Collaborative Divorce Law of the Palm Beaches

Christy Brinkley - Not a Cover Girl for Collaboration

As if their divorce war wasn't bad enough last year, Christy Brinkley and her ex, Peter Sullivan, are back in court today on contempt motions. They had a round last week and return to the courtroom again today. Among the charges - Brinkley is interfering with the children's relationship with their dad.

Even though their case "settled" it wasn't until after a few days of media-fueled battles full of accusations of bad behavior. There's a better way to do this - collaborative divorce.

When Not to Collaborate

Sometimes you just have to shake your head. Or chuckle perhaps. Here are the 10 wackiest divorce stories. And yes, they are true.

If something like this is happening, you shouldn't consider collaborative divorce.  ;-)

Dependency Exemption for the Children, Who gets it?

The Dependency tax exemption is determined based upon Federal law as defined by the IRS, not your Settlement Agreement.

 

IRS says, that the parent who has the children the most gets the dependency exemption.

 

Even if the Final Judgment says that the Non Custodial parent gets the exemption that is not the final answer in this matter as far as the IRS is concerned.

 

The IRS is not bound by the rulings of State courts.

 

In order for the Non Custodial parent to legally claim the dependency exemption, they must have a form 8232 signed by the custodial parent giving up the exemption.  This form must be attached to the Non Custodial parents tax return for each and every year that the dependency exemption is claimed.

 

Because the IRS is not bound by State Court rulings, the Final judgments when the Non Custodial parent is given the children as dependency exemptions must require the custodial parent to provide a signed 8232 each year in a timely manner for tax filings.

 

Madonna & Ritchie Settle Custody Dispute

It's been reported that the "custody battle" has ended between Madonna and former husband Guy Ritchie. Although the couple disputed where the children should live, at least they didn't air everything in the press. That deserves kudos.

The couple entered a last minute settlement agreement.

Florida Collaborative Divorce Quote

Quote of the Month

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or
some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the change that we seek. --President Barack Obama

Protect Democracy - Go Vote!

We have had record-breaking early voting numbers here in Palm Beach County. More than half the number who voted in the last general election have already voted!! That still leaves about 400,000 voters for Election Day.

Nobody knows the effect of all the early voting on the lines tomorrow. The best advice is - be prepared to wait in line on Election Day. Bring a chair, water, umbrella and something to read.

If you still don't know where your precinct poll is located, check out last post for election information.

If you want additional ideas on how to help, check this post by fellow blogger and Obama volunteer lawyer Victoria Pynchon.

It's your right.
It's your duty.
Go vote!

Voting Information

Voting information for the State of Florida

Palm Beach County early voting ends Sunday, November 2, 2008.

Extended hours through October 31, 2008 7:00 am to 7 pm
Extended Saturday hours 9:00 am to 5 pm
Sunday hours 10:00 - 2:00 pm

Wait times for early voting (including EV locations)

For early voting, you can vote anywhere in county as long as you are registered in Palm Beach County. If you have moved, you will complete a change of address at the polls.

Be patient and go prepared. Take a folding chair, some water and a book. Most locations are very sunny a good part of the day.

DO NOT VOTE A PROVISIONAL BALLOT IN EARLY VOTING IF YOU CAN AVOID IT. INSTEAD, SEE THE VOTER PROTECTION ATTORNEY AT THE EV SITE AND WORK TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4th. VOTER PROTECTION ATTORNEYS ARE WEARING LARGE BLUE BUTTONS.

Florida Divorce: No Arbitration for Child Issues

As an alternative to collaborative divorce proceedings, some divorcing spouses in Florida have begun using binding arbitration. Arbitration uses an attorney arbitrator who acts much like a judge in the proceeding. The arbitrator issues a binding opinion at the end of the arbitration proceeding. Essentially, it is a private judge and a private "trial." Obviously this provides the parties with far more privacy over the disputed issues in their divorce, much like collaborative process does.

One problem: if children are involved, Florida Statute 44.104 prohibits binding arbitration. This law codifies an aspect of Florida caselaw which has required a judge review all the child-related provisions in a Florida divorce settlement agreement. The law gives judges this power because the state has an interest in ensuring that its children are supported and cared for by their parents. Even in a collaborative divorce case, the judge is charged with reviewing the child-related provision of the agreement.

While divorcing spouses may decide to use binding arbitration for all other matters, it cannot be used to decide the child issues. So you have two options: have the arbitrator make a recommendation on the child issues that can be reviewed by the judge or use the collaborative divorce process to reach a complete settlement of all issues.

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1.02.05

Empowering Our Children Conference

   

Empowering Our Children                                                                   A Day of Powerful Speakers                                           With 17 high-profile topics ranging from handling teasing and bullying to talking to teenagers about sex, the Empowering Our Children Conference is a day of powerful speakers, master teachers, and creative authors presenting parents, educators, therapists and all professionals who work with children, the keys to creating connection, cooperation and community.

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1.02.05

Florida Bar Family Law Section to Push Collaborative Law

The Family Law Section of The Florida Bar set out its legislative agenda for the next year. Each year the section chooses five pieces of legislation to lobby. Next year one of those five pieces will be to add a collaborative law section to Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes. You can see the entire bill and the background information here.

The goal ... is to encourage parties and their collaborative lawyers to focus on problem solving rather than positional negotiations.

The overall goal of the Collaborative Process Act is to support the continued
development and growth of collaborative process by making it a more uniform, accessible
dispute resolution option for parties. The collaborative process has thus far largely been practiced under the auspices of private collaborative participation agreements developed by private practice groups.

Collaborative practice will continue to be a voluntary process but the courts will have authority to enforce the collaborative participation agreement provisions such as disqualification.

Specifically, the goals are to: