For Immediate Release: On January 26, 2012 it was announced at the Florida Bar's mid-year meeting that the November "Case Law Update" by Eddie Stephens (chaired by R.T. White) was the most successful program of the year for the Family Law Section's CLE committee. The program attracted over 200 attendees and has had the most after-market sales this year. The CLE committee of the Family Law Section asked Mr. Stephens to present again October 24, 2012 with the help of program chairs R.T. White & Amanda Colon.  Continuing Legal Education Programming is the primary funding source for the Family Law Section. This course is available for streaming from the Florida Bar.2.5 CLE hours.  2.0 Board Certification CLE credits. … [Read more...]

Pending before Florida legislation are HB 549 and SB 748.Both of these are radical attempts to eliminate / reduce certain types of spousal support.In essence, if enacted, the new bills would:Eliminate permanent alimony.Eliminate ability to award a combination of forms of alimony in appropriate circumstances.Caps alimony at 20% of payor’s net income averaged over last three years of marriage.Eliminates “standard of living” as a factor in determining alimony.Eliminates income from non-marital assets as source of payment for alimony.Caps length of durational alimony to one half the length of the marriage.Long term marriage (20 years)  term cannot exceed 60% of length of marriage.Alimony terminates at payor attaining full retirement ageObligor’s new spouse’s income would be be considered in modification action.While there is a good argument that alimony reform, such as the implementation of “alimony guidelines”, is needed the changes suggested by these bills are RADICAL … [Read more...]

SHARON BOOTH MIDDLETON, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. JAMES W. MIDDLETON, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. Case No. 5D10-236 DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JULY TERM 2011 Opinion filed January 6, 2012         Appeal from the Circuit Court for St. Johns County, John M. Alexander, Judge. William S. Graessle of William S. Graessle, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Alan C. Jensen, Jacksonville Beach, and Michael J. Korn of Korn & Zehmer, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. PALMER, J. In this dissolution of marriage proceeding, Sharon Middleton (wife) appeals the trial court's final dissolution order, and James Middleton (husband) cross-appeals. We find merit in one issue raised in the husband's cross-appeal and, accordingly, affirm in part and reverse in part. The husband maintains that the trial court applied the wrong standard in deciding whether to impute income to the wife. We … [Read more...]

Board Certified Attorney Eddie Stephens recently led a two hour panel discussion with three of Palm Beach County's prominent psychologists.  Attendees were treated to this rare insight into a diversity of mental health issues that are often present in family law cases including social investigations, parenting plans, guardian ad litems and parental coordination.  The course provides 6 certification and 8 general CLE hours.  To order a copy of this CLE contact the Palm Beach Bar Association.   Panel l to r, Eddie Stephens Esq., Sheila Furr, PhD, Michael O'Hara, Psy.D. and Lisa McDermott, Perez, PhD, LMHC — at Palm Beach County Bar Association 9:15am - 9:20am Welcome & Opening Remarks - Matthew Jay Lane, Esq., Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A., Committee Chair 9:20am - 11:20am Panel Discussion—Social Investigations, Time-Sharing Evaluations, and GAL’s - Eddie E. Stephens, III, Esq., Eddie Stephens P.A., Board Certified Marital and Family Law … [Read more...]

T.M.H., Appellant, v. D.M.T., Appellee. Case No. 5D09-3559 DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JULY TERM 2011 Opinion filed December 23, 2011         Appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Charles Crawford, Judge. Robert A. Segal, Melbourne, for Appellant. Robert J. Wheelock, Michael B. Jones, Eric Lee Bensen and Cynthia M. Winter, of The Wheelock Law Firm, LLC, Orlando, for Appellee. SAWAYA, J. The issue we must resolve is whether two women involved in a lesbian relationship for several years share parental rights and responsibilities to a child born out of that relationship. The two women are Appellant, the biological mother, and Appellee, the birth mother. This is a case of first impression in Florida. Page 2 I. Factual and Procedural Background        The facts are not in dispute. Appellant and Appellee were involved in a committed relationship from 1995 until 2006. They lived together and owned real … [Read more...]

Happy New Year! Click here to download a .PDF version of my 2011 marital & family law case summaries. Thanks for your support and if you have any feedback please email me! -eddie … [Read more...]

Agreements: Bedoya v. Bedoya, 36 FLW D2318 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2011).  Final judgment reversed as it provided alimony from date of filing divorce instead of from date prenuptial agreement was signed as provided for in the agreement. Crawford v. Barker, 64 So. 3d 1246 (Fla. 2011).  Resolves conflict with Smith, 919 So. 2d 525 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).  Husband pre-dissolution made wife beneficiary of retirement.  In divorce, husband received retirement but there was no mention of death benefit.  Husband never changed beneficiary.  Husband dies.  3rd DCA opinion saying Marital Settlement Agreement waived wife’s beneficiary interest quashed.  Absent the Marital Settlement Agreement providing who is to receive death benefits, court should not look further than named beneficiary on policy, in this case, the wife. Adams v. Adams, 58 So. 3d 340 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2011).  Trial Court reversed for requiring husband to pay wife one half of insurance proceeds from wife’s column on marital … [Read more...]

ELIZABETH MARSHALL-BEASLEY, Appellant, v. JAMES W. BEASLEY, JR., Appellee. No. 4D09-4106 COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, FOURTH DISTRICT 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 19534 December 7, 2011, Decided NOTICE: NOT FINAL UNTIL DISPOSITION OF TIMELY FILED MOTION FOR REHEARING. PRIOR HISTORY: Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; John L. Phillips, Judge; L.T. Case No. 502008 DR 009849 XXXXMB. COUNSEL: Amy D. Shield of Amy D. Shield, P.A., Boca Raton, for appellant. Robert J. Hauser of Beasley, Hauser, Kramer, Leonard & Galardi, P.A., West Palm Beach, and Odette Marie Bendeck of Fisher & Bendeck, P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellee. JUDGES: CONNER, J. WARNER  and POLEN , JJ., concur. OPINION BY: CONNER OPINION CONNER, J. Elizabeth Marshall-Beasley ("Former Wife") appeals the final judgment dissolving her marriage to James W. Beasley, Jr., ("Former Husband") following trial as to equitable distribution and … [Read more...]

Click here to read previous article on major changes to alimony and child support effective October 2010 and January 2011. Florida’s legislation passed more legislative changes that modify chapters 61 and 88 Florida Statutes effective July 1, 2011. 1) Florida HB 1111 (2011). Click here to read full text. Adds definitions to section 88.1011 for convention, foreign country, foreign support order, foreign tribunal, outside this state, person, and record. Modifies jurisdictional provisions in section 88.2051. Makes many other updates / changes to Chapter 88 (see text of bill for all changes). Changes section 88.2061 from enforcement and modification of support order to just enforcement. Changes 88.2071 from “recognition” to “determination” of controlling support order to determination. Creates 88.6161 register or modify foreign child support order. Re-designates part VII of chapter 88 to ”Support Proceeding under Convention”. Creates 88.7031 which … [Read more...]

I was recently asked how I achieve balance in my life. It is constant work, as it is far too easy to let work and cases overwhelm your waking hours.  It’s too easy to forget to stop and take care of yourself and family.   After awhile, most folks who work in family law get burnt out.  Our economy has tanked and it seems we are all working harder for less.  Here are a few practice tips I’ve developed that keep me sane despite the stresses of dealing with high conflict issue resolution and litigation and all else life has to offer: a. Work Be ethical.  An attorney who has no credibility cannot be effective. Be professional.  Even if you don't like your opposing counsel, you can still be professional. These two concepts allow me to sleep at night.  If you are a “pleaser” you chose the wrong occupation as we are in an adversary system that sometimes will not allow you to “please” all involved (or at times, anyone).  So long as you go about doing your … [Read more...]