Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.2025-03-31T13:40:33Zhttps://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1602887/2020/04/bg-brand.gifOn Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[What Florida considers when awarding child custody]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468892021-01-26T14:06:17Z2021-02-15T18:22:17Zcustody plan for you. According to the Florida Legislature, you should expect the court to consider the following variables, among others, when making child custody determinations.
The child’s existing living arrangement
Expect the courts to review your child’s current living arrangement and whether there is a good reason to keep him or her there when making decisions about custody. If the child already lives in a safe, stable setting, the court may prioritize keeping him or her there.
The existing relationships between parent and child
Courts may also consider the relationships or lack thereof that already exist between you and your child and your spouse and your child. This might include each parent’s demonstrated capacity to maintain a close relationship with the child at the center of the matter.
The parents’ willingness to work with one another
The court may also review how flexible each of you has been to date in terms of changing arrangements, modifying schedules and cooperating with one another.
These are just some of the areas that undergo review during Florida child custody proceedings. Additional factors that may come into play include each parents’ health, their geographic proximity to one another and the child’s own preferences, among others.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[How can you protect your mental health during divorce?]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468832021-01-25T18:21:00Z2021-02-08T18:20:44ZBalancing your emotions
Depending on the reason for your divorce, your emotions could range from anger and confusion to relief and contentment. According to Psychreg, if you are not careful, divorce could worsen your mental health. If you start to withdraw socially, your risk of isolation and even homelessness can increase. Obesity, eating disorders, perpetual loneliness, depression, suicide, addiction and careless sexual activity could all result from the struggle to manage your feelings.
Learning to balance your emotions and maintain a realistic perspective of your situation can help you avoid destructive behavior. Make time to feel your emotions and grieve, but practice gratitude each day to help you stay positive. Appreciate the stable parts of your life and maintain a routine to start building consistency again.
Creating your future
Therapy is a great way to get help with managing your emotions. Relying on a professional to help you learn effective methods of coping can reduce the chances of developing unhealthy and dangerous habits.
Start thinking about your future and the goals you have for yourself. Identify what you need to do to accomplish your dreams. As you reach your goals, reward yourself and celebrate how far you have come. Look at your divorce as an opportunity to improve your life and your personal development.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[Estate plan considerations when you adopt a child]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468862021-01-25T18:24:52Z2021-02-05T18:24:22Zestate plan considerations related to adoption to ensure your assets will support your children and grandchildren in your eventual absence.
Guardianship
Your will allows you to designate a guardian in case you die while your children are still minors. Adopted children may have special needs related to abandonment or other types of trauma depending on the circumstances of their early lives. In light of this situation, carefully choose a guardian who your child loves and trusts and who you trust to meet your child's physical and mental health needs.
Inheritance
You can also provide for your children in your will by leaving them certain property and assets. If you die without a will, Florida law treats adopted and biological children equally for inheritance purposes. This law does not apply to pending adoptions, so consider updating your will as soon as you adopt a child but before finalizing the adoption in court.
Trusts
With a trust, you transfer assets to the ownership of the trust and name a trustee to manage these assets. This structure often provides tax benefits while ensuring that your children have financial support in your absence. For example, you may want to create a trust that would provide for schooling, medical needs and other expenses.
If you have not yet planned your estate, a change in the family such as adoption is the perfect time to start this important process.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[Can a prenuptial agreement save you future headaches?]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468762021-01-26T13:58:27Z2021-02-01T20:36:35Zalready own significant property or have children from a prior relationships.
Common prenuptial inclusions
The precise provisions of your prenup naturally depend on your own situation. In general, however, you likely will want it to include the following:
Lists of your and your intended spouse’s current property and assets
A provision that you both intend this respective separate property to remain separate property in the event of a divorce
Provisions setting forth how the two of you intend to divide the property you accumulate during your marriage in the event of a divorce
If applicable, a provision regarding how each of you intends to provide for your respective children from previous relationships
A provision setting forth how you intend to handle the contributions each of you makes to your respective retirement accounts during the marriage
Prenuptial agreement exclusions
Keep in mind that your prenuptial agreement can only address financial issues and concerns. It cannot contain agreements of a personal nature. For instance, it cannot contain provisions regarding who will discipline your respective or joint children and how, where they will go to school, how you will divide household chores, where you will spend holidays, etc. Obviously, you can, and undoubtedly will, make oral agreements regarding these issues, but they play no part in your prenuptial agreement.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[How should I talk to my kids about divorce?]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468682021-01-06T19:33:12Z2021-01-08T18:08:14ZOne of the most difficult aspects of divorce is telling your children. Even amicable divorces have a negative impact on children, and it is important for you to take the right approach to mitigate the fallout as much as possible.Psychology Today recommends addressing the issue as soon as possible, so your kids learn of your divorce from you and not somewhere else. They also offer the following tips, so you can have a constructive, loving conversation about a difficult topic.
Break the news as a family unit
Emotions run hot in the lead up to a divorce, and you and your spouse may have difficulty even being in the same room together. However, if it is possible to overcome these feelings, you should make every attempt to inform your children together. Doing so shows that both parents will always be there, regardless of their marital status. It also allows children to ask questions of the both of you.
Do not blame each other for what happened
Even if one parent acted in a way that harmed the marriage, do not place blame on them. Instead, highlight to the children that this decision is best for both of you, and the family as a whole. Emphasize that you both came to this decision together, and that you both still love your children, even though you and your spouse will be living apart.
Reassure your children
Regardless of the situation, your kids are bound to experience dismay about what is happening. Make sure they understand that everything will be OK. Also, let them know that it is natural to feel hurt and angry about the situation, and welcome them to express these feelings to you. Make sure that your children understand that the divorce is not their fault and that it human nature for them to search for blame. While it will be difficult, taking the right approach ensures your children are able to work through complex feelings reasonably.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[Dividing up a 401(k) in a divorce]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468392020-12-02T20:19:37Z2020-12-14T16:48:36ZAs people in Florida enter into their divorce proceedings, it benefits them to know what they may face in order to avoid having to reassess their strategies and goals midway through the process. One area that often presents the potential for unanticipated challenges is marital property division, specifically the division of retirement account assets.Many people often express surprise at learning that their 401(k) accounts are subject to property division. Yet the court views contributions made to such a fund during a marriage as marital assets given that they come from marital income. This leaves those individuals facing the potential of having their 401(k) accounts divided questioning how to best manage the process.
Options for the non-contributing spouse
During a divorce or upon the entry of a Final Judgment of Dissolution of marriage, the court may issue Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO). The QDRO permits a 401(k) plan provider to make a disbursement to a payee other than the account holder (in this case, the alternate payee would be the non-contributing spouse). This allows for the division of an original 401(k) account into two new accounts (with each spouse then having control over their respective accounts).Often non-contributing spouses due to receive 40(k) funds question whether they can cash out their portions. Typically this would result in an early withdrawal penalty, yet according to CNBC.com, such an action during divorce proceedings does not result in penalties, however the non-contributing spouse will need to pay taxes on the portion cashed out .
Can one keep their full 401(k)?
For those hoping to keep their full 401(k) in their divorce, the 401(k) Help Center points out that may indeed be an option. To do so, however, one must convince their soon-to-be ex-spouse to relinquish their stake in the account. This will likely require one foregoing their interest in another marital asset of comparable value in exchange.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[Post-divorce documents you may not have considered]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=468362020-12-02T20:09:49Z2020-12-09T16:53:14ZIs your paperwork starting to pile up? Divorce is complicated in many ways and re-organizing your affairs adds another burdensome layer.Beyond your divorce proceedings, you may want to think about other legal documents that your life change may directly impact.
Durable power of attorney
Maybe you already appointed your former spouse as your power of attorney when you were married, but will your divorce automatically revoke the designation? This may depend on the verbiage in the document itself and the statutes in the state of residency and state of origin.
Healthcare surrogate
Although a power of attorney can make financial and property decisions on your behalf, you may want to ascribe an individual to make health-related decisions for you if you become incapacitated. This is often a separate legal document to the power of attorney, and you may also include your advanced directives or a living will to specify your wishes.
Last will and testament
Do you already have a will that includes a designee for payment of debts, property ownership, and personal representative powers? If your last will lists your spouse as your personal representative, you may wish to administer a new will that explicitly states the revocation of former wills. If you have children, you may also need to make important guardianship decisions within this document.
Beneficiary designations
Review your retirement accounts, investments, and life insurance policies for which you had to assign a beneficiary. If you do not want your ex-spouse listed any longer, you may need to resubmit paperwork with each account to update your designations.Because you have experienced a significant life change through the dissolution of your marriage, this may be an opportune time to organize your affairs and your wishes. Take one day, one step and one document at a time.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[How can military spouses keep military benefits?]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=467282020-12-02T20:01:29Z2020-12-07T16:45:35ZIf you and your military spouse choose to divorce, it may raise questions about your current benefits. All spouses have health care benefits, a potential right to a portion of retirement pay and eligibility to shop at the commissary and exchange while you are married.The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act may preserve some of these rights, explains Military.com.
Can you keep your commissary, exchange and Tricare benefits?
Not all spouses can continue to receive military benefits after a divorce. To qualify for benefits, the following must be true of your marriage:
Your marriage lasted at least 20 years
Your spouse served 20 years in the military
Your marriage overlaps with 20 years of service
Now, if your marriage overlapped for 15 or more years, you may keep your benefits a transitional period that may last for about one year. After that year, you can enroll in a healthcare program that allows you to continue to have healthcare , provided neither of you have remarried.If you do not qualify for either of the options mentioned above, you can apply for a temporary health care program. The DOD Continued Health Care Program provides you with up to 36 months of coverage while you transition to alternative coverage.
Can you access retired pay?
You do not receive retirement pay unless the divorce order awards you a portion of it. The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act also helps you enforce child support or alimony awards. To enforce the division of property, you must remain married to your spouse for at least 10 years and in those last 10 years, he or she had to perform military service.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[What does Florida consider when awarding alimony?]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=466192020-10-29T18:31:49Z2020-11-28T01:00:19ZA Florida divorce will impact many areas of your life. Your finances are no exception. You may strive to maintain the same quality of life you enjoyed while married when you and your partner part ways. You may want to pursue alimony to help make that happen.Per the Florida Legislature, the state assesses whether you need alimony or spousal maintenance by reviewing a set of standards. If the court determines that you should receive alimony, it will refer to these factors when deciding what type of alimony, the payment amount the how many payments should be awarded to you. What are some of the variables the state court considers when making decisions about alimony?
The length of your marriage
While exceptions exist, the longer your marriage lasted, the better your chances of receiving alimony. Florida considers marriages that last less than seven years to be short-term marriages, while those between seven and seventeen years are moderate-term marriages, and those lasting longer than 17 years are long-term marriages.
Your contributions during the marriage
You can expect state courts to also consider how much you put into the marriage or gave up for the marriage when making decisions about spousal maintenance. If you performed the majority of the child-rearing so your spouse could excel professionally, this may boost your chances of an alimony award.
Your financial resources and those of your partner
Florida courts may also consider your partner’s ability to pay you alimony as well as whether you have a genuine need for alimony or support when making a determination. Your education and earning potential and that of your partner may factor into the mix.]]>On Behalf of Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, P.A.<![CDATA[Your divorce should be as unique as your family]]>https://www.lutzfamilylaw.com/?p=466162020-10-29T19:19:41Z2020-11-20T00:59:31ZDo you have children?
If so, a parenting plan must be established. The parenting plan must be in the best interests of your child or children. Determining what is in the best interest of your child or children can be very difficult and may make obtaining a divorce much more complicated. It can be difficult for you and your co-parent to set aside your differences and work together to create a parenting plan that is in each child's best interest.
The firm strives to create a parenting plan that is in each child's best interest while also aggressively pursuing our clients' interests and goals for the child. In Florida, custody of a child is broken down to parental responsibility for the child and timesharing between the parents of the child. Each family situation is unique and many factors come into play when determining parental responsibility and timesharing. The firm will explain how your factors would weigh into a court's determination regarding custody issues in the event an agreement between the co-parents cannot be reached.
Do you have assets?
The majority of the assets acquired or built up during your marriage are marital assets eligible for division. Florida courts divide marital assets and liabilities 50/50 in the event an agreement between the parties is not reached. The firm assists our clients in obtaining their fair share of the marital assets, including bank accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, vehicles and so on.
The wealthier you are, the more complex this process is likely to be. However, everybody has something to protect. Forensic Accountants and Appraisers may be needed to determine how the assets would be divided in order to provide our client's with his or her fair share.
Do you have plans?
You may not consider yourself wealthy. You may not have a child or children from your current marriage. However, it is almost certain that your divorce has some bearing on your future.
Please do not forge ahead on assumptions alone. Do not take advice from someone who means well but who is not qualified to advise you in a legal capacity. You deserve a divorce agreement that works for you — one that is as unique as your family.]]>