Thursday, August 26, 2010

How can I serve my husband divorce papers without his address?

Even if you are unsure about your spouses current residence if you are a resident of Florida for six months or more prior to filing. You can do a substitute service of your spouse by publication.

To file for divorce and serve your spouse through publication, you must take steps and then swear under oath that you have made diligent attempts to either serve your spouse or, if you do not know your spouse's whereabouts, made diligent attempts to locate your spouse. To prove this, you file an Affidavit of Diligent Search and Inquiry showing what steps you took along with a Notice of Action for Dissolution of Marriage. You will also be required to file a Nonmilitary Affidavit saying that your spouse is not in active military service in the United States. ( these forms and directions can be found at flcourts.org click the family law forms tab)
Once the requirements to serve through publication are met, you will publish a Notice of Action for Dissolution of Marriage for four (4) consecutive weeks in a local newspaper or publication. The clerk of court may provide you with publications qualified to print your publication. In your notice of action, there will be a date in which your spouse must respond by. If there is no timely response filed, then a default will be issued against your spouse and you may proceed with your divorce through the default process and have an uncontested hearing without your spouse. However, the relief you seek through the court will be restricted. The court will be unable to rule on certain issues such as alimony, child support and distribution of assets and liabilities.

Please note this is not meant to substitute seeking legal counsel and that choosing a lawyer is not something to be taken lightly.  If you need help please contact my office for an appointment.


Need more info: Check out this sites:
http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=5637
http://myfamilylaw.com

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I was never married to the child's mother do I have to pay childsupport?

The financial obligation to care and provide for one's offspring is not contingent on a marriage certificate. As the biological father of the child you are legally, and morally obligated to provide for their care. Your legal parental responsibilities can be legally determined either through your acknowledgment that you are a parent, by the fact that you had welcomed the child into your home as your own, or as established by a paternity test. Florida laws allow for the filing of a Paternity suit in which the actual parentage of the child can be established.Child support is not something that belongs to the parents it is the right of the child.


Need more information:

http://www.myfloridacounty.com/services/child_support/

http://www.flcourts.org/

Thursday, August 12, 2010

My Spouse owes childsupport and they are gonna take our tax return what are my options?

In order to protect the portion of the tax return that you feel belongs to you the IRS allows you to file a form 8379 along with your tax return as a Injured Spouse.You are an injured spouse if your share of the overpayment shown on your joint return was, or is expected to be, applied (offset) against your spouse's legally enforceable past-due federal taxes, state income taxes, child or spousal support payments, or a federal non-tax debt, such as a student loan. If you are an injured spouse, you may be entitled to receive a refund of your share of the overpayment. In order to file a claim you will need to get Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. The IRS has to make the determination that you qualify for such relief. 


Need more information:


http://www.irs.gov/publications/p971/ar01.html


http://www.ehow.com/how_9184_distinguish-between-injured.html



Tuesday, August 3, 2010

My girlfriend wants to move out of state with our child what are my options?

 First in order to protect your rights as the Father of the child you need to legally establish Paternity. Paternity is established by filing a petition with the court. Through this action you can also get visitation and determine custody, and child support. You should not let your girlfriend move away without establishing these rights. Also keep in mind that, Florida has a law called the “Relocation Statute”. The law says that once you have a divorce case or a Parenting Plan you cannot move the children more than 50 miles unless the other parent agrees or the Court says that you can. The law has a number of factors to consider, such as the reason for the move, how involved the non-moving parent has been with the children, and other important matters to decide if a move is in the best interests of the children. In any case you need to have a court order in place to assert your rights.

Need more information? Check these links below

www.divorcemag.com/ON/faq/pdfogelman.html

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Family-Law-Divorce-920/2008/2/move-child-1.htm