Tag Archive for: divorce

The Impact of Divorce on Executive Compensation Packages and Stock Options

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Marriage to a high earner in Florida may sound like life will be smooth sailing in the years ahead. That is not the case if the marriage ends in divorce. The higher a divorcing couple’s net worth in Florida, the more complicated their divorce.

The divisions may not cover just assets such as a home, property, investments, and cars but also the executive compensation one or both spouses will receive from their employer. 

Stock options, company cars, and future bonuses may be awarded to valuable high-net-worth employees who a company wants to retain. The challenge for your Florida family law attorney is to recognize corporate compensation received during the marriage and classify it as a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.

Complex assets include:

  • Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans,
  • Profit sharing plans 
  • Life insurance benefits
  • Pension benefits
  • Top-Hat Plans
  • Deferred compensation plans,
  • Excess Benefit Plans
  • IRAs and 401(k)s 

Equitable Distribution

Unlike a community property state such as California, where half of the community property is divided 50/50 in a divorce, Florida follows equitable distribution, allowing the couple to negotiate assets that are valuable to them. For example, the wife may value furniture and jewelry more than the husband and retain those items instead of cash.

Ultimately there may not be a 50/50 split of assets but an equitable or fair share of property. 

Both states are no-fault, and adultery is rarely considered unless there is a child custody question. The judge has the option to consider each individual’s financial circumstances. When there is a sizeable difference in each spouse’s income, the judge can consider additional compensation as long as it was accrued during the marriage and with marital assets.

The court will consider the length of the marriage. Additionally, credit card debt will also be divided.

Transparency of Executive Compensation

Another challenge is recognizing when these bonuses are delayed in light of a divorce to avoid sharing the compensation with their spouse.

An employee may have been able to purchase stock in his company at a lower price than the actual market price when they exercised their stock option. When dividing these assets, it’s essential to consider the tax consequences and whether the stock has dropped in value or increased. 

The divorcing spouse may take a portion of stock options, 401(k) plans, pensions, and IRAs instead of cash. A judicial order may be required to establish you as an alternative recipient of these benefits.

Whether a stock, bond, executive compensation, or security, estimating their value may require the company to be brought into court to determine the actual value. 

If compensation is deferred or withheld until the future, the ultimate value must be considered in a Florida divorce. 

Contributions made during the marriage with marital assets and a company match may restrict access, so it’s important to understand the rules of these plans before counting on collecting their assets.

A divorce settlement may specify that executive compensation and stocks be held in a trust for the benefit of the non-employee spouse.

Prenuptial Agreement Post Nuptial Agreement

In some cases, one of the spouses may have signed a prenuptial agreement or prenup. It guarantees that one of the spouses wants to keep everything he earned and is not subject to equitable distribution. To make a prenup or postnup legitimate, your attorney will tell you what you are giving up when you sign one before or after the marriage. 

It may be more than you intend, especially if children must be provided for. 

Your Florida Family Law Attorney

It’s essential to understand the assets you accrued in the marriage, the various types of executive compensation, and how they are divided in light of a Florida divorce. 

Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer will be your ally in understanding what may be available when assets are co-mingled and when they are intentionally kept separate.

She insists on transparency in the divorce process and is an expert at uncovering assets subject to equitable distribution. Executive compensation, stock options, and health care benefits are valuable assets in a high-asset divorce that must be included in a divorce settlement.

Contact her at her Pensacola office at 850-795-4910. She provides valuable divorce knowledge for high-net-worth divorcing couples throughout the Florida Panhandle.

Navigating the Complexities of Divorce and Pensions

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You may believe that in a Florida divorce, what is yours, with your name on it, is not subject to division. But this is not necessarily the case.

Under Florida law, a pension, 401k, IRA, or profit-sharing plan you contributed during your marriage is subject to division. Simply put, it is a marital asset.

Florida law differs from other states, which divide marital assets in a 50/50 manner. In Florida, equitable distribution is the guideline for couples to follow when they divorce.

Ensuring a fair and equitable division of assets in your Florida divorce can be complex. To navigate this process successfully, it’s crucial to seek professional advice. Crystal Collins Spencer, a seasoned family law attorney, can provide the guidance and support you need, particularly if you and your spouse have significant assets.

Crystal Collins Spencer’s expertise and experience are invaluable during this challenging time. Her deep understanding of Florida’s divorce laws and her ability to advocate for her client’s best interests make her the ideal choice to represent you in your divorce proceedings.

Divorce and Pensions

In most divorces, homes, bank accounts, property, cars, and art are divided equitably, meaning the couple will negotiate the division if they agree. The division is predicated on several factors:

Some things to consider:

  • How long they were married.
  • Each individual’s economic circumstance
  • Each person’s contribution to the marriage, including no-economic contributions.
  • Each person’s debts, especially considering debt incurred by one individual.

A retirement or pension plan is divided into the same considerations. While a pension plan, or defined benefit plan, guarantees the employee a specific amount of money when they retire, the employer fully funds a defined benefit plan into a tax-deferred investment account.

Your attorney will draft a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). This formal order establishes your ex’s right to receive monies from your retirement plan, which the administrator can execute.

Because the retirement plan was supplemented with marital assets earned during the marriage, it is subject to division, whether a 401K, a Roth or IRA, or any retirement plan from your employer.

Even if one spouse didn’t work, contributions to the marriage could be non-economic, such as child care. The pension would still be subject to division in that case.

Complexities of Dividing a Retirement Plan

In some cases, couples have a prenuptial agreement that keeps assets away from the divorcing spouse otherwise, the theory of equitable distribution applies.

Contributions Before Marriage – It’s essential for your family law attorney to understand what type of retirement plan you’ve been contributing to and for how long. Did the contributions begin before the marriage? In that case, only those assets contributed during the marriage are marital property and subject to division.

Lump Sum—If you do not seek a QDRO, you and your attorney may opt to pursue a lump sum payment at the time of the employee’s spouse’s retirement.

Substitute Assets—Another complexity is that some government pension plan administrators may not accept QDROs. Government pension plans are not subject to QDRO requirements and are not obligated to settle with a lump sum.

In that case, the parties would have to negotiate a substitute for the assets that can’t be divided. For example, if the wife is due $25,000 from the pension plan, she might instead seek a piece of property the couple owns.

Military Retirement Divorce— In a military spouse divorce, the non-service member cannot receive more than 50% of the retiree’s benefits. Calculating benefits in a military retirement account can become very complicated.

Your Florida Family Law Attorney

A general rule of thumb is the more assets you have, the more complicated the divorce can be. Things can become even more complex when one spouse is not transparent about what he owns or when he tries to transfer assets into a hidden account.

There are many factors to consider when dividing retirement plans during a Florida divorce. You do not want to find out the hard way that you missed information that would allow you to make an essential decision for your financial future.

Let Crystal Collins Spencer be your biggest ally during this difficult time. She handles family law matters in Pensacola and the surrounding Florida Panhandle. She can be reached to arrange a confidential consultation in her Pensacola office at 850-795- 4910.

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights During a High Asset Divorce

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A high-asset divorce can bring particular complications to the settlement table.  Both parties will understandably want to retain what they consider their individual property, but a marital settlement in Florida will divide assets equitably.

While intellectual property (IP) often cannot be divided, its future profits are a consideration for a divorcing couple.

To retain your particular intellectual property rights, you must contact a family law specialist who understands the intricacies a high-asset couple brings to the table.

Intellectual Property

What is intellectual property?  It can be a book, script, radio or television show, an invention, computer code, art, or any creative effort that can be patented, trademarked, or copywritten to protect the owner.

A patent is the most common type of protection for intellectual property rights. With a patent, the owner can sell the invention or license it to another party. IP can deliver value to its owner, who can then develop, protect, and monetize the property.

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

Several things must be done to get organized as the first step in protecting intellectual property rights during a Florida high-asset divorce. You must know what you have and its value.

  • First – Compile a list of intellectual property (IP) assets and gather the documents that validate such agreements, such as certificates, financial records, and licensing agreements. Determine who contributed to the IP, including financial and other contributions, contracts, and nondisclosure agreements,
  • Second – Hire a professional appraiser who can value the intellectual property in the present and future. That will be speculative but provide some idea of future income from the IP. Consider tax implications and the ongoing cost of maintaining the IP. A forensic accountant or IP attorney will be needed to accurately determine the value of your property before considering how to distribute it equitably in a divorce proceeding. The other option is to use this assessment as the basis for a payout now, not in the future.
  • Third – Protect your intellectual property by closing loopholes, updating confidentiality agreements, and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information or trade secrets. Document the contributions to the IP made by both spouses.
  • Fourth – Your divorce settlement must address all of your IP concerns. With the help of your attorney, a mediation might include a post-nuptial agreement that addresses how intellectual property will be treated in the divorce. Include in the mediation the assessment of what the value of the IP will be in the future. A non-disclosure agreement, as well as other contracts, may be required as part of the mediation.
  • Fifth – There needs to be an enforcement mechanism in your mediated divorce settlement that may include monitoring and protecting intellectual property rights and a penalty for any violations.Your

Your Florida Family Law Attorney

Among the assets a divorcing couple will address, intellectual property has the potential to generate some of the most contentious and bitter fights.

That’s because it is personal property, and the owner may be very attached to his property and not willing to put it in the pool that is to be equitably divided.  However, if there is present and future value to the IP, and it falls under the definition of a marital asset, unless you’ve negotiated otherwise, it may need to be divided in a Florida divorce.

Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer advises clients that the rights to the income generated by IP will be subject to a discussion about an equitable division along with property, investments, cars, homes, and even time with the children.

At this time, staying closely in touch with the mediations is advised to explore your options thoroughly. Equitable division in Florida does not mean equal, and a settlement may become more favorable if you can work with your ex-spouse rather than have the court impose a divorce settlement.

Attorney Spencer has nearly four decades of experience in high net worth and complex divorce matters. She will be your ally in the division of IP if you call her Pensacola office, Spencer Law, at (850) 912-8080 to begin the conversation. Her family law practice represents individuals from Pensacola to Ft. Walton, Sandestin to Santa Rosa Beach, and Panama City.

Divorce and Philanthropy: How to Handle Shared Charitable Endeavors

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You and your spouse have decided to go your separate ways. For most couples, that means dividing assets and making decisions about the children and custody issues. 

Some couples grow their wealth while married and are committed to charitable endeavors. The Family Wealth Report estimates in 2020, charitable giving amounted to $471 billion. The majority of high-net-worth families, nearly 90 percent, contributed to this amount.

Whether you have a private foundation, a donor-advised fund, or volunteer your time because philanthropy is vital to you, these forms of giving must be reassessed when a couple divorces. 

Family law attorney Crystal Collins Spencer specializes in high-net-worth individuals changing their family structure. A consultation with her will help send you in the right direction for your future needs.

Assessing Your Commitment

As is sometimes the case, one of the soon-to-be-ex partners may have more of a commitment to charity than the other. During your divorce discussion, the couple should honestly assess each person’s degree of dedication. Is your standing in the community based on giving to charities? How will you continue to fulfill that commitment? Or is that commitment important to you in your new life?

Your shared value to philanthropy may go through a significant shift when you become single. 

Some things to consider are:

  • Can one partner be more active in any charitable organization and its future growth?
  • Can the other partner remain present in name only with less of a contribution?
  • What is the role of individuals –donors, advisors, or trustees, and how does that impact their gift after a divorce?
  • To what extent have financial contributions represented your spending together, and can that continue? 
  • To what degree do finances versus volunteer hours represent your contribution?

It’s entirely possible that one of the partners may want to launch in an altogether new direction after the divorce. That may be represented by a new charity, even in a different area of the country.

If you both remain committed to the same charity, will you be comfortable working together in the future, even when you are not married? You may both decide that your generosity and commitment to a cause override any animosity between you, ultimately benefiting both parties and the cause you are both committed to. 

All of these possibilities must be considered, preferably under the guidance of a third party.

Philanthropic Settlement Agreement

Attorney Spencer may suggest if you are committed to moving forward with your philanthropic efforts, she can help craft a settlement agreement to define charitable assets. If you use stocks, real estate, or cash directed to the charity, you must ascertain which person will continue owning those assets. 

A charitable mission statement may help define gift-giving objectives in the future.

Will your new arrangement require you to rearrange a board of directors in the future? If you have a foundation, how will that be handled when you are no longer married? 

Contributors no longer own the charitable entity but may be able to advise its direction moving forward. Should a donor-advised fund be divided into separate funds? Alternatively, a charitable trust can name a charity as the beneficiary and include both heirs and a charity. 

The agreement should specify the stated goals for the future of the organization. 

Also, what contribution each individual will make, whether financial or volunteer hours, will be decided. 

Tax consequences will be attached to your charitable giving, and the couple needs to ascertain which option is best.

Your Florida Divorce and Family Attorney 

Dividing a couple’s assets into charitable purposes can be complicated and must include advice from estate planning, tax, and non-profit specialists. 

Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer represents couples throughout Florida and in the Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach, and Sandestin, Florida, areas focusing on family law.

In her 35 years advising couples, she has encountered many high-net-worth couples with complicated uncoupling needs. Ms. Spencer will counsel you with sound, aggressive strategies to allow you to move forward with your new life, with particular attention to maintaining your strong sense of personal responsibility.  

Call our Pensacola office at (850) 795-4910 to arrange a consultation on your needs moving forward.  

Sources:

Family Wealth Report
https://www.familywealthreport.com/article.php?id=192813

Mitigating the Risks of Business Depreciation During High Asset Divorces

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Divorces can be complicated, and that is especially true if there are high assets involved. While both spouses must be transparent about all of their assets, it’s also crucial that they are valued accurately. Failure to do so can result in an uneven and even unfair distribution of assets.

In Florida, equitable distribution of marital assets is the guideline for divorce. That will include anything of value, whether property, house, bank accounts, or businesses.

When dividing the business asset, which may be the asset with the highest value, it first must be determined if the business is a marital asset. If it is, to mitigate the risks to the company during a divorce, some moves can be put into place either before or after the marriage to make its division more equitable.

When sizeable assets are involved, consulting with an experienced, compassionate family law attorney specializing in high-asset divorce can protect the impact on your business and, ultimately, on your relationship.

Prenuptial Agreement

If one spouse owned the business before the marriage, kept assets in a separate account, and made no money with that business during the marriage, there would not be much to divide. However, any appreciation during the marriage is subject to division unless a prenuptial agreement specifies how the business will be divided.

Before the wedding, a prenuptial agreement should detail how the business assets will be distributed in a divorce. Separate attorneys will represent each partner, and the business division should be negotiated to include the division of depreciation and appreciation of the business.

Sometimes, the business will remain with one spouse, and its value can be offset by agreeing to divide other assets, such as a house or property.

A prenuptial agreement should consider the potential impact on other partners to mitigate risks to the business.

It may be challenging to determine the value of a business down the road, so its current value should be estimated, and both parties need to agree on the methodology to be used to value the asset in the future.

The benefit of a prenuptial agreement is that both partners enter into it when they are most agreeable, about to enter into marriage, and want to avoid conflicts in the future.

Postnuptial Agreement

A postnuptial agreement is crafted after the marriage to determine what happens to a business in the event of a divorce. The other spouse may agree that the company is not subject to marital distribution, mainly if the other spouse founded it before the marriage. If that is not the case, the post-nup should establish how much appreciation or depreciation the spouses will share.

Suppose both spouses are involved in the business. In that case, they must determine whether, upon divorce, the company is dissolved, one partner retains ownership, or it continues under a new partnership agreement.

Hiding Assets

If you suspect your spouse is trying to conceal assets, Crystal Collins Spencer has the tools she needs to uncover hidden assets. She can bring in a forensic accountant to discover where assets are and their origin.

This is especially important if one spouse does not handle the family finances.

A forensic accountant is like a detective. They will conduct a detailed review of bank and tax documents to determine their consistency. Employers may help a divorcing spouse by withholding a bonus until the divorce is final. An employer can defer benefits, a company car, or a salary increase, so they are not subject to equitable distribution. A forensic accountant can uncover that tactic.

We may need to hire a valuation expert to determine the value of the business before its division in a Florida divorce.

Your Florida High Asset Divorce Attorney

If a divorce is imminent, the business can be protected by maintaining detailed records, including personal and business expenses and premarital versus marital funds.

Crystal Collins Spencer has extensive experience with high-asset divorces and can advise you to what extent the business is a marital asset or separate property. She has the experience to hire the experts needed to value the case for the court’s consideration and to gather the evidence essential to your argument.

This is not a time to try and litigate your most valuable asset. Divorce can complicate the simple division of assets. Call Crystal Collins Spencer at Spencer Law at her Pensacola office at 850-912-8080 to get started.

Dealing with the Tax Consequences of a High Asset Divorce

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Are you facing a divorce? Expect all aspects of your life to change. This is particularly true if you are part of a high-asset couple. 

Florida law states that fair and equitable is how assets are divided. With a high-asset couple, the division and tax implications can be more complicated by the valuation of a business, marital property, assets, or future income.

You will want to fully consider the implications of your tax liability by working with an experienced family law attorney. 

Crystal Collins Spencer has decades of helping spouses involved in a high-asset divorce, as the tax consequences will now be on your shoulders as you file as a single or head of household. 

Transparency and Divorce

High-asset divorces have special considerations. Everyone must put all of their cards on the table and be transparent about their assets, including, but not limited to, bank accounts, both domestic and offshore, property, pensions, art, and jewelry.  

Unfortunately, some high earners think the rules do not apply to them. Instead, they may conveniently hide assets in little-known places and then file inaccurate and outright false information on the required financial disclosure documents.

This is a very serious mistake. Saving some money may cost you more and could even bring perjury charges and jail time. 

Another mistake is for one spouse to withdraw funds from a joint bank account. Technically, they are joint marital property and belong to each spouse equally. 

If one of the spouses has filed for divorce, an injunction may be in place that prevents you from withdrawing money. As a result, that spouse could be facing criminal contempt charges. 

Assume any financial moves you make at the last minute to deprive your former spouse will be frowned upon by the court.  

Family Law Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer has seen the creative accounting tactics of high-net-worth individuals who think the rules do not apply to them. 

They are very much mistaken when facing a seasoned family law professional who understands the tricks of the trade.

Tax Consequences in a High Asset Divorce

There will be tax consequences to a high-asset divorce that lawyers on both sides should consider before entering into a divorce settlement. For example:

Alimony or Spousal Support – Once upon a time, alimony was deductible from the payer’s taxes. If he made $200,00 a year and had to pay $50,000 in alimony, he could show his income was $150,000. 

Following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), alimony is no longer deductible for the greater earner. Nor is it taxable as income to the receiver. 

Because of TCJA, a dependency exemption for children can no longer be a tax deduction.

This new dynamic may significantly alter how alimony is negotiated into the final picture. Obtaining alimony may become more challenging because of the higher tax rates that apply, and the individual paying alimony will no longer be able to receive an alimony deduction. 

The bill is not retroactive and only applies to divorces finalized after January 1, 2019.


Dividing Assets

Retirement accounts must often be divided in a high-asset divorce. The higher earner may use money from a 401(K) to pay alimony. To transfer retirement assets, a tax-free Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) will minimize the tax implication of moving retirement assets to the other spouse. 

Capital Gains can be minimized when offset by capital losses or transferring those assets to the spouse who is the lower earner.

Other Considerations

  • Monies acquired before marriage are generally not subject to equitable division.
  • Assets you inherited or were gifted to you are not divisible if you kept them in a separate fund from your spouse.
  • Legal fees related to your divorce are no longer deductible as they were a few years ago. Instead, they are regarded as personal expenses.
  • Children are considered dependents for the spouse who has physical custody. Tax credits are available to that parent. Child support payments are not tax deductible for the parent who pays or counted as income for the parent who receives them.
  • Your divorce settlement is not taxable, provided it was transferred under the divorce settlement and within six years of the end of the marriage. 

Your Florida Divorce and Family Attorney

Crystal Collins Spences has spent over 35 years representing divorcing couples involved in high net-worth divorces. She is highly respected in the field and provides sound, aggressive strategies in your best interest in your high-asset divorce. 

Let her move your life forward by arranging a consultation in her Pensacola office at (850) 795-4910.  

Sources:

IRS
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc452

Divorce and Debt Division: Legal Strategies for Managing Marital Liabilities

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Equitable distribution. Remember that phrase.

Unlike a community property state where assets are divided 50/50, in Florida, when a couple decides to divorce, expect the “equitable distribution” doctrine to apply in the division of both assets and liabilities. 

Divorcing your spouse can be a stressful time. You and your spouse have decided to end your partnership. But you will be better prepared if you understand the legal strategies for managing your divorce and marital liabilities. 

Crystal Collins Spencer has decades of experience helping couples end their marriages, even when there are complicated circumstances.

You only get one chance to dissolve this marriage equitably, and you want to make sure you explore every avenue available as early as you can. Talk to Crystal Collins Spencer to explore your options. 

Marital Assets

When a couple marries at a young age, they often do not start their marriage with assets. The bank accounts, pensions, and bonuses come later; if one is savings-minded, they accrue over time.

These are considered marital assets. Unless a premarital agreement states otherwise, these assets, whether bank accounts, property, or other valuables, are subject to equitable distribution upon divorce.

Assets acquired before the marriage are not subject to distribution, nor is an inheritance or gift. An exception may come when the individually-owned assets acquired pre-marriage or an estate is comingled with other accounts that are marital assets. 

Marital Liabilities 

The Florida court will consider each spouse’s earnings and earning potential, each person’s contribution to the marriage, how long they were married, and the number of minor children. 
Also, it important to consider is how much one person sacrificed career-wise to care for children or follow the other’s job or education requirements.

Liabilities include debt from a credit card, a student loan, a mortgage, or taking out loans on other assets. When it comes to liabilities, the following must be considered:

  • Maybe you saved all of your life. Your spouse spent everything he made and then some. If you are still married, the court expects you to pay the credit card bill, even if your name is not on the credit card.
  • The exception to this may be if one spouse wasted assets, spent without your knowledge, or gifted money to a third party. A forensic expert will investigate financial records to ascertain an accurate picture of who ran up the debt and for what purpose. Suppose the investigation reveals that your spouse acted recklessly, siphoning off marital assets for his purpose or hiding them from you and your attorney. In that case, you will be able to challenge whether they are your joint responsibility.
  • Occasionally, one spouse is losing money through a gambling or drug habit or due to his involvement in illegal behavior. Florida law allows you to go to a judge and obtain an injunction to stop the spouse from wasting marital assets. 


Manage Your Marital Liabilities
Debt in divorce can be accrued before the marriage, during the marriage, and there can be non-marital debt. Determining that will help determine who is responsible for paying.

Prenuptial Agreement – One strategy may involve getting a prenuptial agreement before you marry. The agreement will allow each person to specify what assets they expect to own or continue to own in case of a divorce. 

Postnuptial Agreement – After marriage, the couple may decide to get a postnuptial agreement to divide assets before a divorce. If the relationship is contentious, a postnup may be challenging to obtain. If it is not contentious, a postnuptial may ease any stress about ownership of material assets going forward. 

Separate Property – A business or individual property can continue to be owned separately if you do not co-mingle it. Once that happens, the court may consider it a marital asset. Neither party must sell or gift anything as the marriage is being divided since this will raise suspicion with the court.

Your Florida Family Law Attorney

Managing debt and liabilities in a Florida divorce can be particularly challenging. At this time, it’s vital to be transparent with your attorney. The discovery process is intended to reveal the assets and liabilities within the marriage.

Keep documents in an organized manner for easy access. Only with an accurate picture of the marital assets can they be fairly divided.

Crystal Collins Spencer has spent decades representing individuals who are facing a divorce in Florida. She can be reached in her Pensacola office at (850) 795-4910 to schedule an appointment.

Sources:
DivorceNet
https://www.divorcenet.com/states/florida/equitable_distribution_of_property

Adopted Children Might Need Extra Support During a Florida Divorce

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Planning for a family might include adopting children if biological children are not possible. No matter how many children or where they come from, your plans for the perfect family fall apart when a divorce is looming.

In that case, treating adopted children like biological children is essential. They are likely sensitive to the fact they are adopted and may feel different from biological children in the family when you announce that you plan to divorce. You will not want to do anything that might make them feel estranged or unwanted.

Some adopted children experienced trauma and a lack of stability during their early years. Divorcing parents can unleash those memories and recreate trauma in the adopted child.

If a child was older when they were adopted or spent some time in foster care or a group home, they might have experienced some degree of abandonment. The child might benefit from additional counseling to help ease this transition.

Each parent needs to let the adopted and biological children know they are there for them, even though the couple will no longer be married. In other words, the parent is not divorcing the child, just the spouse.

Florida Divorce Basics

Like any Florida divorce, you must come up with a child custody agreement which should include:

  • Where the child lives
  • What percentage of time does each parent have
  • Who makes primary decisions about education, extracurricular activities, and medical care
  • How to divide the cost of caring for the child and their activities

If you and your soon-to-be-ex disagree on the above, the court may have to step in and decide for the family. In this case, both spouses will likely be unhappy with any imposed arrangement.

That’s why it is always best to put your disagreement aside and come up with some form of a parenting plan, even if it means you do not get everything you want.

Family law attorney Crystal Collins Spencer will suggest you enter into mediation to finalize the terms of any custody agreement. You both have the best understanding of what is best for your family dynamics.

Encourage your adopted child to share whatever they feel about the divorce. Because they entered the family differently from the biological child, they may be reserved about sharing. It’s encouraged that you be extra sensitive to their feelings.

Stability and Structure are Important for Adopted Children

Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer reminds you that both parents need to be in sync about structure and rules during this stressful time.

Let the adopted child know how much you love them and that a change in living arrangements does not mean that the established rules will change. Both parents should agree that the expectations they set as a couple will continue even as the living arrangement does not.

Structure in the home is often very good for children with an unstable past, so let the child know what you expect so nothing is left to chance.

No matter what the former couple does not agree on, maintaining a similar routine in both homes will make the divorce less traumatic for all children.

Your Florida Family Lawyer

Parents who stay involved in their children’s lives, whether adopted or biological, ultimately work in the child’s best interest.

If you have questions about your impending divorce and do not want to have regrets, Crystal Collins Spencer can help you with your questions, just as she has helped thousands of divorcing couples in her decades of experience as a family law specialist.

Call the Spencer Law Group in Pensacola at (850) 795-4910 to discuss your family’s workable parenting plan and ensure you have the assets you will need in the future.

If it is impossible to make a parenting plan with your ex, Ms. Spencer has the expertise to establish that the children have the advantages they deserve, even if each parent cannot or should not be present.

Each parent still has the legal duty to care for the child, no matter their marital status. Let us be your ally during this difficult time to make sure the decisions ahead take everyone’s welfare into account.

How Mediation Differs from Litigation During a Florida Divorce

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Mediation is an alternative to a trial that is often used for a more peaceable dissolution of a marriage. Mediation may not be appropriate for every case, but if it works for your situation, it can be a way to negotiate your issues and concerns with the help of a neutral third party to resolve your divorce, saving you time, money, and stress.

Advantages of Mediation

The courts often order mediation to resolve issues such as divorce. Court-ordered mediation is often called a win-win because both sides should walk away with some of what they want. The mediator doesn’t take sides and cannot tell you what is right or wrong. S/he cannot give legal advice, even though s/he may be a lawyer, or provide counseling to resolve your dispute.

During a mediation, the mediator – a professional, a lawyer, counselor, or educator – will introduce themselves and explain the process. Both sides will have a chance to present their concerns. Your lawyer may be at your side, but not necessarily. The mediator may also meet with each side privately.

Mediation can take as little as an hour, or it could require several sessions. This depends on the complexity of the issues involved with the divorce and other specific circumstances.

Following a session, you may reach an agreement; you may reach an impasse, or you may decide to return another day.

Consider the advantages of mediation:

  • The mediator can help with communication. You may be repeating the same points back and forth, but the mediator can help you listen to each other and stay focused. The mediator can restart the conversation by taking a fresh approach to an old or ongoing dispute.  
  • Litigation may involve the costs associated with a deposition, paying an expert witness or two, or having a life care plan to tell the jury what your financial needs will be down the road. You can avoid litigation or trial with a mediator. You will save time and money, and the process is much quicker than all of the work that goes into preparing a case for trial.
  • You direct the outcome. The judge does not necessarily know what the best outcome is during the dissolution of your marriage. Both of you are in the best position to make that decision, otherwise leaving it in the hands of a judge may result in a ruling that is not what you want.
  • Mediation is far more economical than paying a lawyer hourly. Private mediators will charge the market rates. The mediator may have a minimum fee, and in some cases, the court provides the mediators for free.

Mediation is best for divorcing couples who understand the issues, know what they want, and are prepared to talk civilly to each other. Consult with your attorney before the mediation to make sure you understand the legal issues.

Mediation is not necessarily for someone who is intimidated by their divorcing spouse. An individual who is not used to advocating for himself/herself may not do well in mediation unless they have an advocate by their side.

If there is no resolving your outstanding issues, you may both decide it’s best not to agree to mediation. The decision is yours; you remain the decision-maker. You always have the option to go to court.

Your Florida Family Law Attorney

There are times when mediation is not recommended. It may be that your spouse is hiding assets and working counter to your needs, for example. Attorney Crystal Collins Spencer has decades of experience dealing with situations that make a contentious divorce and litigation necessary.

On the other hand, you and your spouse might be on fairly good terms and there may not be too many outstanding issues/disputes to resolve. If this is the case, mediation might be a good fit, and Ms. Spencer can provide experienced advice and counsel throughout the process.

Call our Pensacola office at (850) 795-4910 to arrange a consultation so you can know your rights and how best to proceed.

Sources:

Flaw
https://www.flcourts.org/Resources-Services/Alternative-Dispute-Resolution/Mediation-in-Florida#:~:text=Mediation%20is%20different%20from%20litigation,a%20trial%20nor%20an%20arbitration.

Should I Stay in the Marital Home During a Divorce?

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Besides children and finances, deciding who will reside in the marital home is one of the most common issues during a divorce.

Your home was supposed to be your sanctuary, a place to raise the children and be a family unit. Now that that dream is shattered, you may feel the need to cling even more closely to the idea of “home” but, at the same time, you may not find it wise to take on the financial burden of carrying a home with the cost of utilities, insurance, taxes, and upkeep.

As a marital home is usually the largest asset owned by the couple, it may not always represent an asset. Not only upkeep but a down real estate climate or an upside-down mortgage need to be considered to determine if the home represents an asset or a liability.

So, what are some of the considerations?

Equitable Distribution in a Divorce

Florida is not a community property state where assets acquired during a marriage are owned equally by each spouse regardless of who earned the money. 

Florida considers marital property to be divided under the laws of “Equitable Distribution.”  That means any assets or property acquired during the marriage are to be divided in a fair and equitable manner.

That might include the funds that purchased your marital home.

If you cannot agree, the judge overseeing your divorce will step in to divide the assets as well as the liabilities or debts.

The judge may not always rule in your favor. Flexibility in negotiating with your spouse will be the key here. 

Equitable distribution does take into consideration the assets contributed to the marriage by the spouse who brought in fewer dollars but took care of the children and the value that brings.

The Marital Home

Assuming for the sake of discussion that one spouse wants to remain in the marital home.  It was purchased during the marriage so is considered an asset that must be divided.

On the other hand, if one spouse owned the house before the marriage it may not be considered an asset to be divided.

The decision to stay or not might rest on the level of equity in the property. A home that represents a considerable investment is different scenario from a house that is largely still owned by the bank. 

If there is considerable cash in the house, consider how having that cash might improve your future?  Can you purchase a smaller home that is more than adequate? Can you change neighborhoods or buy a less costly home, a condo, or townhouse and have money in your pocket?

These are all variables that need to be discussed with your experienced Florida divorce attorney who will help you establish a settlement agreement with your best interest in mind.

If the home is a marital asset, the judge may order the home to be sold so the proceeds can be divided. However, if one spouse feels strongly about staying in the home, especially if there are children, the relative value of that decision could result in an award to the other spouse of additional monies or assets making the division more equitable.

The judge also has the option of allowing someone to stay in the home for a specified period of time, after which, both parties agree to sell the home and divide the proceeds.

Keeping the Marital Home

There are other variations to the house situation. In some cases, the marital home may continue to be co-owned for a limited time, say for when the children need to go to a new school or when they graduate. At that time, the house is sold, and the proceeds will be divided according to your divorce settlement. 

In this scenario, one parent may opt to move out making the home more peaceful for those remaining.

This takes a special sort of cooperation between divorcing spouses. The house presumably will appreciate and the children can stay in the same school with the same friends but dividing assets will have to wait.  This arrangement will need to be documented in written form.

Selling the Marital Home

Determine the value of the home before you make any permanent decision. A real estate agent can determine the sales price if marketed today. The other option is to go online and come up with “comps” or comparable homes in the neighborhood.  Average three or so and determine the value of the home.

Selling the home can potentially give you the assets you need to move on. Another option is for one spouse to buy the other’s interest in the home, again providing the opportunity to purchase a more suitable home. 

Discussing Your Options in a Florida Divorce

Flexibility is the key and one must be realistic about the cost of maintaining a family home.  

Crystal Collins Spencer has decades of experience helping a spouse through a difficult divorce even when there are assets that may seem to be out of reach. She is adept at researching financial information to find any assets that may be intentionally hidden to bring the most equitable division to the divorce table. She will be by your side to help create a marital settlement agreement that best suits your particular situation. By doing the math she can help you see the wisdom of creating a new life, either in or without the marital home.

Let her be an assertive advocate for your rights during the difficulty of divorce. Call the Spencer Law Group at her Pensacola, Florida office to schedule a consultation at (850) 795-4910.

Please Note: While the Florida courts have temporarily canceled all but essential proceedings during the coronavirus crisis, we are still working while taking all of the necessary precautions, and we can complete much of the necessary groundwork for your proceeding while we wait for things to return to normal.