People going through divorces in Florida often find the services and testimony of experts to be useful in certain situations. Experts can be called in to provide their opinion on issues such as the division of marital property or child custody matters, and their testimony is generally admissible in court.
Real estate experts may be retained to determine the value of the marital home or real property. They can look at comparable sales prices in the area to help make this determination. Their help may be especially important if the marital property is of considerable value or if custom renovations have made it difficult to compare to other homes in the area.
Another expert who may help where a couple co-owns a business is a business valuation expert who may be able to determine which portion of the business is separate property and which part of the business should be considered marital property. A vocational expert can assess the potential employment prospects for a spouse who has been unemployed. This type of expert evaluates the education, past work history and skill set of an unemployed spouse to determine prospects for current and future jobs. The testimony can be useful during spousal support and child support cases. Psychological experts can be of value in recommending child custody and visitation plans as well as in providing counseling during and after the divorce.
The services of experts can be helpful whether the divorce settlement is being litigated or negotiated, but they can also be expensive. An attorney with experience in divorce and family law may be able to determine whether expert testimony would be of value in a particular situation.
Source: Huffington Post, “Divorce Confidential: Using Experts In Your Divorce“, Caroline Choi, October 24, 2013
