Year: 2017

2017 Case Law Review

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It is that time of year again, when I present the Case Law Review at the Annual Family Law Professional Collaborative Conference.  And, after each conference I provide my case law review to those who may be interested in how family law has developed over the last year.

This year one important development is the approval of Collaborative Law Rules of Procedure.  With the approval of these rules, the Collaborative Law Act goes into effect.

In addition, there were a number of significant cases decided over the past 12 months.  One that I found particularly interesting is the Rosaler v. Rosaler case, in which the Wife spent almost one million dollars for her attorneys, accountants, Guardian Ad Litem and costs.  If ever there was a case that showed the benefits of a collaborative approach to divorce, this case is it.

You can find the complete case law review HERE

HOW MUCH WILL MY DIVORCE COST?

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You have options on how to finalize your divorce.  And the costs will depend on the method you select.  The Court fee for filing a divorce is approximately $395 and there is an additional recording fee depending on the county where the case is filed.

DO IT YOURSELF DIVORCE

You can download the Florida Supreme Court forms for free, fill them in with your spouse and file them yourselves and then proceed through the court process.   The only cost is the filing fee.  However, you must consider the length of time this will take you to prepare the forms without assistance and to process the forms through the court process which may take many months.

PARALEGAL DIVORCE

There are paralegal services that will help you fill in the Florida Supreme Court forms.  These services cannot prepare any documents other than the standard forms and cannot offer any legal advice.  They also cannot file the case for you and obtain the Final Judgment on your behalf.  The costs for the assistance to prepare the forms is approximately $400 to $800.

FLAT FEE DIVORCE

My office can assist you in preparing all documents necessary to obtain a final judgment of dissolution.  This includes a Marital Settlement Agreement drafted by the attorney and a Parenting Plan if necessary also prepared by the attorney.  In addition, there are a number of pleadings that must be presented to the court will be prepared and presented to the Judge.  We will then file the final documents necessary to obtain the Final Judgment on your behalf.  In many cases this process can be completed in less than a month.  The cost of this services is $2,000 for a divorce without children and $2,500 for a divorce with minor children.

MEDIATED DIVORCE

I am also a Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and can assist you and your spouse to negotiate the terms of a Marital Settlement Agreement and Parenting Plan if you and your spouse are struggling with the terms.  As the mediator I cannot file the final documents but can assist you through the process or refer you to an attorney to complete the process.  The cost of this service is $350 per hour but the final cost will depend upon the number of issues to be addressed and the number of meetings necessary to resolve the issues.  Each meeting last approximately two hours and normally there are on average between three to five meetings.

COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE

As an attorney with over twenty years of experience representing parties in divorce and paternity, I can represent you in a collaborative divorce process when there are more difficult issues to be decided.  My fees for this representation of a party in a collaborative divorce is $400 per hour.  This process also includes a neutral financial professional, a neutral facilitator and a collaborative attorney for your spouse.  There are times when I am also selected as the neutral facilitator in the collaborative process and I charge $250 per hour for these services.  While this process is certainly more expensive than the options above, it is much less expensive than the average fully litigated divorce.  A comparison of the Collaborative Process for a case with minor children to a fully litigated divorce can be found here.

A LITIGATED DIVORCE

My office does not represent clients in this process.  I stopped handling litigated divorces in 2012 after many years of assisting clients through this process.  Part of the reason for this is the extreme costs involved which I did not find in my client’s best interest.  Some cases require litigation to resolve the issues, but I strongly advise clients to consider if this is necessary and the costs involved. A comparison of the costs of a Collaborative Divorce and a Litigated Divorce can be found here.

IT HAS ARRIVED!

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Florida has joined thirteen other states and the District of Columbia that have enacted a Collaborative Law Act and accompanying Family Law Rules of Procedure for Collaborative Law in Family Law cases.  The new law and rules went into effect July 1, 2017.  Many of us have been utilizing the Collaborative Process in Divorce, Paternity, Prenuptial Agreements and other areas of family law for many years, however, now it is governed by rules and regulations, making it more recognized and uniform.  The stated purpose of the act is to create a uniform system of practice to “encourage the peaceful resolution of disputes and the early settlement of pending litigation through voluntary settlement procedures” and to preserve the working relationship between parties to a dispute through a non-adversarial method that reduces the emotional financial toll of litigants”

The Collaborative Law Process begins when the parties enter into a collaborative law participation agreement.  If a legal case has already been filed with the Court, the case is put on hold until the collaborative process is concluded or terminated.  By entering into the process, the parties agree that the process shall be confidential and prevent disclosure of communications made during the process to any court should the process break down and litigation ensue.  In addition, the agreement must provide that, should the collaborative process terminate without an agreement all attorneys must withdraw from representation.  By eliminating the possibility that either attorney will assist the clients in any litigation, the attorneys are free to devote their full effort to achieving a settlement in an efficient and cooperative manner.

Collaborative Practice has been around for over twenty years and has successfully assisted many families to resolve their family law matters without the time, expense and stress of litigation.  The parties work with a team of trained professionals consisting of the individual attorneys representing each party, a Neutral Financial Professional and a Neutral Facilitator to resolve the issues of their divorce, paternity or other family law matter in a non-adversarial way.

The full text of the Florida Statute can be found here and the full text of the Florida Rules related to Collaborative Practice can be found here.  If you would like to learn more about how Collaborative Procedures could assist your family in resolving your matter, please contact our office at 941-228-8571.