No Changes to Alimony-Florida Legislature It's All Phony

With the recent deadlock that took place between the Florida House and Senate, resulting in a legislative session that did, essentially, nothing, I was reminded of a boyfriend I had in college at the University of Miami, who I met in, of all places, accounting class. When our Friday class ended and our weekend officially began, I would always suggest that we do our homework so that we'd have it out of the way. "But what if the world ends on Sunday? Then we'd have wasted our last weekend studying," he would always retort. For the past two months, every evening I'd say to myself, "time to write a blog about the two bills pending in the Florida House and Senate regarding alimony reform." Now, I was well aware of what each of these bills contained, and I had even discussed them with clients, and had done some preliminary calculations using the proposed formulas for calculating alimony. Alas, any insight this blog would have provided would all have been for naught. Yes folks, as you've likely already discovered, the House, running loggerheads with their brothers and sisters in the Senate, decided to just pick up their bats and balls and go home. (Remember, this is our state government and not Little League.) Thus, it seems pretty likely that any changes to the current Florida Alimony Statute will just have to wait until next year. Whew, do I feel better that I didn't impart any useless information on you this round. A side note, however, just today Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli told their minions that they are to return for a June session where, at the very least, they will attempt to pass a State budget...or face a state government shutdown (no court??) Clearly, there are a lot more important items that impact on many more residents of this state than alimony reform and the House and Senate need to do the jobs we elected them to do. Of course, my clients may disagree, but that's another story. I just sincerely hope that the special session next month doesn't mess up any of our legislators' vacation plans. As for next year, I hope the Senate understands that alimony and timesharing with children do not fit in the same bill. In the meantime, if you need assistance with current family law matters, please contact our office or visit our website to learn more about how we can assist you (under the current law!)http://www.vovalaw.com Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 8551 West Sunrise Blvd., Suite 301 Plantation, FL 33322 954-316-3496

The Family Law Attorney-Robots Need Not Apply

              So, I am sitting in room full of very wealthy people.  (Note: I am only here for observation), and we are learning about digital/machine technology that bit-by-bit continues replacing people in various fields.  The very intelligent speaker (I’d like to come back as this speaker who waxes so eloquently) tells me, as well as a room of about 200 other people who are, as previously mentioned, ostensibly very wealthy, about surgeries performed by robots and sometimes by doctors in remote locations. (Wait, let me put down this pina colada and make the incision).  He spoke of other computers that can do all sorts of functions that humans  used to do  using this wonderful technology concept with algorithms and lots of other cool terms that I could throw out in the blog but, candidly , don’t have a clue how they work. Then he piqued my interest when he spoke about machines that can help make legal decisions(!)

                He spoke of a world where “humans need not apply.”  So true in so many situations.  He even spent some time talking about the self-driving car (Hey, I thought of this idea probably 45 years ago. However, since I was to be a future lawyer, I fit right into the mold as an over-ambitious person who sucks at math and science, and missed the boat on that one.)

                As the speaker continued on, I had the urge to stand up and pose an objection (Hey, I am a trial lawyer, after all).  Of course, under the circumstances, that would have been rude, so those manners my parents (who are long gone) taught me prevailed, and I just decided to write about my dissent instead.

                The grounds for my objection were (in my head) based on the following:  There are just some jobs where humans not only need apply, but where humans must apply and must perform.

                I like to think that my job as a family law attorney is one such position that cannot be replaced.  Why? Because family law transcends so much more than just the law.  Yes, one of those rocket scientists could probably program a machine to crank out vanilla pleadings that have the barebones necessities to say what needs to be pled, and to calculate child support Candidly, we already have that.  But what about the rest?  You see, as one of my favorite law professors said to my class over 30 years ago, “the facts do make an impact on the case.”  So while I continue to use a bunch of unrelated quotes, let me continue with classic rocker Rod Stewart who said “every picture tells a story.” Almost without exception, each of the over 2000 family law cases that have made their way through my door, had its own unique story.  And I listen to each story, and as I contemplate the facts, the most important thing I do is I care.  The one thing that always shocks me is when a client says, “I know I don’t have a big case, and you have more important clients…”  I don’t know if I want to laugh or feel hurt, because without exception, I tell that client, “When you are here in my office, you are the most important client I have.”  And, I really mean this because, as I often say, I was a person long before I became a lawyer.[1]

                So, notwithstanding that moving lecture I heard the other night, I am pretty confident that I have job security, and my staff does as well.  Because, one of the essential tools in family law, at least in my practice, is having a heart.[2] Although there are machine-made artificial hearts, they cannot replace a real heart needed to practice family law. I know some of my family law colleagues do not share my view and do not practice with a heart.  But, at the end of the day, I think I sleep a little better at night, and hopefully so do my clients.

---

[1] After so many years in practice, I have now been a lawyer more years than my pre-lawyer life, but I have not lost touch with the human part as it is the most important part.

[2]  One also needs this to land the role of the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz).

Learn more about the Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. at www.vovalaw.com

THE PARENTAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST...HOW WELL DO YOU SCORE? (go ahead...it's self graded)

    While listening to National Public Radio on Sunday, I heard an interesting story about a high school in New Jersey where, as part of a health class project designed to, among other things, discourage teen pregnancy, girls were entrusted with robotic infants to care for over the course of two days.



     According to the report, the babies exhibited all the characteristics of "real" infants: crying, sleeping, eating, burping and requiring diaper changes although, I think, the latter neither involved the mess nor the odor that come with the real McCoy. 

  
      Moreover, when the  plastic baby cried (which, according to the report, occurred quite frequently) the "mother" had to determine if the baby needed to be fed, changed, burped or rocked, and to act on the baby's needs within a prescribed time.  In addition, the mother could not assign these tasks to a "substitute" caretaker, as the moldable midget would only respond to the mother's care, courtesy of a wrist band that the "mother" would wave over the baby to identify her.  The mom's response (or lack thereof) registered on an internal computer that gave the teacher data to then assign a grade to mommy based on a 100% scale.



       The two high school girls followed in the story, we are told, are best friends.  One young girl, who told the reporter she was a Christian, wished to go to a religious based college and find the man of her dreams and then start a family early.  The other best friend was "theatre girl," interested in drama and performance, and clearly more likely to be the "wild child" of the two.

   
      So who do you think ended up with the higher grade at the end? I'll save you the suspense of waiting until another blog or looking up the story on NPR's website.  It was Theatre Girl hands down, with a score of 94% versus Prim and Proper's unimpressive 71%.

    
    So  much for preconceived notions of what characteristics make a good parent.  Now, candidly, this "real life drama" failed to give the mom a break at all, including when the moms were in class or rehearsing for a play.  Obviously parents of real life humanoids would not think of leaving a baby behind a stage curtain while rehearsing or bringing the child to class.  All parents need a break sometime.

   
    But I had to wonder, what if my two now adult daughters came with a readout  of how I measured as a parent from their infancy?   How would their father compare if the exams were placed next to each other?  Would I be graded on a curve based on my friends and how they parented their children? What are the criteria? How smart they are?  How nice they are? How talented they are?   Would it be a larger curve based on South Florida, Florida, the United States (sort of like a PSAT - but in this case it would be a Parent Standard Achievement Test)?  Perhaps more scary is what if my kids gave out the grades? I'm pretty sure I'd get a higher grade from one of them, but would they both give Dad a higher grade?  After all, he has about 1000 times more patience than I have, and he never nags them...if nagging were on the test I'd definitely get 100 percent.



    Fortunately for me, and perhaps most of us parents, we do not have to worry about getting a physical report card for our parenting skills.  But, as parents, it is not a bad idea to stop now and again, and do a little self evaluation score card.  No place would this be more appropriate than where parents are not living together, and share time with the other parent and the children.  This is not to suggest that you should measure yourself against the other parent.  Rather, remove yourself from the picture, become a third party observer (the proverbial fly on the wall) and think about how you handle  the day-to-day activities as well as those more difficult moments with your children. Better yet, imagine your children in the very distant future...at your funeral.  What would they say about how you raised them?  How would they describe your relationship (or lack thereof) with their other parent?  Would they say you always took the "high road"? Would they just skip over that because the memory was not a pleasant one? 



    Truly, this is a self- graded exam.  The results will not be published; they will not help you get into graduate school or get a better job, or get you a raise at work.  In some instances, a higher grade may result in a lower income because  good parenting involves a lot of time, a lot of patience and putting your kids above all else...even those negative emotions harbored with their other parent. 



      But, at the end of the day, if you, unlike the high school girls with their plastic pups, brought these babes into the world, then you owe it to them to try your best to, not only pass the course, but get a gold star.



      Try to remember this the next time you have the urge to bash the other parent in front of the kids!

 -Cindy Vova

Please visit my website www.vovalaw.com

The Petnuptial May be a "Purrfect" Solution for Marrying (and potentially divorcing) Pet Parents

        So it has been a few weeks since I posted my blog  that (shocker) pets are not people in the eyes of Florida courts. If you’ve spent any time contemplating that revelation then here is something to contemplate… a pet nuptial agreement.   Created in the United Kingdom by a pet charity known as Blue Cross (not to be confused by the U.S. insurance behemoth by the same name, though , admittedly, some people who have had that insurance probably feel like they’ve gone to a vet for treatment rather than a doctor), Petnups ( a purrrfect name)offers a download that covers ownership, responsibilities and rights if the human relationship goes sour.  This is pretty new wave considering that until a landmark case in 2010, the UK did not even recognize people prenups as binding.

       
        The document combines contracts for deeds of agreement (think-buying a car with a loan),  divorce settlements and consent orders in an attempt to make the Petnup a legally binding document.  Clearly, there is a need for such a document. Researchers found that  30 percent of divorcing couples  disputed ongoing pet care.  Bones of contention included who would pay for veterinary bills, availability for grooming, vacation and holiday plans and how long the pet should be left alone (sounds just like the issues with kids). According to Blue Cross, pets are often given up to shelters during a divorce when neither party wants nor can care for the pet after the breakup.

                The former chairman of the American Bar association Animal Law Committee, Rebecca Hass (a law professor at Valparaiso University who, perhaps in the lofty stacks of academia, has more time to contemplate and research this than a lowly lawyer in a tiny firm), was quoted in the January 2015 ABA Journal as saying the Petnup is a good idea, though it remains unclear as to whether a court would enforce it, especially as it concerns visitation and shared custody (or, as we might, in keeping with current child law, call it in Florida a Pet- time sharing and Pet-parenting plan).

            At the end of the day, if you are really as attached to your pet as your kids, (or perhaps even more so- at least pets greet you when you come home) it comes down to what is really going to be best for the pet.  If you want to keep the cat just because your soon-to-be ex loves it more than you, is that a good reason to fight for a cat you never liked? ( hint-no).  On the other hand, if you have a well adjusted pet who can easily adapt to changes well, maybe an agreement to time share makes sense.  And while you’re at it, you might think about what is going to happen to your pet if you die.  Trust and estate lawyers frequently include pet provisions in wills and trust.   Afterall, the late irate hotel magnate Leona Helmsley left her Maltese, Trouble, $2 million!  Now that was a lucky dog.[i]


Cindy Vova
www.vovalaw.com

---

[i] Poor Trouble left  for the Rainbow Bridge in 2011, leaving, thankfully, the remainder of his unused largess to children’s charities.www.vovalaw.com

Pets Aren't People Too...According to Florida Law

 

          Our dog celebrated her 9^th birthday on December 31^st, and reluctantly, I must admit that with each passing year I have to acknowledge that she is more and more an integral part of our family.  Let’s face it, you know when your daughters are away at college and their texts consist of requests for daily videos and photos of our beloved Maltese…you know the dog is the third child we didn’t have.    I know I am not alone.  Statistics put the dollar volume that people spend on their pets at nearly $60 billion (and yes, that is BILLION) each year. For years Hallmark has cashed in on the bond between pets and people with animal sympathy cards when our pets go to the Rainbow Bridge. 

            
         So what happens when a family splits up?  Well, I know all too well the sometimes practical and sometimes prehistoric ways that parents deal with time sharing and parent plans plans (no more “custody” please in Florida…that smacks of the kids being objects rather than living, breathing humans) when it comes to their children.   But what about the family pet?  Let’s start with the law.  Florida does not provide for custody, timesharing, visitation or any other terminology you might come up with as it pertains to pets…be they fish or fowl, canine or cat.  Nope, as far as the Sunshine State is concerned, Fido is classified the same as the furniture.  In other words, the pet becomes part of equitable distribution…splitting up the property.  Just as divorcing folks do not have time sharing with the family room couch, courts give one party the sofa and, presumably the value of that now used couch is offset against another assets.  So it is  with the family pet.  If kitty was rescued from a shelter and you originally paid a $50 adoption fee, then theoretically, your spouse gets a $50 asset from the other marital property to ‘balance” the equation. Forget the fact that this pet has provided love and affection and there is no price that could substitute for her rubbing up against you when you get home each day (yeah, I have two cats as well), the law just doesn’t see it that way.  Moreover, if Fifi was from a champion bloodline and you laid out $5000 for that pet, then your spouse gets an offsets somewhere in other property for that $5000 if you keep the dog.

                What about if you are the registered owner of the pet?  Well, if the pet we purchased during the marriage then (with certain limited exceptions) it is marital property subject to equitable distribution, so the title to the dog does not really resolve the issues.  Now, will a judge, as a person (and maybe a pet owner too) take that into account?  Perhaps, but it is unlikely to appear as the rationale for the distribution in the final judgment.

                Of course, if you are a couple who never married, then the fact that the pet is registered to you and you have “title” to the animal more than likely will carry the day.

                So is there a way to work this out?  Yes, as there is always a way to work things out in family law without a court’s intervention.  The real questions becomes, do the parties want to do that?

            In my next blog I will show you one way to deal with “custody” of the pets that, quite candidly, I wish I’d thought of.  Still, it is worth sharing with all the rest of the pet lovers out there.

Read my other blogs and find out more about how the Law Firm of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. can assist you with your family law concerns.  Go to our website:  
www.vovalaw.com

Looking on the Bright Side...Divorce Aphorism for the Day

   Almost daily I find myself listening to a client who is having a difficult time dealing with the loss that inevitably accompanies a divorce.  In trying to comfort these clients, I sometimes find myself also at a loss in finding the right words of consolation.
   So, my search lead me to words from, perhaps an unlikely source, but nonetheless, these are the words of the beautiful Eva Longoria who, in spite of her gorgeous appearance, professional and financial success, also knows the pain of love loss, but approaches it with a healthy view.  Here goes:
                 "One thing I did learn is you don't hold on to the bitterness of the loss;
                    you hand on to the beauty of the love." 


    What a wonderful was to move on.


    More divorce aphorisms to come in the future.






See more on my websitewww.vovalaw.com


  

Why If Florida Same Sex Couples Marry in Haste They May Repent in Leisure

    

                 FINALLY!!!!  Barring any legal maneuvering that is not anticipated, same sex couples will be able to “tie the knot” once the clerks of Florida’s counties begin issuing marriage licenses. 

                Just for a brief legal background (if you are interested) a number of circuit court judges throughout the state had already ruled that Florida’s law banning gay marriages was unconstitutional. These judges include Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel, who last July ruled in favor of six same-sex couples who sued a year ago to have the Miami-Dade Clerk issues them marriage licenses, and Broward Circuit Court Judge Dale Cohen, who ruled in August that Florida’s gay marriage ban was unconstitutional, and last month granted the first divorce to a Florida same sex couple who were married in another state.   However, a series of legal maneuvers stayed (legal for “stopped”) the judges’ ruling from actually taking effect pending a ruling from Federal Judge Robert Hinkle.  Although Judge Hinkle had already ruled Florida’s ban unconstitutional, he stayed (again) that ruling from taking effect until the state of Florida had exhausted its right to appeal the decision.

                According to Judge Hinkle, time’s up, and all clerks may issues marriage licenses to same sex couples as of 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, January 6, 2015. Media reports indicate that certain clerks’ offices and other authorities plan to preside over large same sex weddings that very same day…some as early as 3:00 a.m.!

                Now here’s the rub.  I know these ruling are long past due, and same sex couples are eager to share in the same benefits that married heterosexual couples enjoy.  But what these anxious couples may not be considering is that, in spite of the many benefits of marriage, so too are there enormous burdens.  Someone once told me that one who marries in haste repents in leisure.  Ask anyone who has gone through a divorce, and I think they will agree

                 Fortunately, even among the six couples who sued last year in Miami-Dade, according to an article in the Sun Sentinel, only one couple plans to move quickly and marry.   

                So, what does time give to these couples who have been legally barred from enjoying wedded bliss?  Well, it gives them time to consider a prenuptial agreement.  If you review some of my previous blogs about prenuptial agreements, you will see that they do not only address the “what ifs” of divorce, but many other issues that, if discussed and resolved in advance, may help create a happier union.

              Over my next series of blogs, I will point out many of those potential burdens and why a prenuptial agreement may be the first thing to plan before the wedding.   It will be worth the wait!


    The Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. in  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, provides compassionate and caring legal advice to all  families we represent.  We welcome all the new "legal" families to Florida and look forward to serving you.  Please see our website by clicking the attached link to learn more about our firm. 
     www.vovalaw.com