Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Can Trustees Go After Children’s College Tuition Payments?
A recent trend in bankruptcy law is for trustees, the individuals responsible for collecting money for creditors, to go after tuition payments parents made to their children’s undergraduate institutions. As the trustees see it, the funds parents sent to those institutions should have instead been used to pay off the parents’ debt. Since 2008,… Read More »
Same-Sex Adoption Ban Stalled in Florida Senate
Adopting a child is one of the most complicated and heartwarming ways to expand your family. Adoptions in Florida include adoptions within and outside the immediate family. The Florida legislature, however, recently threatened to limit the rights of gay couples seeking to adopt children. The bill, entitled “Conscience Protection for Actions of Private Child-Placing… Read More »
What’s Mine is Mine…Right?
One of the standard tasks in any Florida divorce involves separating the couple’s property. In some cases, the parties are able to accomplish this by agreement; that is, they determine themselves which one of them will take a particular piece of property. Where there is no agreement, the judge hearing the divorce action will… Read More »
When Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
Most parents who divorce or separate realize that one of them will likely be ordered to pay some amount of child support so long as the child is a minor. This is true regardless of whether the residential parent and the child continue to live in Florida following the divorce or separation. Failing to… Read More »
The Guardian Ad Litem in Florida Divorces
In a Florida divorce, there is a familiar cast of characters: the divorcing spouses, the attorneys representing each of these parties, the judge, and sometimes witnesses or experts who testify concerning the parties’ assets, liabilities, and parenting abilities. One individual who may appear in some divorce or child custody is a guardian ad litem…. Read More »
High-Profile Divorce Attorney Discusses Bigamy
A recent divorce hearing involving Florida U.S. Representative Alan Grayson and his wife of 35 years Lolita Grayson captured the attention of media outlets not only because of Rep. Grayson’s vast fortune (approximately $30 million) but also because of allegations of bigamy leveled against Ms. Grayson. Ms. Grayson is seeking a part of Rep…. Read More »
In Sickness and in Health? Think Again.
Think that your marriage can survive a prolonged or significant illness? A new study suggests that, for women aged 51 and over, a serious health complication can increase the chances that their marriage will end in divorce. The study found that there was no significant increase in the risk of divorce if the husband… Read More »
When a Parent Becomes a Kidnapper
Police in Massachusetts are searching for a Quincy-area mother for allegedly “kidnapping” her five children. Unfortunately, this mother is neither the first nor will she be the last parent to face accusations of “kidnapping” their own children. Although it may seem counterintuitive, Florida and other states allow a parent to be charged with kidnapping… Read More »
The End of Permanent Alimony in Florida?
Legislators are considering whether it is time to end the availability of permanent alimony in Florida divorces. House Bill 943 was filed in late February; if passed, the bill would eliminate permanent alimony as well as allow alimony obligations to end upon the retirement of the obligor. Presently Florida is only one of a… Read More »
