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Orlando Collaborative Family Law and Professionalism

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By Orlando Collaborative Family Law Attorney Tom Marks

I believe that the vast majority of attorneys are caring and professional in their behavior and advocacy for their clients. In our adversarial system it is only natural though that by the end of the case, at least one of the parties will feel like they lost. That is especially true in Family Law, the area I practice in.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way and that is one of the reasons I have developed a Collaborative Family Law Practice where husbands and wives agree to work together to resolve the issues without having to take the case to Court.

Not only are both parties winners in Collaborative Law, because they avoided acrimonious Litigation, but also because both parents together have focused on their kids’ best interests.

I have actually participated in Collaborative Law Cases where both parties have felt like they are not only happy with the final results but that they believe they have done everything they can mutually to protect their children and to ensure that their children thrive even after the Dissolution of Marriage. They have chosen to love their children the most and to continue to be friends in order to co-parent their children in the most healthy and productive way possible.

A Word About “Collaborative” Family Law Attorneys

Attorneys who practice Collaborative Family Law are some of the most professional, ethical and caring lawyers I have ever met. The focus is no longer on litigation and winning at no small expense, financially, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually to the clients. And in  addition to the Collaborative Family Law Attorneys, there are highly professional Neutral Collaborative Professionals like the Financial Collaborative Professional and the Mental Health Collaborative Professional. They assist the clients and attorneys in putting together Equitable Distribution Worksheets and other financial documents as well as the Parenting Plan and other important documents in the case.

I am not saying that Family Law Attorneys involved in the Litigation aspects of Family Law are not for the most part Professional. There certainly are many. But those Attorneys who have decided to focus on Collaborative Family Law, do it I believe, because they care about the process of helping clients resolve their cases in the healthiest and most productive way possible.

The Child Abduction Prevention Act: Protecting our Children from the Dangers of Abduction by a Parent

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Florida Statutes Section 61.45 was recently amended to create the “Child Abduction Prevention Act.”  This Act is beneficial when there is a concern about the risk of removal of a child from the state or country in violation of a parenting plan.

This section includes new preventative and risk factors for the court’s consideration, as well as relief that may be ordered and additional civil/criminal penalties that may result from violation of this section.

Further, if a parent is concerned that the other parent may abduct a child, a great resource is the Department of State website under child abduction.  There is a Child Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP).

The Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP) allows parents to register their U.S. citizen children under the age of 18 in the Department’s Passport Lookout System.  If a passport application is submitted for a child who is registered in CPIAP, the Department contacts and alerts the parent(s) or guardian(s). The system provides all U.S. passport agencies, as well as U.S. Embassies and Consulates, abroad an alert on a child’s name if a parent or guardian registers an objection to passport issuance for his or her child.  This procedure provides parents advance warning of possible plans for international travel with a child.

Go to the following website to find out more and/or sign up your child(ren) for this program: http://travel.state.gov/abduction/prevention/passportissuanc/passportissuance_554.html:

A court can also order a parent to register with this program sua sponte (on its own accord) or upon motion by a party.

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Timesharing (Custody)

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Timesharing (Custody)

As part of a dissolution of marriage proceeding, the court will often make a determination as to both parents child custody rights and obligations regarding the minor children. There are several significant issues here:

  1. Shared Parental Responsibility vs. Sole Parental Responsibility
  2. Time Sharing
  3. Relocation
  4. Medical Education & Religion
  5. Extra-Curricular Activities
  6. Right of First Refusal
  7. Pick-ups & Drop-offs of the Minor Children
  8. Out of State Travel
  9. Out of the Country Travel
  10. Parenting Course Certificate
  11. Parenting Plan

The courts now refer to custody as “Time Sharing” (FL Statute 61.13). Parenting generally means that each parent will have an equal say in the major decisions affecting the welfare of the minor children. Sole parental responsibility is awarded to one parent in very limited situations. Visitation is also now more appropriately referred to as “Time Sharing”, i.e. the time the parent spends with the minor child or children. The Court generally focuses on the number of overnights the children will spend with each parent. This will impact the amount of Child Support paid. There are many variations and arrangements here also and the parties will complete a State required Parenting Plan.

The court will determine fathers rights in child custody, parental responsibility access and custody and chain of custody. Our Orlando divorce attorneys and help you determine interpretation of joint custody laws, custody battles, how to win child custody  and custody questions. Call us today for a consultation.