Fort Lauderdale Divorce Law Blog | Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A.

Plan for trips with your children early to minimize stress

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Custody on Friday, February 15, 2019.

There are many challenges that parents have to plan for when they are traveling with children. When there is a custody order in the picture, things get a bit more complicated. Planning can help to reduce the amount of stress and trouble that vacationing parents have to deal with while preparing to leave.

One of the most important things to do if you are taking a trip out of your local area is to find out what types of notifications you need to make. Sometimes, you have to let the other parent know what's going on so they are aware of the plan. In limited cases, the court might also have to be notified. Taking care of this early can ensure that there aren't problems or conflicts.

Set your parenting plan based on what your child needs now

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Custody on Friday, February 8, 2019.

Decisions related to your children are some of the hardest ones that you will ever consider. Most parents want to set their kids up to succeed in life. When you have a child custody problem, making decisions for the kids is even more complicated than normal because you have to take your ex's views into consideration. If you and your ex always shared the same views, it's likely you would have remained together.

One of the most challenging things about not being in a relationship with your child's other parent is that you often have to put your differences aside to do what is best for the kids. You can't think about what you want or what will make life difficult for your ex. Instead, you must do what is in the child's best interests.

Working through a high-asset divorce can be challenging

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in High Asset Divorce on Friday, February 1, 2019.

Going through a high-asset divorce can be a challenging situation because of the property division aspects of the case. You might find that you are having trouble dealing with the constant state of chance and the pressure to make decisions that come with this situation. This is understandable, but you can't let it control the rest of your life.

The decisions that you make now, including those that are part of your divorce and the ones regarding your new life, can have a big impact on your entire future. It is a good idea to take a step back and think about how things will affect you in the long term. This might not be easy, but it might give you the perspective you need to do what is in your best interests.

Parenting plan foundations must be set quickly

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Custody on Friday, January 25, 2019.

Your child's education is one of the biggest ways that you can help them to succeed in life. The issue with this is that not all children need the same things to learn. When you live with your child's other parent, you might be able to come up with solutions to the educational challenges that the children have. When you aren't in a relationship with the other parent any longer, you might find that coming up with ways to help the children that are mutually agreeable is a challenge.

One way that you can help to alleviate stress in this area is to have a plan spelled out in the custody plan for handling these matters. There are two ways that decisions can happen. One is that you and your ex work as a team on all decisions related to the child's education. The other is that one parent has the responsibility to make those decisions on their own. Which one applies to your case depends on what is in the custody paperwork.

Small and large: Property division covers everything

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Property Division on Friday, January 18, 2019.

Dividing property during a divorce is challenging, but with proper thinking and planning, you might be able to figure out what is going to work for your situation. The most important thing for you to remember right now is that you have to make decisions that set you up for financial success in your single life.

There are many things that you will have to divide during this process. They all fall under two categories – debts and assets. You might already be thinking about the obvious things like houses and vehicles. There are many others like retirement accounts, investments and compensation plans. All of these have to be handled in a specific manner or you face the risk of not getting what you deserve.

Know your child support responsibilities

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Support on Friday, January 11, 2019.

When you don't live with your children, you might be ordered to pay for child support. While you give this to your ex, it is meant to help with the costs of raising your children. Your ex can use these payments to cover things like rent or mortgage payments, utilities, clothing for the child, school costs and other similar items. It is usually co-mingled in the household money, so your ex won't account for everything that it is spent on. This can be troubling for some paying parents, but don't let that stop you from making the payments.

Failing to make the payments as ordered by the court can lead to you having additional legal troubles. These can include some very serious penalties, so you can't let your account get into the arrears. If you are having difficulties paying, you need to do your best to keep up with them.

Co-parenting must help children feel stable and secure

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Custody on Friday, January 4, 2019.

High-conflict co-parenting can be stressful to the parents and the children. While you might not be able to do much to shield yourself from the matters, you do need to do what you can to protect your children from this type of unnecessary stress.

One thing that might help you remain calmer is having a clear plan for handling contentious matters. This should be outlined in the child custody order and include expectations of respect. Including detailed steps to follow for resolution can help co-parents reach accord with as little stress as possible.

Are you planning on filing for divorce in 2019?

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in High Asset Divorce on Friday, December 28, 2018.

Some people will decide that the start of 2019 is the best time to file for divorce, After all, it's a new year and a good time for a fresh start. If you decide to do this, make sure that you plan for it now. This is especially important if you and your soon-to-be ex have vast assets.

High-asset divorces are often more complicated than others since you have to divide all the marital assets. Part of this is determining which are community assets and which are owned separately. You also have to worry about the value of the assets as you prepare to divide them.

Set social media guidelines in child custody situations

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Child Custody on Friday, December 21, 2018.

Child custody matters are complicated. When you are going through things with your children or your ex, you might be tempted to turn to social media to vent. The average person spends around 50 minutes per day on social media, but this doesn't mean that you should use this time to beat down your ex or discuss matters that are best left private.

Some people tend to overshare on social media. Essentially, it is easy to forget that what you share on sites like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook can leave a permanent footprint. Even if you delete posts, there is still a chance that someone took a screenshot before you deleted it.

Know the terms of your alimony order in a divorce

On behalf of Mark Abzug of Law Offices of Mark Abzug, P.A. posted in Alimony on Friday, December 14, 2018.

Paying your ex alimony might not be on the top of your priority list during your divorce. As you are working out the terms of the split, you need to consider this possibility so that you aren't walking away with a lesser settlement than you should. We are here to help you look into the chance that alimony will be a component of your divorce.

Just to be clear – not all divorces in Florida involve alimony. These financial support payments are more common in long marriages. Many of them have to do with a spouse who stayed home to care for the children or the house. Even then, the alimony order might be temporary.

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