T.M.H., 129 So.3d 320 (Fla. 2013).
• Viability of the general rule that partition is available as a matter of right pursuant to the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Condrey v. Condrey,92 So.2d 423 (Fla. 1957).
• Florida Supreme Court’s adoption of Fla.Fam.L.R.P. 12.003(a), under which all related family cases must be handled before one judge unless impractical. See In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, 132 So.3d 1114 (Fla. 2014).
• Florida Legislature’s amendment of F.S. 61.13(2)(b) regarding shared parental responsibility over health care decisions.
• Discussion of the implications of the Florida Supreme Court’s rejection of F.S. 90.702 to the extent that it is procedural and discovery in dissolution of marriage actions. See In re: Amendments to Florida Evidence Code, 210 So.3d 1231 (Fla. 2017).
• United States Supreme Court’s abrogation of Abernethy v. Fishkin, 699 So.2d 235 (Fla. 1997). Howell v. Howell, 137 S.Ct. 1400 (2017) (states are prohibited from increasing, pro rata, amount divorced spouse received each month from veteran’s retirement pay to reimburse or indemnify divorced spouse to restore that portion of retirement pay lost due to postdivorce waiver).
• Florida Legislature’s enactment of F.S. 61.13(9), restricting time-sharing when a parent is a resident of a “recovery residence.”
• Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Hooker v. Hooker, 220 So.3d 397 (Fla. 2017) regarding the appropriate standard of review on appeal for reviewing whether a trial court was correct in determining whether donative intent existed to render an asset an interspousal gift and part of the marital estate.
• Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, Pub.L.No. 114-113, §101(a), 129 Stat. 2242 (2016).