What is Parental Alienation?

Parents generally realize that an environment with lots of conflict is not good for a child’s wellbeing, and divorce can put this knowledge to the test, as it pushes some spouses into highly adversarial positions. However, when children are involved, parents do try to keep things on an even keel to facilitate better cooperation post-divorce. Further, while divorced parents may disagree, both usually realize that having a close relationship with each other is important for the child’s development and welfare and try to support that relationship. Click here to learn more.

Paternity Claims Can Extend Beyond Death

Knowing who one’s parents are is a fact taken for granted by most children, but there is a distinct difference between being told a particular person is one’s mother or father, and whether the law recognizes this person as a parent. Any woman that gives birth to a child, not including surrogates, is automatically considered to be a child’s legal mother, and immediately receives full parental rights. Determining a child’s male parentage is not always so easy, and it may be necessary to establish paternitybefore a man can exercise any parental rights or be compelled to fulfill any parental obligations. Typically, paternity is established when a person is still a minor, but he/she can take action to legally confirm paternity as an adult. An unusual paternity case involving famed surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, was filed by a woman claiming to be his daughter through an affair with a domestic servant led a Spanish court to authorize an exhumation of the body so DNA testing can take place. Among other consequences, establishing paternity gives the child the right to inherit from the parent’s estate, and the Spanish woman claiming relation to Dali could receive one-fourth of his estate if paternity is confirmed. Florida has several methods of establishing paternity that range from an easy administrative process to potentially contentious litigation. A discussion of the difference between a biological father and a legal father, as well as an overview of the available procedures used to determine paternity, will follow below.

Biological vs. Legal Father

People tend to instinctively associate a person’s biological father as the father recognized by law. However, the two are not mutually exclusive. A legal father has the rights and responsibilities of parenthood, including custody rights and child support obligations, but this status is only conferred through marriage, adoption or court order. Thus, if a married woman fathers a child with a man who is not her husband, the law would view the husband as the legal father despite a lack of genetic connection.

Voluntary Acknowledgment

If a couple is unmarried, and there is no dispute over paternity, the state allows the couple to complete and file a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, which is commonly done at the hospital following childbirth. This acknowledgement becomes binding after 60 days, with an extremely limited ability to set it aside, and grants the man parental rights over the child. Given the permanent nature of these documents, fully considering the consequences before signing is extremely important.

Marriage

As alluded to above, if a woman is married when the child is born, the husband is automatically considered the legal father, even if the couple was not married at conception. Further, if a couple has a child out of wedlock, it is possible to marry later and legitimize the paternity of the child if the man is the biological father.

Paternity Case

Finally, if there is disagreement or uncertainty over paternity, a court order will be necessary to settle the issue. The mother, the alleged father, and a representative acting on behalf of the child are all eligible to petition a court to determine paternity. A court can decide paternity based upon outside evidence, genetic testing or a combination of both. Evidence, other than genetic testing, offered to show paternity would relate to the nature of the parties’ relationship and any conduct by a party that tends to prove or disprove paternity. If a judge finds sufficient evidence that the alleged father should be declared the legal father, the man will gain the right to make decisions on the child’s upbringing and to seek parenting time. If paternity is not established, the man will have no right to have a say in the child’s, but will also be relieved of the responsibility of providing for the child’s needs.

Get Help

If you have questions or concerns about the paternity of a child, you need the advice of an experienced family law attorney regarding the best course of action to achieve your desired result. Tampa Bay’s All Family Law Group, P.A. can assist with drafting a parenting plan if an agreement is made, or take charge of representing your interests in family court.  Contact the Tampa divorce attorneys and family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

by Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Child Custody Decision Guidelines in Florida

Parents contemplating divorce often have a much more difficult time deciding whether to end the marriage. Divorce greatly affects children, and is known to leave a negative stamp on a child’s development. Certainly, couples in unhealthy relationships should part because staying together is also damaging to a child, but divorces involving children are naturally more complicated. Figuring out how to divide childcare and decision-making responsibilities frequently leads to conflict as each parent fights to ensure they maintain a strong presence in their child’s life. Parents ideally negotiate their own child custody arrangement, often with the assistance of a divorce attorney, but in high-conflict divorces, the court is typically tasked with making this decision. Giving this much power to the judge may seem frightening. A group of women in Palm Beach County founded an organization in 2003, Families Against Court Travesties (FACTS), dedicated to scrutinizing the family court system after encountering judges who seemed to favor one party in high-conflict child custody cases. Understanding the guidelines judges must follow in child custody decisions will help divorcing parents move through the process with less stress and anxiety.

Parenting Plans

Florida law requires all divorce cases involving minor children to include a parenting plan, which governs how the parents will split responsibilities for the children going forward. Many divorcing couples formulate their own parenting plans since they can cater to the unique needs of their families, but the court must still approve the terms. All parenting plans must do all of the following:

• describe with sufficient detail how the parents plan to share the daily tasks of raising a child;
• specify how much time the child will spend with each parent;
• indicate who will be responsible for decisions related to health care, education, and other activities; and
• describe how the parents plan to communicate with the child.

If the judge must create the parenting plan, the court starts from the premise that both parents will share responsibility, and will only deviate from this standard if following it would be detrimental to the child. Evidence of domestic violence or convictions for other violent offenses are examples of issues that would be detrimental to the child, and cause a judge to consider awarding all parenting responsibilities to one party. The court will give considerable weight to the wishes of the parties, but the one principle that drives all child custody decisions is the best interests of the child.

Best Interests of the Child

In order to ascertain what is in the best interests of the child, the court takes into account a number of factors. These factors help the court to evaluate the needs and circumstances of a particular child and family. Some of these factors are:

• the ability of each parent to support a close relationship between the child and the other parent;
• how often a parent would delegate parental responsibilities to a third party;
• the ability of each parent to put the needs of the child first;
• the geographic viability of the parenting plan, especially for school-age children;
• the mental and physical health of the parents;
• the ability of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child;
• the ability of the parents to communicate with each other on child-related issues and adopt a united front on important issues; and
• the ability of each parent to meet the child’s needs.

Consult a Florida Family Law Attorney

If you are getting divorced or have questions about child custody issues, it is best to speak with an experienced family law attorney to ensure you receive accurate information on such an important matter. The Tampa Bay law firm, All Family Group, P.A., will conduct a thorough analysis to determine what the best arrangement is for you and your family.  Contact the Tampa divorce attorneys and family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

by Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Timing of Marriage and Baby Doesn’t Affect Divorce Rate

In the past, research showed that cohabitating couples who had a baby prior to getting married consistently faced a higher divorce rate than those who married first and had a baby later. In fact, a study by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) claims that there was no increased risk of divorce for those who chose to marry first, as opposed to those who chose to have a baby first and then get married.

The study analyzed data from couples who had their first child between 1985 and 1995 and those who did so between 1997 and 2010. Researchers found that unmarried couples in the first group were 60% more likely to divorce than those couples who married before having their first child. Only 10 years later, however, this difference disappeared. Couples from the second group who remained unmarried before the birth of their first child were no more likely to divorce than those who were married first.

Why is This the Case?

Researchers attribute this drastic change in statistics to a number of different factors. On the whole, American society, as well as that of other industrialized countries, is more accepting of unmarried couples who live together. These days, there is little societal pressure to immediately marry if a pregnancy occurs. Children born of out wedlock are commonplace in most areas of the country, and the stigmas that were attached to unmarried couples sharing a household and children born outside of marriage no longer really exist. Rather, couples who share a child take their time in deciding whether and when they will marry.

In fact, the only group who had a significantly higher chance of splitting up after their first child was comprised of those couples who never married. Thirty percent of those cohabitating couples who never married split up within five years. However, this statistic may have been skewed by the fact that cohabitating couples tend to have less income and education that those who marry, which may contribute to an eventual split.

Whether parents are married or not, however, a separation is likely to increase the need for court orders regarding custody, visitation, and child support. These options are equally available to children born during marriages and those who are not. While some separations occur amicably, and parents are able to compromise and reach an agreement on these important issues, others are much more complex, and may require extensive litigation.

It is in these situations that an experienced Tampa family law attorney can be most helpful to you. When you are going through the emotional struggle that often accompanies a bitter break-up, the last thing you need is to try and navigate the minefield of child custody and visitation on your own. This is where we can be of assistance to you. Contact the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Military Deployment & Child Custody

Child custody issues are complicated. These issues are further complicated when a military parent has primary custody of a child and the military parent is suddenly called to active duty and deployed. Deployment and child custody can pose special challenges for service members. Oftentimes, military parents fear losing child custody if the military parent leaves the child with a stepparent or a relative during deployment and the other parent files for custody of the child. Many states have passed laws that seek to address the unique challenges of military parents who miss visitation or give up custody of their children when mobilized, or placed on temporary duty or deployment.

Service Family Care Plan

A family care plan is critical when the service member has primary custody of a child. A family care plan is a document that explains who will care for the service member’s child when the service member is away for training or deployed overseas. The plan must include critical details about custody including who will have short-term custody of the child when the service member has little or no notice before deployment. Having a family care plan will ease the transition of responsibility when a military parent is away.

It is possible that a parenting plan will need to be modified if a military parent expects to be deployed for a year or longer. Depending upon the length of the expected deployment, courts may allow the service member’s spouse or a family member to be responsible for the child while the service member is deployed. This will allow the child to continue going to the same school and live in the same home. In Florida, the law allows military parents to designate a family member, stepparent or relative to engage in time sharing on the parent’s behalf. This flexibility would allow a military parent to designate grandparents or another family member to time share in their absence and maintain primary custody of the child.

Protection Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The SCRA protects military service members when they are deployed on active duty. The SCRA provides an automatic stay of 90 days for court and administrative proceedings while the service member is deployed. This type of protection helps a service member if they are deployed and find they are facing a child custody challenge. Additionally, the US Department of Defense USA 4 Military Families initiative engages in advocacy with the goal of ensuring that military parents do not lose custody of their child simply because of their military service. Until laws exist to ensure military parents do not lose custody while deployed are enacted, military parents should seek the advice of legal counsel to ensure they understand the impact their deployment will have on their child custody.

The Tampa family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. are familiar with all aspects of military divorce and child custody. Our office is knowledgeable in the area of military divorce and can help you throughout the process. Contact the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Parental Responsibility Evaluations

Parental responsibility and timesharing constitute one of the most emotional issues facing spouses as they divorce. Florida has made strides to equalize parental responsibility and timesharing of children in a divorce. Lawmakers have changed stigmatizing language used to describe “non-custodial” or “secondary residential” parents in an effort to focus custody disputes on shared parental responsibility. Still, it is common for parents in a divorce to want to increase their involvement with their children’s lives and decrease the role of the other parent. This tension is often the source of disagreement in designing parental responsibility and timesharing plans.

When parents cannot agree on an arrangement, then the court must step in and make a determination about parental responsibility and timesharing. Using the best interest of the child as the main goal, the court may request a parental responsibility evaluation.

What is a Parental Responsibility Evaluation?

A parental responsibility evaluation, or PRE, is an evaluation conducted by a court appointed third party, usually a psychologist. The psychologist will act as an evaluator and neutral third party to help the court resolve a custody dispute. The psychologist will make conclusions and recommendations regarding custody and timesharing. The psychologist will likely interview the child, or children, and anyone else either parent believes would be beneficial to interview.

How Much Does a PRE Cost and Who Pays for It?

The costs of a PRE vary. The court will decide which parent bears the cost of the evaluation. Typically, the court will order that parents share the cost of the evaluation.

How Do I Prepare My Child for a PRE?

Most likely, a psychologist will interview your child, or children, as part of the evaluation. Your child may be nervous about the interview. You can help your child prepare for their interview and feel less anxious by explaining what will happen in the evaluation. You may want to tell your child that they will meet with someone who wants to know about their feelings and thoughts. You do not need to coach your child for the evaluation; instead, encourage your child to be truthful and honest with the evaluator. Help your child understands that they will not be in trouble for their answers.

How Do I Prepare for a PRE?

Understandably, you may also feel nervous about meeting with a psychologist. You may find the following suggestions will help decrease your anxiety and stress:

• Make sure that you get plenty of sleep the night before the evaluation;
• Schedule your day so that you have plenty of time to arrive at the psychologist’s office;
• Make sure you are dressed comfortably and neatly;
• Organize documents you need to bring a few days before the evaluation; and
• Write down any questions you maybe have so that you will remember to ask them.

Knowing the process of a parenting responsibility evaluation will also help ease the stress of the evaluation. Get the guidance you need by contacting the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+