Broader Protection for Domestic Violence Victims

I just stumbled across the following article that talks about different states' laws regarding leave for employees to deal with domestic violence issues. Some states, including Florida, recognize that an employee may need some time off in order to obtain an injunction, seek medical attention or even attend court after an incident of domestic violence. The fact that states are recognizing the need to provide domestic violence victims with time to "sort out their lives" is important. Victims of domestic violence are going through so many emotions and worries, and the last thing that they should have to worry about is losing their job because they have to attend court or be out of the office to obtain an injunction for protection.

If you would like to read more about the article that this blog is based, see the following: http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=November&artYear=2007&EntryNo=7434

Affect of Adultry on Dissolution in Florida

One of the hardest pills for some people to swallow when they are divorcing in Florida is that adultery has very little to do with the outcome of a person's divorce when you are speaking of division of assets, liabilities and alimony. The only time that adultery ever comes into play is if you can prove that one parties' adultery dissipated marital assets or created debt. Therefore, more often than not, you will not be financially compensated because your spouse cheated. Most people want to be compensated for the emotional trauma that they suffered at the hands of their adulterous spouse, but in Florida, which is a no fault state, you are out of luck. If you are looking for a good example of what is considered a creation of debt which is non-marital because of an affair, you can look to the most recent news article in the Greg Norman divorce. They are taking the deposition of Mr. Norman's alleged mistress, Chris Evert, because it is believed she used his jet during the marriage which created some tax liability that Mrs. Norman does not want to be responsible for. If it is determined that any of the tax liability was associated with Mr. Norman using the jet for non-marital purposes, Mrs. Norman would not be responsible for that debt.

More Single Women Than Married Women

According to current census results, for the first time in U.S. history, single women outnumber married women with about 51.5% of the adult women population single. Many think that this is due to women delaying marriage and/or remarriage after a divorce until later on in life. Another hypothesis surrounding the growing population of single women is that it takes longer to become financially secure in today's day and age, and more women want to be financially secure before they enter into marriage. The fact that more women are thinking about being financially independent prior to getting marriage is a wonderful thing, especially because our divorce rate here in America is so high. With the average marriage lasting less than 7 years, its important for women to not only think more about the person whom they are choosing to marriage, but to make smart financial decisions, so if their marriage ends up in divorce, they can have a good financial footing.

To read the article about the rise of single women, see: http://www.theledger.com/article/20071029/NEWS/710290375/1004

Announcing Divorce Via Email

I have found a few articles about announcing that you are going through a divorce and whether email was the appropriate outlet to do this. At first I didn't think that this topic was "blog worthy", but this morning, I stumbled across yet another article about a person who announced the finalization of his divorce via a mass email. The general revelation from this article is that divorce is such a common place thing these days that its no longer taboo to broadcast to the masses that you are going through a divorce. I, for one, am not a big fan of the mass email for any announcement of big news, including divorce, but I understand the inclination to send one email out to everyone you know in order to avoid telling your divorce story over and over again. I would just be careful who you send the email to and what you say in the email. Divorce, although no longer taboo, is still a sensitive subject.

To read the story upon which this blog is based, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/fashion/weddings/28field.html?ref=weddings

Dating After Divorce

Its hard for people going through a divorce to imagine that they will ever want to date, but the reality is that life does go on. After some one's divorce is final, I rarely see that person again, unless there are issues and problems post-divorce that need some legal expertise. However, dating after your divorce definitely comes up in conversation and I don't have any knowledge to pass onto my clients on how to deal with this sensitive and sometimes unnerving issue. I found the following article on www.divorceinfo.com that answers some questions and gives people advice on how to navigate the unknown waters of dating after divorce.

http://www.divorceinfo.com/dating.htm

Father's Rights

Fathers are playing actives role in their children's lives, more so than they did even 10 years ago. Despite the fact that more and more fathers are the primary care givers for their minor children, some people believe that there is still a bias in the courts towards the mother when determining who should be the primary residential parent. A recent case here in Florida addresses father's rights.

To read the article, see the following: http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/10/24/elian-ii-campaign-update-fathers-rights-group-meets-with-dcf-cuban-father/

How Will Divorce Affect Your Credit Score

Divorce, even in the most amicably of situations, can leave you in financial distress. This often times can affect your credit score in a negative way. I stumbled upon the following article about how to protect your credit before, during and after a divorce and thought it had some helpful information.

To read the article, see: http://www.yourcreditadvisor.com/blog/2007/07/how_will_my_div.html