Sarasota Family Law Blog

Arranging for a summer vacation with your children

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in child custody on Sunday, May 19, 2019.

Working out a parenting plan is challenging for many Florida parents. Arranging time on school nights, trading off weekends, and making sure both of you consider the major holidays can be emotionally taxing. So, when it comes time to modify the plan for summer vacations, it may seem a near-impossible task. As Schipani and Norman, P.A., we often work with clients towards solutions that put the children first and mediate parenting plan modifications.

According to Our Family Wizard, if you have not yet developed a schedule with your ex, addressing the summer holidays now may make sense. Although it may not be possible to share vacation details immediately, discussing the potential dates and destination can make modifications easier as the summer approaches.

How should a second marriage prenup differ from the first one?

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. on Monday, May 13, 2019.

Prenuptial agreements have grown in popularity in recent years. Although most people associate prenups with rich people, any couple can benefit from them, and they are actually more affordable than you may realize.

You may have already gone through the divorce process once before, and now, you are ready to tie the knot again. Before going through your second marriage, you will likely have different considerations to make than someone marrying for the first time. You should make a prenup, but bear in mind that yours will look different than all your friends' prenups.

Signs a divorce is on the horizon

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Monday, May 6, 2019.

If you are consistently unhappy with your spouse in Florida, this is a good indication that divorce may be in the future. However, there are other signs that may or may not be as obvious. If you catch things early on, you both may be able to make changes to help save the marriage.

PsychCentral discusses the four main divorce predictors that marriage therapists identify. These are:

Stonewalling - one or both partners shut down and withdraw to avoid conflict
Criticism - attacking the other's character or personality to be right
Contempt - behavior with the intent to insult the other person
Defensiveness - defending with a counter complaint or by making excuses

Ending a marriage due to narcissism

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Friday, April 26, 2019.

There are a wide variety of reasons why a couple’s marriage may fall apart. From affairs or a track history of abuse to falling apart and finding new partners, marriages are brought to an end for many different reasons. In certain instances, the divorce process can be particularly challenging because of a partner’s personality and difficult behavior. For example, someone who is a narcissist may make the divorce process especially tricky for their partner. Furthermore, some marriages come to an end solely because of narcissism and other examples of incompatibility.

If you are preparing to split up with your spouse and you are worried about narcissistic behavior, it is important to be fully prepared for what could lie ahead. You should try to end your marriage on peaceful terms, if possible, but you should also be ready for contentious disputes, especially if you have kids. Sometimes, people may try to attack their spouse during the divorce process by falsely accusing them of wrongdoing or blasting them on social media. It is imperative to be mindful of your actions during divorce and if you notice this behavior coming from your ex, it may even be important to address this in court.

How can you build emotional stamina during divorce

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

Divorce is one of those circumstances in life that can require you to have to completely reassess how you have always done things. When you began the process of separating from your spouse in Florida, you may have never anticipated the emotional toll that your decision would take in the days and months afterward. However, with your efforts to work through the process in a manner that is healthy and productive, you can eventually build and increase your emotional stamina and continue to stay focused on improving your life.

It is easy to become distracted by all that is happening when you are facing the pressure of arranging child custody agreements, negotiating who will get which assets and facing the fact that your marriage is no longer a relationship with primary importance. Being able to focus adequately on your job, your role as a parent and even on your own personal needs can become more burdensome, especially if you are not handling your emotions in a healthy way.

Are you more likely to get divorced the second time around?

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Monday, April 22, 2019.

If you have been through a divorce, you may think that your second or third attempt at wedded bliss may have a better outcome. Not only have you learned from your past marriage mistakes, but you are now wiser in choosing a mate that you are compatible with, ‘till death do you part.’ Unfortunately, statistics show that you are more likely to fail at a second or third marriage than you are the first time around.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately half of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. The rate climbs as the number of marriages increases, with a 67% divorce rate for second marriages and a 73% risk of divorce for third marriages. Why does the chance of marriage success get significantly lower with each marriage? Researchers suggest that rebound marriages may be to blame. Some people who feel abandoned or lonely after their first divorce may grasp the next thing that comes along. After the honeymoon stage, however, people are quick to bail out and start again.

How to prevent a co-parent from abducting your child

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. on Friday, April 12, 2019.

Trying to parent a child in a post-divorce situation can be challenging. After all, you may have to share parental duties with someone who has a parenting style that does not appeal to you. If your child’s co-parent moves your child to another state or a different country without your permission, you may face additional challenges.

Fortunately, if you have a comprehensive custody agreement and parenting plan, you may be able to avoid some complications. You may not, however, be able to stop your child’s co-parent from abducting your son or daughter. To increase the likelihood of reuniting with your young one, though, you can take a couple of steps.

The clues social media provides in a divorce

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Sunday, April 7, 2019.

Floridians who are separating from or divorcing their spouses need to think about the various ways they can protect themselves during the process of identifying their final settlements with their partners. One of the things that people should pay special attention to at this time is social media. While this platform has become all but ubiquitous in society today, taking a break from it when in the midst of a divorce may be in one's best interests.

The National Law Review reported that online affairs contribute to legal action being initiated in 33 percent of all divorce cases. More than eight out of every 10 divorce lawyers find using social media as evidence in court useful and two out of every three cases leverage some content from Facebook as primary evidence to support a point.

Can a divorce take a toll on women’s health?

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Monday, April 1, 2019.

As any Florida resident can attest, going through a divorce can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. However, you might not realize the full emotional impact of a divorce until you are in the middle of one. In fact, the effects can continue for months or years after your divorce, especially if you are female, as some studies have shown, and emotional stress can have physical results.

According to Time, a Duke University study found that the psychological stress of a divorce significantly raised the risk of a heart attack for women, as opposed to minimal risk for men. You may be concerned to learn that women who divorce once are 24 percent more likely to have a heart attack than women who don’t get a divorce. Your heart attack risk may increase to 77 percent if you divorce two or more times. Oppositely, men’s heart attack risk can rise slightly if they divorce more than once, and their risk decreases if they remarry. Even after remarrying, women who have endured a divorce continue to have an elevated risk for a heart attack.

Should I let my spouse keep our family home?

On behalf of Schipani and Norman, P.A. posted in divorce on Sunday, March 31, 2019.

If you and your spouse in Florida have decided that you can no longer remain married to each other, you must now embark on the journey that involves figuring out the details of your divorce settlement. If you own a home, this means that the two of you must choose what to do with that property and its associated home mortgage.

It is not uncommon for at least one spouse to want to keep a house after a divorce. If you have young children, this can be especially important as you may want to keep as much consistency as possible for your kids. However, before blindly allowing your spouse to keep the house, Bankrate recommends that you deal with the mortgage in a way that effectively eliminates you from any financial liability.