Elements of a Divorce with Children – Divorce Attorney Miami
In Florida the elements of divorce with children are as follows: parental responsibility and timeshare previously known collectively as “custody”; equitable distribution or property division; alimony; child support then any other issues.
The first element of divorce with children.
Parental responsibility and timeshare involves determining the timeshare arrangement each parent will have with the child or children. The timeshare arrangements can be 50/50 timeshare, or another type of arrangement can be for one parent to have majority timeshare and the other parent to have every other weekend depending on the circumstances of your particular case.
[box]The first element of divorce with children also involves parental responsibility which means decision making about the major aspects of a child’s life such as education, medical decisions, and religion. Normally the first element of divorce with children, parental responsibility is shared meaning that both parents have equal say in a child’s life. There are circumstances where one parent will be given sole parental responsibility over decisions of child’s life in the first element of divorce with children.[/box]
The second element of divorce with children is equitable distribution or property division.
During the evaluation of the second element of divorce with children in your case, you should provide a thorough list of all property you own such as real estate, investment accounts, bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc. as well as a thorough list of all debts including mortgages, credit card accounts and any other debt. Normally during the evaluation of the second element of divorce with children, all assets and debts are added and subtracted to come up with a total figure and then divided 50/50. Depending on which spouse is keeping which asset in the second element of divorce with children, there will be what is called an “equalizing payment” to the spouse who is not keeping the assets.
The third element of divorce with children may include alimony.
Several factors affect whether a spouse is entitled to alimony such as the length of the marriage, the ability of a spouse to pay alimony, the need of the spouse for alimony, and the standard of living established during the marriage. The third element of divorce with children – alimony includes several types of alimony such as rehabilitative designed to get a person back into the work arena or permanent periodic which is primarily used for long term marriages of over 17 years of length.
The fourth element of divorce with children is child support.
Child support can only be decided after the court knows what each spouse is getting in terms of property division and alimony and also what the time share arrangement will be. All these factors are utilized in determining the fourth element of divorce with children which is why child support is done after all the other elements of divorce.
If you are getting a divorce or thinking about getting a divorce call the lawyers at Filler Rodriguez LLP at 305.672.5007 to assist you.
