Miami Divorce Attorney Blog | Florida Property Division Lawyer

Divorce trusts: Are they suitable alternatives to prenups?

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Friday, May 24, 2013

Relevant demographics and statistics related to marriage and divorce in Florida and the rest of the United States well indicate why increased focus is being placed by partners in many relationships on keeping a tighter hold over their assets through prenuptial agreements or in other ways.

To wit: Reportedly, close to half of all marriages end within their first eight years, and the average age for newlyweds has ticked up, to 26.5 for women and 28.7 for men, respectively.

What that means is that more people are accruing more assets -- cash, real estate, retirement and other savings accounts, art, jewelry, motor vehicles and so forth -- before marriage than in prior years and that, given such a high divorce rate, increasingly more of them are concerned about protecting some of that wealth.

Continue reading Divorce trusts: Are they suitable alternatives to prenups?

Tags: Prenuptial agreement, divorce, property division, wealth

Couples in in Florida, nationally, have divorce choices

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, May 22, 2013

If you want to aggressively litigate your Florida divorce, the courtroom is obviously available for that purpose. In fact, some element of adversarialism in the divorce process is common in many dissolutions, and having a judge rule on matters ranging from child custody and support to property division and spousal maintenance can make eminent sense.

What, though, if you and your soon-to-be former mate want to eschew all those legal trappings and some of the less than appealing consequences that can come with them? What if you want to avoid judicially related waiting, filing and responding to motions, going to hearings and generally having important considerations decided by a third party you don't even know?

Continue reading Couples in in Florida, nationally, have divorce choices

Tags: child custody, divorce

ACLU intervenes in domestic violence lawsuit against municipality

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Domestic Violence on Thursday, May 16, 2013

A lawsuit recently filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania underscores issues relating to domestic violence, especially the concern that those on the receiving end of this crime are sometimes victimized twice.

The suit on behalf of a domestic abuse victim was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU) after it learned that the woman was evicted by a landlord from her apartment following a third complaint concerning violence occurring within the residence.

Continue reading ACLU intervenes in domestic violence lawsuit against municipality

Tags: abuse

Report: Jennifer Aniston, slated to marry, will eschew prenup

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Monday, May 13, 2013

Once again, the concept of a marital contract is front and center. A prenuptial agreement has a tendency to do that by assuming central prominence over other matters, especially in a marriage that is notable for one, and sometimes both, of the parties bringing substantial wealth to the union.

Movie and television actress Jennifer Aniston certainly qualifies as such a partner, with estimates of the 44-year-old entertainer's personal wealth being as high as several hundred million dollars. When Aniston announces a plan to wed, there is no question that the nuptials -- and all details pertaining to them -- will be splayed across magazine covers and dissected in articles appearing in supermarkets from coast to coast.

Continue reading Report: Jennifer Aniston, slated to marry, will eschew prenup

Tags: Prenuptial agreement, wealth

NASCAR CEO's divorce docs unsealed; details re wealth emerge

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Property Division on Friday, May 10, 2013

When it comes to professional sports and entertainment, there is one sure-handed way for a participant to guarantee a sizable share of the spoils.

Own a franchise. Better yet, own the entire organization.

That would certainly be true for pro football, baseball, basketball or hockey, and it is especially true for NASCAR, America's premier car-racing body, given the many millions of die-hard racing fans across the country, including in Florida.

Brian France is the CEO of NASCAR, his grandfather the organization's founder. By any estimation, France is an extremely wealthy man.

And now details of that wealth are emerging in recently released court documents focused on France's divorce and property division battles with his ex-wife, Megan.

Continue reading NASCAR CEO's divorce docs unsealed; details re wealth emerge

Tags: Property division, assets

Gov. Scott surprises many, vetoes permanent alimony bill

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Property Division on Monday, May 6, 2013

After the Florida Legislature sent Governor Rick Scott Senate Bill 718 last week, a strong majority of legislators in both branches of state government -- including virtually all Republican members -- felt confident that the would-be law ending permanent alimony would be agreed with and signed by Scott.

They ended up being mightily surprised.

Scott vetoed the bill, which resulted in immediate and widespread comment among both its advocates and those who strongly opposed it on grounds that permanent spousal maintenance is often a type of equitable property division.

Continue reading Gov. Scott surprises many, vetoes permanent alimony bill

Tags: Property division

It's musical chairs regarding decedent's life insurance policy

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Property Division on Thursday, May 2, 2013

If you are not a lawyer, it is likely that you are unfamiliar with what the legal term preemption means, and it is certainly understandable if you don't.

If, conversely, you find yourself in a legal dispute in which that concept is at the core, you'll understand it soon enough.

That is certainly true of a Virginia widow, who has found herself front and center in a property division issue that is now before the United States Supreme Court, a development she surely couldn't have contemplated in her wildest dreams when she married her now-deceased husband.

Continue reading It's musical chairs regarding decedent's life insurance policy

Tags: Property division

Prenups: why it's key to ensure legal compliance from the outset

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Can a defective part be fixed?

Well, that certainly depends. A bicycle tire, most likely. Bad brakes? Not a prolem.

What about a prenuptial agreement that doesn't comply precisely with the statutory requirements of the state in which it was executed?

Continue reading Prenups: why it's key to ensure legal compliance from the outset

Tags: Prenuptial agreement, divorce

The McCourt's are back! Divorce settlement is disputed in court.

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Property Division on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Prior to the divorce settlement reached in the media-saturated marital dissolution of Frank and Jamie McCourt, discussion centered primarily on whether the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team was owned solely by Frank McCourt or was an asset equally owned by the couple under California's community property laws.

That all seemed put to bed when the couple executed a settlement that the court accepted in October 2011 pursuant to which Jamie McCourt received $131 million and several homes.

Soon after the agreement was reached, however, rumbling began coming forth from Jamie McCourt's camp that her ex-spouse engaged in fraud that greatly reduced the amount of money she was legally entitled to in the couple's property division. The matter was resurrected, with a non-jury trial held last week in Los Angeles to determine whether the divorce settlement should be thrown out.

Continue reading The McCourt's are back! Divorce settlement is disputed in court.

Tags: community property, divorce, fraud, property division

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Domestic violence: the need to act and be protected

On behalf of Pacheco Perez P.A. posted in Domestic Violence on Monday, April 22, 2013

Partner abuse in a relationship is always an unfortunate thing that, in many instances, escalates with dire consequences. Moreover, domestic violence is often marked by a very complex interplay of related family law issues that makes a boilerplate response ineffective. In some instances, domestic abuse centers on a family's children, while in other cases it can be a matter of an abusive spouse or partner engaging in persistent and violent battering.

Although the solution in any given case must address the unique considerations of a family in the context of precisely what is going on, one thing is certain: Abuse generally does not go away. It is recurring and pernicious behavior that can have, in some instances, fatal consequences. It needs to be proactively addressed.

Continue reading Domestic violence: the need to act and be protected

Tags: battering, domestic abuse, domestic violence, restraining order